Estate agencies may be overlooking potential business opportunities within their customer relationship management (CRM) systems, according to new research. A survey by Kerfuffle found that 82.4% of agency leaders believe their existing databases contain untapped revenue potential.
More than a quarter of respondents, 26.5%, reported knowing that potential revenue exists within their data but struggle to access it effectively. This challenge arises as agencies accumulate thousands of records, which can become difficult to search, outdated, duplicated, or poorly structured as databases expand.
Concerns about data loss are also prevalent during CRM provider changes, with 58.8% of agency bosses expressing worry about losing or burying historical information during system migrations. Recent migrations have involved significant volumes of data, such as over 1.2 million records for a Hertfordshire agency and 748,831 records for an Essex agency.
The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in property services highlights the importance of CRM data quality. AI systems can analyse historical property and customer information to identify patterns and opportunities, though their effectiveness relies on the underlying data. Ian Preston, CEO of Greenhouse OS, noted that rich historical data is essential for AI applications like hyper-personalisation.