Zoopla in multi-million pound software shake-up for agents

Zoopla is today unveiling what it calls “a new direction” for its software division and the creation of “market-leading agency CRM software”.

It’s setting high standards, with a launch statement promising it will “benefit thousands of estate agency customers and millions of consumers” and enable agents “to reach more  customers than ever in less time.”

The new strategy has been spearheaded by Zoopla’s new Head of Product for Software and Productivity, Carl Olivier, who says the firm has spent months researching and analysing what agents want and need. 

The launch statement says: “The strategy will see Zoopla place more emphasis on product development that addresses the full property lifecycle to unlock value for agents and their customers through smart automation, proactive systems and intelligent workflows. 

“New tools and features will help to maximise the efficiency and productivity of agents, enabling access to business-critical information while in the field or out of the office, and assisting agents with their awareness of certain regulatory compliance procedures.”

Zoopla says that as this strategy is implemented, key product updates will be released in the coming months to help agents immediately realise the benefits. 

“This multi-year strategy will see the eventual consolidation of Zoopla’s existing software products into one market leading, mobile enabled service. Zoopla’s full suite of existing software solutions will continue until then, with full support and system and functionality updates rolled out as required” the firm says.

Charlie Bryant, managing director of Zoopla, says:“This strategy allows us to realise our ambitions for our software business following our successful acquisitions of Property Software Group in 2016 and Expert Agent in 2017 … Following ongoing engagement with our agent customers and the gathering of their feedback, we are investing heavily in technologies that will enable a truly hybrid property lifecycle.”

He adds that the new software strategy will give agents the power of disruptive online and mobile technologies resulting in an improvement in the quality of leads, plus efficiencies for their businesses.

“As part of this investment, we are committed to supporting our existing agent software platforms. Nearly 10,000 agents rely on Zoopla software products to run their businesses day-to-day and we will ensure continuous improvement of these products to help them run their agencies every day” he concludes.