Is your MLS getting the most out of your investment in an MLS tax platform? There’s never been a more important time to leverage property data features and mapping capabilities that can help buyers and sellers while in-person experiences are limited—or off the table entirely.
1. Improve adoption through building awareness.
Often, the largest obstacle to adoption is lack of awareness among your membership.
“Agents will sometimes call us up with questions about tax records,” says Denise Mecseji, MLS Manager with Great Plains Regional MLS (GPRMLS), an organization that offers CRS Data’s MLS Tax Suite. “I tell them to try the CRS Data icon. They get excited and say they wish they had known about it earlier.”
CRS Data offers pre-written communications about the MLS Tax Suite, like platform updates, flyers, and more that they can easily share. All communication can be distributed digitally.
2. Offer webinars in place of in-person training.
In-person training is one of the best ways to get your members using the tax platform that your organization provides. In lieu of these events, consider swapping with a webinar that still allows members to ask questions and interact with the trainer. CRS Data makes webinars available so members can interact in real time. The sales team is reaching out to MLS customers to schedule online trainings.
3. Leverage phone and online support solutions.
How well an agent or broker understands your tax product influences how often they use it. While in-person support is not an option, be sure to share digital tools available, such as online video tutorials and a responsive help page.
CRS Data, for example, provides a toll-free HelpDesk at no cost to users.
“It’s always gotten positive reviews from our members,” says Cristancho. “Agents will tell us, ‘You weren’t around, so I called the CRS Data HelpDesk and they were really positive and helpful.'”
4. Make sure your tax product meets member needs, without upselling.
What unique needs does your region face and how do the products you offer meet those needs? Cristancho underlines how important it is that a product doesn’t make users feel like they’re only interested in their wallet.
“Our agents are happy that they don’t have to pay for upgrades. They’re always commiserating that other solutions make them pay money for upgrades.”
5. Rely on usage data to identify strengths and weaknesses.
Last year, CRS Data launched a dashboard where MLSs can view a variety of usage statistics.
“It shows our members’ most-used features, login stats, lets us slice and dice usage numbers from the past week, or use custom date ranges,” says Cristancho.
“It helps us understand adoption rates, how training events or communications affect adoption,” says Mecseji. The dashboard also identifies an MLS’s top 10 users. “Knowing who the top 10 users are helps us know which members we can rely on to be influencers and spread the word.”
To learn more about CRS Data, visit www.CRSData.com.
