Gmaven’s commercial real estate (CRE) clients range from the big to the boutique, from brokers to property owners. Business is about relationships, and every business has a story. Here is Black Pepper Properties‘.
Much of Steve Jobs’ success was due to his deep understanding of tech user types or personas. Clue: there are only five of them. Each of these personas or segments is different, but inter-related. (And every industry, CRE included, is made up of these players).
How these personas inter-relate in an industry is explained by tech’s adoption lifecycle. This can be understood as a tech “relay race”.
Jobs was successful at “crossing the chasm” – moving Apple’s technology, like a baton in a relay race, from the minority of enthusiastic early adopters, to the early majority.
Simon Black, MRICS, a seasoned CRE professional, is one of those early adopters of tech in South African CRE. He was first to market with innovative SEO, and digital marketing – and was the first CRE brokerage in SA to start outsourcing vacancies data capture, and using a specialist CRM/CMS and a specialist website.
Early adopters are optimistic and curious by nature, and see non-evolution as more risky than “staying put”. As a result, Black differentiates his service offering by looking forward to the “next thing”, then bringing this into his business and the industry, early.
The CRE advisory industry is changing. Data volumes are higher, way higher. Tenants are fewer in number, understand their power, and are risk-averse. Tenants are demanding faster turnarounds, needing more complete information, expecting a more consultative engagement. In short, the CRE “buy side” is seeking a professional CRE brokerage.
In an age of automation, old “faster horse” solutions (such as more staff, or working longer hours) simply don’t scale, and eat away at profits. So what are industry leaders doing?
And, out of interest, what does the world of the laggards and late majority look like, now?
“Honestly, I haven’t thought about all this for about 5 years. This pain is so long-forgotten!”
Black, looking back almost half a decade, relates:
The resulting data siloes create a low hum of version control and double work pain. This is pain is not enough to spur you into painful change, but it quietly nibbles away at profits and productivity from 10% upwards.
All this busywork and risk had a negative effect on the service levels required of a modern-day, professional CRE brokerage. Black goes on:
Now talking to the technical expertise expected of CRE advisors:
Black goes on to address the data elephant in the CRE room:
In summary:
“It felt like using a typewriter versus a computer. We were slow, inefficient, and less accurate.
So, where is the service bar now? How do the best service providers operate?
What customers see – per Black:
What clients don’t see:
Now, as a result, service levels are higher. Says Black:
No longer working in the business, Black has been able to work on the business. BPP has engaged in strategic partnerships with complementary businesses, enabling the provision, of fit-for-purpose solutions to clients – as their needs require.
Further, effort on transactions is de-risked:
In summary, Black’s high tech, high client touch business runs very lean. He’s able to offer the service of a large, professional CRE brokerage – while doing more of the work he loves, and less of the work he doesn’t.
And the results are talking for themselves.
For a South African CRE industry buffeted by Covid, weak economic growth and public sector incompetence, is solar power too good to be true? Is solar indeed one of property’s unicorns – a positively geared investment with increasing cash flows – and what are the risks associated with it?
Apple, one of the most profitable businesses in the world, is the king of outsourcing. Its brains reside in California, while its grunt work is spread to specialists all over the world. Is CRE missing a trick? Like the strategic minds at Apple, can it farm back office services to cheaper, specialist hands – and drive greater profitability?
Nobody loves change, but change is happening. Clients of the CRE industry, wearing their consumer hats, are seeing positive data-fueled efficiencies from shopping to travel to insurance, day-to-day. Now they are expecting the same benefits of speed, control and greater transparency in their CRE dealings. How are the world’s top CRE business responding?
