Ground breaking new website leads the way for property industry

Andrews officially launched its ground-breaking new website to the public on 16th March 2011 at a special event at Reading’s Madejski Stadium.

The new Andrews website launchesThe new site as it appears on an iPad.

 
The new andrewsonline.co.uk will change the way that customers think about the property industry, putting the user experience at the forefront. The site combines the best technology from other industries to create a site that is truly interactive, putting all the information and control at customers’ fingertips.

The launch event marked the culmination of two years’ extensive customer research, feedback and development carried out by Andrews to create a truly unique website which focuses on enhancing the customer experience. The site boasts a number of innovative features for the industry, including:

  • The ability to book valuations, viewings and make an offer online in real-time
  • A customised user experience based on real wants and needs
  • Contextual selling and information based on a customers' online journey
  • Local community and neighbourhood information
  • Fully integrated with a bespoke back-office system, developed internally by Andrews' IT team to provide optimum opportunity for two-way interaction online.

“I can say with absolute confidence that the new Andrews website is one of the best agency websites in terms of functionality and usability, and this is due in large part to the time that we dedicated to understanding the customer journey and what customers want from an agents’ site” says Ronda Green, Marketing & Customer Services Director for Andrews.

“The site will give us a sizable competitive advantage, as we will be offering customers an intuitive, user-friendly and personal online experience that is currently unavailable in the property sector” adds Ronda.

“This has been a huge investment, but is a vital step in ensuring that we future-proof the business and drive the industry forward, something that we at Andrews have been firmly committed to throughout our 65 years in business” says Andrews’ Group Chief Executive Michael Robson. “I am immensely proud of the Andrews team who have pulled this together in-house, and firmly believe that the interactivity offered by our new site is indicative of where the future of the property industry is heading”.

Recognising and acting upon advancements in technology has been integral to the development of the new site, with Andrews using the internal resources from its dedicated IT team to produce a website that provides real, tangible benefit to the customer.

“The new site plays a major role in our long term strategy of integrating technology to enhance the service that we offer to our customers, by providing greater levels of interactivity” says Andy Ferrington, IT Director of Andrews.

“It has been our intention throughout the development process to use technology effectively to drive the industry forward, ultimately delivering a better property experience to our customers” says Andy. “With over 80% of our current search engine traffic coming from people searching for our name or agents in a particular area, SEO development was a key focus throughout the build. By changing the architecture of the site, this ensures that a customer searching via a portal for something specific in an area in which we have a branch will be directed to the relevant page within the Andrews site.

Similarly, the technology attached to the website allows us to build up a profile of our customers, by accurately recording information, interests and the property history of our customers to ensure that, as a business, we can sell products and services based on actual consumer behaviour”.

For the site, Andrews’ internal IT team worked closely with Bristol creative agency 3Sixty on the design and architecture of the new website. Jon Waring, the Creative Director at 3Sixty, said: “3Sixty’s challenge was to create an online experience for Andrews that exceeded the already high expectations around customer service.

Working with an Estate Agency isn't a new experience for 3Sixty, however, what was new to us was working with a business that understood the importance of the user experience and an internal IT department that not only met, but on numerous occasions exceeded our exacting standards.

We are particularly proud that the collective vision of a usable website that reflects Andrews’ strong heritage of customer service in the real world is now reflected in the online world.

Our user experience research and design process unearthed valuable insight into how people use online to buy, sell, rent and let homes. Coupled with Andrews’ determination to deliver a best in class website for both customers and staff – we believe the result will transform Andrews’ online presence and position them as leaders in the industry.”

The new website offers the national presence and resources of a large agent, whilst also delivering a targeted and tailored service to customers that reflects the activity in their local area, supported with a wealth of information to assist with a diverse range of property needs.

A short video explaining the features and benefits of the new andrewsonline can be seen here.

 

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