Premier Agent: Strengthening Human Connection With Technology

These days, we expect technology to improve our experiences in the real world. Think about how much you love shopping online or how easy it is to summon a car with just one tap.

The ease, reliability and convenience these experiences provide have shifted consumer expectations and become the new standard for service across products and industries.

So, what does that mean for us? For real estate? What experiences do we need to deliver to home shoppers to not only compete but thrive in this new world?

For starters, let me be clear, real estate agents are nothing like Uber drivers. The transactions you manage are both complex and emotional, and the expertise, guidance and support you bring to the table is irreplaceable.

The “aha” moment

I’ve experienced this expert guidance firsthand many times. Most recently, I was able to find a new home for my family thanks to an incredible Premier Agent.

She not only knew my market like the back of her hand, but also took the time to get to know us as a family and understand the kind of space we would feel at home in. She was always one text message away, keeping up with my — admittedly — very fast pace.

It’s this handshake between the technology my agent used to communicate with me and the human connection I felt from her that made this a great experience. This was my 'aha' moment and the premise on which we’re building the future of Premier Agent.

The combination of technology and human connection is what will allow us, as an industry, to deliver the kind of experiences modern consumers have come to expect.

Today at the Premier Agent Forum 2017 I announced some important changes to our product that will enable you to continue to elevate your already stellar service, now and in the future.

Deepening your connection with clients

Premier Agent products have always focused on providing you with leads, but we know that’s when the bulk of your work begins.

Lead conversion and business growth rely on strong communication with leads and clients, and we are turning our focus to address this critical part of the client service experience.

My Agent

Did you know that after a buyer contacts an agent, they return to Zillow an average of 27 times and visit 77 listing pages in 30 days? That’s a tremendous amount of activity, and a testament to the way home shoppers love to return to Zillow again and again when the search gets serious.

We also know that once buyers connect with you through Zillow Group and continue to visit our sites and apps to browse for homes, there is a risk they might contact other agents who appear on a listing.

Today, this changes. We’re releasing a feature that will allow you to establish a relationship with a lead on Zillow and Trulia, which Forum attendees received early access to this morning.

Initially, you’ll be able to establish a connection with a lead by sending an invitation through the Premier Agent App.

Once the client accepts your invitation, you’ll appear as the client’s sole buyer’s agent on any for-sale listing in the areas where you advertise, or on the service areas of your agent profile, allowing your client to message you directly from the listings they view.

Coming in 2018, this connection will happen automatically for agents who pick up a live transfer from Concierge. What’s more, online connections between you and your clients will give you access to robust client insights: visibility into what your clients want – what homes they are searching for and which ones they are saving. These features will be widely available in 2018.

Evolving the Premier Agent App

I talk to agents all the time, and I’m always surprised by the sheer number of tools and devices used to manage each sliver of your client follow-up.

We want to help you simplify this chaos, which is why we are investing in making the Premier Agent App an all-in-one communication platform.

Starting in 2018, you can reply to and send new texts directly within the Premier Agent App – Premier Agent Forum attendees are trying this feature out now. Additionally, you’ll soon be able to do the same thing with email, bringing all your client communications into one place.

If you’re feeling left out because you weren’t at Forum – don’t worry! Our next update is for you too.

Your client follow-up is more than a string of emails or text messages. From scheduling inspections to remembering to pick up that closing gift, there’s so much to keep track of from lead to close.

Starting today, you can use the Premier Agent App to set up tasks and reminders to keep yourself on track and make providing consistent, excellent experiences for your clients more manageable.

Closing the feedback loop

As I mentioned before, we’re building the technology that enables exceptional client experiences. But how do you know you’re hitting the mark? How do we know? Without feedback on the service we provide, we’ll never be certain.

Measuring client satisfaction

This morning I announced we’re building a robust feedback platform that will allow us to gather rich information from buyers and sellers and measure their satisfaction with agents they met through Zillow Group.

We’re starting to gather this information from consumers as we wrap up the year, and will continue to validate that the data we’re gathering is useful and meaningful – both for us and for you – before making it available to agents and their teams only in 2018.

To be clear, this will not replace your client reviews, which are a critical component of how home shoppers find, compare and choose an agent.

Building for tomorrow’s consumer

When we started Zillow, we decided to invest heavily in mobile development, even before the iPhone was popular. We were one of the very first apps you could download in the app store.

We’re as committed to staying a step ahead of what consumers want as we’ve ever been. As the great Wayne Gretzky once said, “We skate where the puck is going, not where it is.”

3D Home

The next wave in real estate is virtual reality and augmented experiences, and today Forum attendees got a sneak peek at our first foray in this arena: 3D Home.

Starting in 2018, Zillow will support 3D tours on for-sale listings in select markets, and we’re building a free, first-of-its-kind app to make capturing these tours simple and fast.

You can sign up here to be first in line when it arrives in your market.

We’re in this together

I’ve said this a lot but it bears repeating: Real estate agents are here to stay.

Home buyers and sellers depend on you to provide guidance and clarity during what is likely to be the biggest and most important transaction they’ll make in their lives.

Our role as Zillow Group is to support and enable this great work you do with the products and technology we build.