A coffee with Guy Mordaunt from Property Brokers
Manawatu Businesses are used to hearing Tim Mordaunt “the voice of Property Brokers” on the Radio.
Guy Mordaunt is Tim Mordaunt's son and the Marketing Manager at Property Brokers head office found right here in Manawatu.
Who is Guy Mordaunt and what is your role?
After being overseas for 14 years travelling and working in places like the United Kingdom, Ireland, Holland, Barbados and Australia for the last two years I decided it was time to come back to Manawatu and get my teeth into the real estate industry. I came in as a Sales Consultant, and after 18 months or so moved into my current role as Marketing Manager.
You can see Guy's profile here http://www.guymordaunt.com/about-me/
For those who may not know Property Brokers – can you explain what Property Brokers is all about?
We are a provincial based real estate organisation servicing regional New Zealand. We are leaders in the residential, commercial, rural and property management sectors, and proud of being number one in our patch. Fiercely local, our people live in and support the communities they operate and we are committed to see regional New Zealand thrive.
Our point of difference is that we are community driven, locally owned and really vested in the communities we live and work in. One of the things that just blows me away is that Tim (who started the company) still has his phone number listed publicly on company material and if anyone rings to talk to him, as the head of the business, he answers the phone himself. Not bad when you consider he is heading up a business with 22 offices in the North Island and 8 in the South Island.
We all know about the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and the impact on lending and mortgages. Property Brokers seem to have grown through this time – what are you doing differently?
The reputation we’ve developed by looking after our clients over the last 26 years has served us well. During the GFC when people have been under pressure and financial stress, they like to deal with people and a brand that they know they can trust to look after them and their interests. We have an enormous amount of great people and when things get tough they work harder, which helps the company, but more importantly our customers and clients.
Palmerston North Personnel regularly work with people who are new to the region and seeking employment in Manawatu. Have Property brokers noticed any trends on people moving in/out of the region?
Not particularly. It would still be nice to see the town retain some of the high quality young people that tend to gravitate towards Auckland and Wellington. This town has everything to offer and we have a lot of fantastic local companies that are growing, succeeding and can offer a great career path.
Our Client Manager has been watching the Real Estate industry for years and seen the Real Estate agents and consultants taking up blogging, Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles, developing App’s for buyers and using personal websites. What is Property Brokers doing in the face of rapidly changing technology in your industry?
We are investing huge amounts of time and money into ensuring we are at the head of the industry in terms of technology. Our CMS, website, iPad app and hardware are all being developed to improve the consumer experience. Real Estate is a people business so we do not want to remove the face to face element of it but we want to harness technology to make our people’s lives easier so they can provide a better service to the public.
Palmerston North Personnel work with great people every day. What are traits of a highly productive “connected” employee at Property Brokers?
A good person. We print out values on the back of our business cards and take them very seriously so expect our people do the same. Property Brokers people have huge motors, work incredibly hard, and go the extra mile . Some of the agents put in 90/100 hours a week. Property Brokers people are fun, local, loyal and committed.
Property Brokers seems to have a strong online presence, an active radio presence, highly visible in print and now TV too. As the Marketing Manager, how do you track and measure the effectiveness of such a diverse marketing mix?
Web analytics are fantastic. As a lot of our media and print advertising is designed to lead people to our website the huge amount of statistical data available is incredibly useful for analysing success. We survey customers and consumers, as well as tracking trends so we can deliver what the market wants.
What advice would you give to Manawatu businesses about their online profiles and communication with their customers?
Ensure what you are doing is helping your customers, therefore benefiting your company. Lots of companies are investing large amounts of money and more importantly time into social media “just because”. In the end, they shift their focus off the most important people into their business.
What recommendations or advice would you have for individuals wanting to buy/sell in the current property market?
The GFC has made money and resale value a much bigger issue than it ever was before. A house is much more than a product. It is your home. So buy the property you want (and can afford) even if it means paying a little bit more. Things are clichés for a reason; “you buy and sell in the same market” still holds true. We have a comparably stable property market here in the Manawatu, interest rates are low so if you are in the market it is a great time.
And what are your predictions for communication technology and office software for 2012 / 2013?
Integration. Products, software and devices are all talking to each other and continuing along these trends technology will continue to remove boundaries and processes over the next year.
The venue:
Joes Garage Palmerston North
