Is Your Technology Leaving Your Clients Behind?

"Your device isn't compatible with this version."

That's not the message I expected to see when my phone told me I needed to update one of my apps, but I could live without that app, so I moved on without it.

And then it happened again.  Again, something I could live without, so I moved on.

But it did make me think.

I'm not what you'd call an early adopter when it comes to smartphones.  As long as my phone is doing the fundamentals, I'm not too concerned about being able to brag to anyone about having the latest and greatest.  It's the engineer in me and I've got other places to drop close to 4 figures if what I have still works for me.  So yes, I've got an "antique" with my Samsung Galaxy S4.  Yep, they're up to 9, but my 4 gets email, makes calls, takes good pictures, surfs the web and does all the essentials.  But because my phone is "old" and doesn't have the latest operating system, apparently various developers and the companies they supply have decided I (and anyone else like me) is expendable.

Now I'm not a coder, so I don't know how complicated it is to make an app compatible across multiple (and older) operating systems, so I'm faced with a few choices:

1.  Live without those incompatible apps

2.  Buy a new phone (that will in due time have exactly the same issues)

3.  Force an operating system update onto a phone that SHOULD work after I'm done, but might break one of my most needed tools

For the most part, I don't like any of the choices, and that led me down another rabbithole of thoughts.

So much of the buzz inside the real estate ranks is about the technology du jour.  Wizz-bang stuff that will supposedly double, triple, gazillion times our business.  And my personal take is most of it overpromises and underdelivers, and probably at a premium cost to boot.

And more importantly, when we implement these flashy tools, how does it impact our clients?

Sometimes the tried and true still makes the most sense.  For instance there are times that clients are out of state, so e-signatures are the only practical way to go.  And not every client has a scanner either.  But my preference and that of most of my clients (unless they're super experienced with local contracts) is for a face to face the first time we write a purchase offer or complete a listing contract.  E-signatures don't convey nuance, so you don't know if a client "gets it" when it comes to the contract language.  Face to face gives them a chance to ask questions and get comfortable.  And the perk of the face time?  Your service is more noticeable, and clients that see us working for them are likely to be more patient if things get a bit bumpy for some reason.

And sometimes technology changes whether we want it to or not, but perhaps we can make accomodations to serve the widest possible market.  E.g. a couple of years ago my Wordpress theme updated, and that update caused some loss of functionality with certain older browser versions.  My drop down menus didn't drop for the older versions!!  The law of unintended consequences strikes again!  I couldn't reprogram the site, but I could rework my menus to mimize the drop downs and make sure clicking on the main headers would give everyone a pathway to access all my custom IDX search pages.

So just something to think about before you implement your next big technology change.  Is it going to help or harm your potential clients?

 

 

Need help with buying or selling a home (or land) in greater Cincinnati? 

Just give us a call  at 513-520-5305 or email Liz@LizSpear.com.

We look forward to hearing from you! 

Bill of Bill & Liz aka BLiz

 

 

 

Serving Warren County Ohio & Adjacent Areas

The Liz Spear Team of RE/MAX Elite
Elizabeth Spear, ABR, CRS, Ohio License SAL.2002007747
William (Bill) Spear, CRS, Ohio License SAL.2004011109  Kentucky 77938
Ask for us by name if you visit the office!
Two locations: Lebanon & Mason, OH
Bill Direct:  513-520-5305
Liz Direct: 513-265-3004     
Fax: 866-302-8418
MailTo:  Liz@LizSpear.com

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