What the death of Blackberry can teach u

The news of the death of the Blackberry last week, saddened us. It felt a lot like the end of an era and, in that respect, quite nostalgic. It also felt a little “unjust” that a pioneering company, who were once at the forefront of an innovative product, lost out to competition.

BlackBerry devices running the original operating system and services will no longer be supported after 4th January 2022. This marks the end of an era for the device that made popular mobile working.

BlackBerry devices and their physical keyboards were once the go-to mobile device for professionals keeping up with emails and younger people messaging on its proprietary platform (BBM). The company’s appeal diminished, as handsets with larger displays, better graphics and wider app offerings took over the market.

In an ever changing business world, where it is no longer a surprise, to see once household names go out of business, what can it teach us about running our own property businesses and how can we learn from others’ mistakes?

Here are some thoughts and considerations, to keep you ahead of the competition:

Landlords should treat their property businesses as a business

Far too often we see landlords who do not comply with regulations, or do not keep proper accounts or observe basic duty of care protocols with their tenants. This inevitably gets them into hot water. The phrase “accidental landlord” does not imply that carelessness is “ok”, it really isn’t! At a time when, regulations and compliance get heavier and more numerous, seemingly daily, in the private rental sector, it is now, more than ever, crucial to educate and professionalise as a landlord, keep up to date on changing legislation and, ensure that those you partner with are up to date too – because it’s your name on the title deeds and the buck stops with you!

Remember who your customers are

This is the same in any business, not just property, but it is surprising how many business owners make this fundamental error. In the Private Rental Sector, if you are a Landlord, then your customers are tenants. During lockdown, we were shocked (and we don’t use that word lightly) at the, often, huge divide between landlords and tenants.

Sometimes that divide was more of a chasm! As letting agents, we regularly found ourselves in the middle of disputes, facilitating communication between two sides who could no longer rationally and reasonably communicate with each other. On a human, interpersonal, level, this is bad enough but, on a business level, to put it bluntly, it’s really bad for business. As a landlord, remember, “it’s business.” As an inherently people-centric profession, being a landlord can all too often mean getting caught up in emotions, taking things personally and being dragged into the day to day “tit for tat” but it’s important not to let that happen. If things start to feel all too personal, then it’s time to give yourself some distance and think about partnering with someone to do the communicating for you. Nothing is ever gained by allowing things to get too personal, out of hand and letting emotions override common sense – know when to step away.

Who is the end user of your product (In this case your property)

By this we mean, who is your tenant type? The chances are that you will not be living in your investment property, so why decorate it for yourself? We have seen some landlords with polarising and bizarre decorative styles, come to us because they have properties that they cannot let or which are proving hard to let, even in buoyant markets such as Bristol. After a good look around and a rental appraisal, there is nothing for it but to advise that they go back to the drawing board and get out the paint tin and roller brush! We have also seen landlords who cannot understand why tenants wouldn’t want to pay a high premium for things like – newspaper deliveries, grocery deliveries, libraries and private healthcare. Don’t make the mistake of believing that just because something is important to you or, to your taste, that it will be desirable to your tenants.

The overspend

Differentiation, especially in a highly competitive market, is key. However, know the difference between differentiation, adding value, creating a buzz and an overspend which doesn’t make financial sense. Know your market, know your competition and understand what represents real value and desirability. All too often, especially in these days of “trial by social media” landlords overspend on things which will not see a payback. The best example of this is boutique HMOs, which look beautiful in pictures on social media but, where it is immediately evident that too much money has been spent on things that will not add commensurate value or, expensive fixtures and fittings have been used which are simply inappropriate for the tenant type.

In summary

Know your clients, and in property, each tenant type represents a different client; know your competition and understand what your clients want, don’t want, how your competition are providing this and what you can do to be one step ahead. Don’t get led by the crowd – a good example of this is “all ensuite HMOs” – just because some of your competition provide this, doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole market demands it – do your figures, does the extra rental that an ensuite will provide, mean that it makes financial sense for you to provide this for every room? Do non - ensuite rooms let in your area? Is this likely to change? How will an all ensuite property affect your exit or Council Tax banding?

Don’t be like poor Blackberry (And all the others who came before them) – keep your eyes on the market, your clients, the competition and make changes or innovate as and when required. Remember that in business, you evolve or you die!