The current Covid-19 crisis has impacted local businesses in every imaginable facet, from reduced foot traffic in stores to reservations about interacting closely with other people.
Real estate, with its strong emphasis on person-to-person interactions and key dependence on networking, seems to be logically-poised to be at high risk from economic fallout.
However, Engel & Völkers by the Sea real estate has taken this challenge in stride, effectively taking this as an opportunity to embrace business processes of the future.
Kristin Francoeur, Global Advisor for EV by the Sea, has adopted various technologically-based approaches in order to not only maintain business growth in the present, but also to set the brokerage group up for success in the future.
House showings are now conducted with gloves and masks, and the EV by the Sea team uses state-of-the-art software and virtual reality tours as some of various ways in which they have been able to continue business despite Covid-19.
Specifically, virtual reality (VR) tours are an incredible leap forward both with regard to business during quarantine and business for the future. VR tours will be a true boon, for they will allow clients to experience a home from anywhere.
Changes are not limited to in-person processes, however. Francoeur has employed the full extent of social media resources to connect more effectively with clients.
Social media marketing is becoming a key focal point. EV by the Sea is employing social media in order to support local businesses, and #TakeoutThursday posts on Instagram are shown to have higher levels of engagement - in essence, it is becoming a way for the community to come together.
Francoeur’s Website has had the addition of a new Covid-19 response page with crucial local, state, and federal info provided to the community. There is also a blog, with weekly blog posts about certain activities that families can engage in to stay active and productive during these difficult times.
Despite many challenges and setbacks, Kristin Francoeur and her EV by the Sea team are pressing on, with positive results. In this year’s March-May transaction season, 18 properties were sold, as opposed to last year’s 15 properties - defying the odds and flourishing even during a pandemic.
Francoeur calls it “pivoting our business into power,” no matter the obstacles.
