An interview with Chris Boorman, Head of Product Development and co-creator of Insight, The Digital Property Group’s research and analysis toolkit.

Chris, for those who are yet to use Insight, please tell us a little more about it.

Insight was designed to provide all estate agents with the tools to track their media spend, build relationships with their existing customers, and hand them the data to secure new ones.

It was introduced to position an agent as the local expert, which includes being able to compare their performance versus their local competitors.

In short, Insight was designed to help agents increase instructions and transactions.

What was the reason for creating it?

Put simply, to offer all agents the same level of analysis and reporting as the UK’s major agents rely upon. That’s one reason why it’s free – we want our agents to use it and help us develop it so that it becomes an indispensable tool and part of their daily routine. So we’ve got pretty high expectations!

How actively is it being used by estate agents?

To date, we’ve had 12,000 (Intellitracker) agents use Insight since it launched in January – it’s an impressive start but we’re keen to keep building our user numbers.

Which features are the most popular and why?

We’ve noticed that initially the most popular features were the lead tracking elements, so ‘My Properties’, ‘My Email Enquiries’ and ‘My Phone Enquiries’. Interestingly, features such as ‘Valuation Assistant’ have become more popular as users familiarise themselves with the software, learn what it can do, and and focus on what’s of most use to them.

What would your tip for using it be?

I would spend a little bit of time investigating Insight to realise the maximum benefit of the software. For example, ‘Property and Area Demand’ shows you exactly what home buyers and renters are looking for within your local area and how that compares to your portfolio and that of your competitors.

From a portfolio development point of view, it shows exactly the type of property you should be pitching for. From a customer acquisition standpoint, if you’re performing particularly well for a certain type of property, say 2 bed apartments, and you are trying to secure a new instruction from a vendor with exactly that property – you can run a report to demonstrate your local dominance.

That’s just one example – I’ve lots more!

What’s the most recent addition to Insight?

There are a quite few, but the one I feel is most significant is the valuation assistant for rental properties. It’s ideal when trying to secure a new instruction or negotiate with an existing landlord.

Click here to see the article on the ‘Valuation Assistant’ for rental properties.

What are the future plans for the product?

Naturally, we’ve got quite a few. Insight is a long-term project and will grow and evolve in line with the demands of our agents. We’ve a team of developers working daily on this, so we’re fully committed to the project.

Lastly, if an estate agent has any ideas or suggestions about new additions to Insight, what should they do?

Email me – chris.boorman@tdpg.com!