JUNE 2014 marks a time of celebration at Jackson Grundy. The local company celebrates 20 years of trading and helping people move into, out of and around Northamptonshire. “We have seen many changes over the past 20 years” comments David Jackson, Managing Director. “Changes in the housing market, the wider economy, the political landscape, and, perhaps most noticeably, the ways in which we market our properties and our company. When we first opened it was all about local newspaper advertising. We didn’t have a website, email addresses, social media or any of the property portals.
JUNE 2014 marks a time of celebration at Jackson Grundy. The local company celebrates 20 years of trading and helping people move into, out of and around Northamptonshire. “We have seen many changes over the past 20 years” comments David Jackson, Managing Director. “Changes in the housing market, the wider economy, the political landscape, and, perhaps most noticeably, the ways in which we market our properties and our company. When we first opened it was all about local newspaper advertising. We didn’t have a website, email addresses, social media or any of the property portals. Customers searched for properties in a very different way to how they do now”. These observations are of course supported by statistics.
According to ‘Hitwise’ around 80% of house hunters now use the web to start their search for property, with approximately 1% of all internet traffic in the UK being property related. “Clearly most, if not all estate agents, advertise their properties with the major property portals” states Nick Rees, Group Marketing Manager. “It is now an essential part of what we do, however, as such we are always looking for new and innovative ways to further promote our service and the properties of our clients. We believe if used correctly, that social media can be a very effective tool for increasing interest in our brand and more importantly in our listed properties. It helps us better understand and engage with our customers. We have even used it to decide our ‘Charities of the Year’ for 2014”. Alongside their use of social media, Jackson Grundy have invested significantly into the bespoke design of their website as well as a mobile phone site and property blog. Despite the ever evolving way in which estate agents conduct their marketing Mr Jackson is confident about the most crucial aspect of his company’s service and its resulting success – his employees. “You can invest as much money as you like into marketing and technology, but if our staff did not help and engage with our customers in the correct way then it would all be for nothing” comments Mr Jackson. “I am very proud of our staff and service levels which we all work very hard to maintain”. It is not only service standards that are high at Jackson Grundy it is also the levels of experience. On average the managers benefit from 16 years working within the industry. “We have always encouraged the development of young, talented individuals, however we feel it is essential to balance this with high levels of experience in every branch. After all in most price negotiation scenarios, significant amounts of money are involved.
Knowledge of how best to handle these situations can be critical to both buyer and seller” claims Mr Jackson. “…not only in relation to the price but also in helping to ensure the smooth progression of the sale through to completion. Our low turnover of staff also enables us to offer our clients continuity and consistency of advice”.
The Northamptonshire based company have expanded to 11 sales branches and 2 residential lettings branches since 1994. This year will see the opening of their 14th branch within the Weston Favell Shopping Centre. “We are keen to widen our coverage on the eastern side of town and provide residents of the area with a conveniently situated local office” states David Lewis, Director. “We have always been effective at selling homes on that side of town but just wanted to further improve our service to local sellers”. In line with Jackson Grundy’s 20th year celebrations, David Jackson and fellow Directors are keen to thank many individuals and companies for their help and support over the years. Mr Jackson comments “As many people will know any company is only as strong as its staff, associates and business partners. The housing market has seen both prosperous and very difficult times for estate agents. However, our staff have always worked extremely hard to achieve results for our clients and have shown great loyalty to the company through the hard times, or this we are extremely grateful. I would also like to thank all of our business associates and partners who have supplied products and services to us over the years. We have always tried to maintain longstanding relationships and where possible support other local businesses. As I have mentioned before it is not only important to me that this company is successful, it is of equal importance that we continue to achieve that success in the correct manner” states Mr Jackson. Further thanks are reserved for all Jackson Grundy’s customers of the past 20 years. “We are never complacent about our position in the market. We are aware that home sellers have a large selection of estate agents to choose from. Of course we invest great time, effort and expertise in ensuring that our service is of the greatest appeal to our customers, however, we never take it for granted” explains David Jackson. “We are very grateful for the past, present and future business of all of our customers. They entrust us with their greatest asset and we recognise that responsibility and act accordingly. We go to great efforts to never allow our staff to become blasé or immune to some of the emotions involved with the selling of property.
We make sure we offer our knowledge and advice in an appropriate and empathetic manner, never forgetting that it can be a sensitive time for many of our customers.”