Protech Trends 2023-2024: What awaits the market in Russia

The real estate market in Russia has changed significantly recently, but many representatives of the industry continue to work according to the old methods.

Ekaterina Rumyantseva, founder and CEO of Kalinka Ecosystem, will tell you what Protech trends will be in demand in the coming years.

What real estate buyers pay attention to

Recent changes in the political and economic situation have shown that time is the most valuable resource. The planning horizon is shrinking, there is no time to decide and choose for a long time. Customers immediately want to see profitable offers and quickly conclude deals. If the company cannot provide the required speed, the client will simply leave for a competitor. For example, if earlier in our segment the average transaction period was 6 years, now it is only 2 years or even less.

Partly because of this, interest in buying real estate at the early stages of construction or in long—term construction is decreasing - buyers tend to minimize risks before any circumstances can interfere with the construction process. In general, customers have become more thoughtful about spending. Jumps in the exchange rate and inflation have affected everyone, so buyers are no longer so willing to part with money.

The sale of real estate has always been a game for a long time — the buyer had to be interested, show all the advantages, convince to buy this particular object. Now these requirements have intensified — it is important for clients to know what the payback of real estate is, its liquidity, and what other benefits its acquisition will bring.

Why digital technologies are needed

The more complex the business, the more difficult it is to control. The sale and rental of real estate is one of the most complex industries: a lot of documentation, legal issues, large financial flows. Technologies allow you to fully control complex processes, have a history of transactions at hand and avoid mistakes due to the human factor.

In addition, technology significantly accelerates transactions — now you can quickly issue the necessary documentation, check the object, contact the developer and pay for the transaction. In modern conditions, customers do not want to wait, so companies that do not use technology are likely to find themselves in the shadow of more "advanced" competitors.

We have collected the main Protech trends in Russia that will be relevant in the near future.

Data-driven approach

The needs of the end customer should always be at the center — unfortunately, this paradigm is not always taken into account. As a result, there are beautiful and original projects that, unfortunately, no one needs. First of all, it is necessary to close the pain of customers — for this you need to conduct research, communicate with them, study analytics. This is called a data-driven approach — an approach based on already available data.

By collecting data, it is possible to determine the effectiveness of traffic channels and advertising messages, the most popular customer requests, employee engagement, frequent problems, etc. This data will help you move along the right path and plan your marketing strategy more effectively.

Individual offers (repeat sales)

You should not lose sight of the client immediately after the transaction is completed. It is important to build a long-term relationship with him. Our internal research has shown that the bulk of the profit comes from repeat sales.

To achieve this, you need to use CJM (User path map) and predict the behavior of the client. So you can always offer him exactly what you need. We are constantly researching the algorithms of our relationship with customers in order to prepare individual offers.

The cost of traffic is growing every year, and conversions are falling, so it will soon be impossible to make a profit only from primary customers. Already now we advise you to think about building a CJM — so you will find out at what stage customers are more often lost, what types of communication are ineffective, and where we can attract a client again.

Online sales and trade-in

Online is a growth point for many developers. After the pandemic, people realized that online shopping and services are convenient, even when it comes to such large purchases as real estate. You can view any object via video link and even sign documents remotely, if everything suits you. This is especially convenient if the client is located, for example, in Moscow, and the object is in Dubai. There is no need to spend time and money on a flight, so it is easier for the client to make a deal this way.

Trade-in is a great way to make a customer permanent. This scheme is already used when selling machinery or cars, but it can also be in demand for real estate. Ideally, if the client can estimate online what discount he will receive on trade-in — this will warm up his interest in buying.

Predictive AI-based technologies

On dating sites, such technologies are used to find the most suitable partner for you, and in PropTech — to "smatch" with the ideal real estate object. As we have already said, time plays a key role in customer loyalty, so the sooner a suitable object is found for them, the more loyalty points you will receive.

Artificial intelligence allows you to find objects based on the preferences of the client and his wishes. This process works due to the analytics carried out in advance, the data-driven approach and the requirements of a particular client. Everyone gets a profit — the client is satisfied with the quick selection of the object and is ready to contact the company in the future, and the company spends less time on fruitless searches and does not load employees in vain.

Digitization of financial processes

Competent management of financial flows is the key to business success. Now the old sales channels (calls, email newsletters) are losing their positions, new ones are appearing - for example, sales through the Telegram channel. It is important to keep track of which budgets are unscrewed in different channels, how much profit each brings, which work better for new customers, and which work better for repeat customers.

By digitizing financial processes, you will be able to upload reports at any time, analyze costs and adjust your financial strategy. The reports will help you understand which channels can be abandoned, and which ones should be intensively developed, where the most significant monetary losses occur, and how they can be reduced.

How to introduce technology into your business

The simplest option that will allow you to use digital data in practice is to create Excel tables for financial analytics, tracking user paths and CRM management. Further, if you have seriously decided to implement technologies, you can go one of three ways:

• Development of own software

If your company has proven developers, or you have a competent IT team in mind, you can go this way. It is the longest and most expensive, but you will get exactly the software that your company needs. But it is worth noting that it will still need to be maintained and adjusted — your company must have a specialist for this. Developing your own software is suitable for large companies with specific requests and high security requirements.

• Implementation of a ready-made service

There are many ready-made solutions on the market that will help both cope with individual requests and create an entire ecosystem. In most cases, companies that are just starting the digitalization process do not need to create their own expensive software — experienced IT specialists will help cover all needs with ready-made services. The only point is that after the introduction of sanctions, some software is not available on the territory of the Russian Federation, but still the choice remains large. It's easier with support — each service has its own specialists who will solve any questions that arise.

• Using a cloud service

A cloud solution is the fastest way to implement an IT infrastructure. To deploy IT solutions in the cloud, you do not need to buy additional servers or configure equipment. Everything is done very quickly, and the tools themselves do not take up physical space. The only point is that all your data will be in the cloud, and in case of force majeure, you may lose access to them. Therefore, you need to choose proven services and take care of an uninterrupted Internet.