Fixing the Last Mile in the Real Estate Transaction

Leading research firm Gartner conducted one of the most exhaustive studies into customer service to better understand what exceptional customer service meant to consumers. What they discovered was what consumers are truly looking for is an "effortless experience."

The best real estate agents already know this. It's their differentiating factor. It is what drives their referral business model. It is what puts them on the REAL Trends and T3 Sixty lists of best agents. The last thing these top real estate agents want to do is jeopardize their stellar reputation for providing extraordinary customer service.

The vast majority of them, ironically, do it almost every day.

That's because real estate brokerages across the nation typically leave the "last mile of the real estate transaction" – when someone moves into their new home – to someone else.

In effect, top agents are jeopardizing their 5-star ratings if their customer ends up with a 1-star moving experience.

How can brokers fix the last mile of the real estate transaction?

A new Concierge service

A move is a lot more complicated than picking up the phone or going online and hiring a moving company. It involves dozens of tasks. For the average consumer, moving can often become a logistical nightmare.

Many research studies in the U.S. and abroad note that moving can be one of the most stressful events in a person's life. It also can be a painful process. And because moving has so many different pieces in motion, things can go wrong; very wrong.

MoveEasy fuses advanced technology with a human touch. It's a free Concierge service that real estate brokerages can offer their clients. A client can text or make a single call and change all of their utility and digital amenities, from internet to cable or satellite TV services.

MoveEasy can handle anything moving related, from cleaners to painters. Heck, we even helped a client with a golf cart purchase and another one with a tzatziki recipe! Agents and teams don't have to lift a finger because the MoveEasy Concierge handles it all.

White labeled to a Broker's brand

Throughout the process, what the consumer sees is the broker's brand. Brokerages can add their affiliates and partners. If they own a mortgage company, title or escrow firm – they can add them all to a white-labeled MoveEasy platform.

One of the principal motivations that have driven real estate firms to become a one-stop shop is to control the customer experience. By offering sales, mortgage, title, closing, insurance, and other home services, a brokerage can deliver exceptional customer service end-to-end. Remember, that's what consumers say they want: an effortless experience, before during and after a move.

Making your agents and teams heroes

Offering MoveEasy is how a broker can make their agents and teams a hero in the eyes of their clients. For the last mile of the transaction – the move (and beyond) – a broker can finally gain control. They ensure their agents' clients enjoy a five-star customer service experience until their real estate transaction is truly complete.

After all, if you deliver 5-star customer service to your clients for three-quarters of a transaction, and then they get 1-star service at the end, it's pretty impossible to get a 5-star rating.

Venkatesh "Ven" Ganapathy, Founder & CEO of MoveEasy, moving made simple by people+tech, at moveeasy.com.