Time for the industry to change focus

What comes after PropTech?

That’s why the next digital shift should be less about the building and more about the customer.

An important question to ask

The real estate industry has made an impressive digital journey with what’s known as PropTech. Buildings have become connected, data has moved into the building, and processes can be measured, controlled and automated.

But there is one part of the real estate business that hasn’t seen the same digital development: the customer relationship.

Which is actually strange. Because, let’s be honest:

Where does your revenue actually come from? The building or the customer?

While the building has had a digital upgrade, customer information is often still scattered across different disconnected systems. Treated as a side issue to the building, rather than a central part of the business.

That means many companies know their buildings inside out, but have a much weaker understanding of their customers. Even though it’s the customer who signs the contract, pays the rent, buys additional services, renews and recommends.

And who can choose a competitor if they’re not happy.

A smarter way to work

Turn that around and make the customer the hub of the system, and something else happens. The person responsible for the customer can see what happens after the deal. The property manager can see what was promised when the lease was signed. The customer doesn’t have to start from scratch. And management gets a clearer view of what’s coming next.

With the customer at the centre, the whole business gets stronger.

This isn’t just about happier customers. The customer relationship affects the business every single day, from revenue to efficiency. Yet it hasn’t received the same digital investment as the building. We think it’s time to change that.

Rasmus Hjärt HansenDelivery Manager for Real Estate at Lime

A smiling man with short brown hair and a beard, wearing a blue jacket over a white shirt, in an office setting with green plants in the background.

Long history

For 35 years, we’ve been working with customer relationships, including 15 years focused specifically on customer journeys in the real estate industry. Putting the customer at the centre of the business has always been our starting point.

That’s why we’ve also built our real estate platform around the customer relationship, from the very first contact to the long-term business relationship.

The industry has, to some extent, digitalised the customer relationship. But why has it never received the same hype as PropTech? Where are the trade shows, seminars and predictions about how technology can transform the relationship?

Daniel MarkovicHead of Real Estate at Lime

Property Technology → relationship technology

We call it RelTech

The term is new. The idea isn’t. For us, it’s a fitting description of what we’ve always worked with: putting the customer relationship at the centre through smart technology, and making both the customer journey and the business stronger.

The real estate industry has already proved that it can digitalise quickly and at scale. Now it’s time to direct that same energy towards the customer relationship.

Because the customer isn’t just part of the real estate business.

The customer is the business.

And that’s why RelTech has to be what comes after PropTech.