Disruption is a natural part of commerce, whether it be local or in the much wider macro-economic sense, there are always going to be disruptive factors to tackle, respond to, or overcome.
Unless you're operating a cartel, business is open to competitors with new (and old) ways of performing the work you do and with their own ambitions for market share and growth. We should get used to it - the day you're not working in a market which is being disrupted is probably the day when that market shuts up shop.
Unless you've had your head buried in the sand for the last 12 months or so, it's been possible to see market disruption in the agency portal world at first hand with the innovation and subsequent launch of OnTheMarket. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, it will be obvious to all that the impact of this new portal has or will be significant.
Regardless of how well it is doing and the market prattle that has built up around its launch; it has certainly both preached and practiced its disruption. Competitors have had to respond and, you would hope, ultimately that will make for a better portal experience for both agents and consumers.
Market disruption of this type is not off limits to you as a local agency, or the larger operators across the UK. Given the positive state of the property market, and the opportunities that exist moving into the future, you can expect a growing number of new entrants to attempt to make their mark.
If you're a new business, or even if you are established, the opportunity to disrupt the local marketplace always exists. I was certainly reminded of this at our recent annual conference held earlier this month at London's Soho hotel.
To see so many new franchise owners attending one of our events for the first time was not just a moment of pride for our team but there was a tangible sense of excitement from the owners about the impact they could have, with our backing, in their local marketplaces.
There are of course a number of ways you can achieve this and it's not just about under-cutting rivals but about going the extra mile, offering a fresh service, developing a house style', opening unique premises, etc. The list goes on.
At our own conference we heard about how some agencies are offering guaranteed rental income to landlord clients -this obviously demands some form of cash flow funding but can help to develop strong relationships with those landlords looking for additional security or stability.
At the same time, managed correctly the agency can secure a premium management fee for this work and the outlay can be justified and readily recovered. There was also a discussion around how agents can support landlords further, introducing access to specialist financing which might not be so widely available.
All in all, there was a real and encouraging focus on how agencies can promote their propositions, and provide services and products, which are either markedly different from their local competitors or delivering a service level far in excess of what is currently available.
To that end, agencies should certainly not hide their light under a bushel because the chances are that the next agency/office off the rank, not to mention existing and mature competitors, will not be shy in making their differentiation known.
The advice is to understand the market, understand the clients, develop a strategy, move quickly and move decisively; disruption will then surely lead to your success.
*Rob Clifford is Chief Executive of CENTURY 21 UK, part of Shepherd Direct
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