Propositions, Property and Proptech

I once went to a restaurant in the south of France which had been described online as ‘a tranquil, al fresco dining experience, with stunning views and celebrated cuisine.’ What I actually ‘enjoyed’ was a burnt pizza, under a tarpaulin, in someone’s back garden whilst I watched their dog defecate next to my car.

Descriptions need to be both accurate and enticing. Fail to nail a proposition and you can either bore someone to death, or seriously disappoint them in the long run as they realise they’ve been mis-sold. Get them right however, and you can intrigue, build trustworthiness, and sell, sell, sell to the customer.

In a world where first impressions are everything, this stuff really matters. It’s why if you head to our website, you’ll see that a core part of the Bloxspring offer is helping proptech firms with their proposition. Why? Well, proptech firms (not all) often make one critical mistake when it comes to talking about what they do: they talk too much tech…bear with me.

To those immersed in the product and who have wrestled to add features and functionality over painstaking months and years, it feels logical to promote the technical capabilities of a solution. However, the reality is that whilst the property industry is evolving, the average buyer of a proptech product is still comparatively technologically inexperienced. Your API framework may have become more dear to you than your own children, but your buyers care much more about other things…

Proptech firms have to understand that their customers care much more about the ‘what do we get’ than the ‘how do we get it’. I care much more that my iPhone gives me access to people, information and the world, than the thousands of background processes taking place to make that happen. Property companies care about the bottom line. They care about rent, asset value uplift, and their reputation. The end is more important than the means. That’s not to say that the means doesn’t matter — it really does — but it’s the second half of your messaging, not the first.

Launching into a confusing product overview without first making clear what the ROI is for the buyer, is to get your proposition the wrong way round. Property players don’t need your solution because of how it works. Fundamentally, they need it because of what it achieves.