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Following structural changes rolled out at REA Group last month, the Australian proptech is making changes to its client service model.
A more “specialised, personalised and efficient model” is what clients of REA Group’s services – which include the listings platform realestate.com.au – should expect come November, when the firm rolls out changes to how it manages subscribers.
This will see the previously titled “account partners” replaced with “relationship managers” who will serve as the main point of contact while being supported by several other specialist roles to handle particular aspects of client needs.
Customer success consultants will handle onboarding and training, while specialist sales team members will provide recommendations about the best suited products, services and tools for client needs.
The group is also rolling out extended support for troubleshooting, which involves more access to help after hours and on weekends – of particular importance to agents who might need hands-on support on auction days.
This model is something the firm has been considering for a while, according to REA Group national sales director Nathan Gallagher, and has already trialled on the ground in some markets in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Victoria.
According to Gallagher, the impetus to act came from surveys that consistently showed six out of 10 clients felt they needed more proactive support with REA’s products and features.
Given that the company is rolling out updates at a rate of two per week, he said it “made perfect sense” that customers would want a higher level of support to make the most out of their subscriptions.
Come November, Gallagher explained that the real estate professionals in their network can expect “a lot more contact – up to 70 per cent more support”.
But that doesn’t mean that the company’s relationship managers will begin flooding customers’ contact points. Gallagher emphasised that the support will be tailored to individual needs.
“The important thing is that it’s more personalised customer contact. Because not every customer is the same. Some customers need education on products and how to unlock the value, while others want to grow their business and might need a specific person to educate them on a product they might not be using. So it’s different levels of contact and it’s not generalised – giving the customer what they want when they need it,” he said.
The changes will reportedly be rolled out through a transitional window from November through December to help clients adjust to the new model.
According to REA Group’s chief customer officer, Kul Singh, this change represents an important milestone in the group’s recent structural changes, which saw the previously separate teams of customer product and services join up with sales, marketing and customer support under one banner.
Having committed to investing in more customer support personnel, Singh explained that this approach ensures that the quality of support is improving – not just the number of people available to help.
“This is not only increasing our boots on the ground, but increasing our support hours, including Saturdays, where there is a lot of troubleshooting with auctions for example, and increasing the specialisation and training they get access to,” he said.
Adding that a key priority of the recent structural shake-up was to deliver “the best customer service”, he said this change should make a material difference to customers for the simple reason that “it’s informed by their needs”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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