Understanding the human element of business

At Agorafy we have built our platform at the intersection of real estate and technology, the two industries we know best. Our years of collective experience as real estate professionals gives us a unique perspective into providing value to our clients and the role that empathy plays in the process. Empathy is the ability for a professional to truly put themselves in their client's position, so they can better understand their motivations and their fears. To recognize that they are human and all that comes with it. Your clients are always human. It's this understanding of the human element of business and servicing clients that we bring to Agorafy. The idea that technology can be used to promote face to face interaction and help build symbiotic relationships, not replace them. The real estate industry is built on the strength of relationships, the stronger the connection between professionals and their clients the better the service and results. Many technology companies seek to disrupt or replace these relationships, not build and strengthen them. Agorafy believes that real estate professionals have to connect with their clients more often, build and maintain closer relationships, and obtain a clearer understanding of their client's situation. By building our platform's foundation on transparency we give real estate professionals the opportunity to better educate their clients, and spend more time with them building trust, rather than going out retrieving market data. Many tech companies have forgotten that they sell to actual people and that their needs and motivations are all unique. They attempt to provide value to users by solving the majority of users' problems one specific way in the hope that everyone will assimilate to their model, we don't think this is the right approach. Agorafy realizes that real estate professionals are better suited to service their individual client's needs than any one piece of technology or website. With this in mind we continue to build our platform to provide value for the market as a whole, with a specific focus on real estate brokers, agents, and management companies so they can increase their value and provide a tailored service to their clients. We provide real estate professionals with access to all market data, even some that may be outside of their area of concentration. We believe that this helps educate all market participants and cultivates flexibility from professionals. The greater the access to information; the more educated the client, and the more knowledgeable and responsive a professional can be when working toward that client's goals. Although we pride ourselves on detailed and accurate market data we understand that it is only one step in the transactional process. Too much reliance on data and analytics by professionals when working with their clients can make the relationship thin and too impersonal. Agorafy's data collection methodology in many ways mirrors the process professionals must develop, the blending of man and machine. Agorafy utilizes proprietary methods for automated data collection and then involves the human element with our data team performing further research if necessary, verification and review before publishing on our site. Real estate professionals must take the same approach in sourcing their market data and then applying the information in servicing their clients' specific needs. Our team does much of the leg work for them freeing them up to provide personalized service, spend more time showing space and building a connection. By promoting direct contact and face to face interaction we look to help professionals obtain a level of insight into their client's needs which is unattainable through email or over the phone. To shake your client or potential tenants hand, show them available space, and build a genuine connection, there is nothing more valuable in this industry. Richard Du is the founder and CEO of Agorafy, New York, N.Y.