Balmforth Estate Agents
Press Start Ltd Helps Estate Agents Streamline Operations and Increase it’s Market Share to 75%
Balmforth Estate Agents
Mildenhall, Suffolk
Suffolk-based estate agent Balmforth is a comprehensive sales and letting agency, employing 22 staff to provide a range of services, including valuations, auction advice, property consulting, virtual tours, and many others.
Balmforth has been established in Mildenhall, Suffolk, for over 20 years, offering a mix of residential and commercial sales and lettings services. In a competitive market, there is a premium on offering a high standard of customer service, whether it be responding to inquiries from the website or over the phone, or helping its clients in the end-to-end process of buying, selling, managing, or renting a property.
Balmforth turned to Press Start Ltd to help streamline, optimise, and support its IT operations to help support the growth of its dynamic business. While a robust IT service is central to delivering a high-quality service, it also needs to be cost-effective, predictable, transparent, and fully meet the needs of the business.
We sat down with Robert Lewis, Managing Partner at Balmforth, to discuss how investing in IT drove market growth through the pandemic.
Services Used
- Managed IT Support
- Managed Cybersecurity
The Challenge
Delivering a High-Quality IT Support Service, Cost Effectively
While IT has always been core to Balmforth’s day-to-day operations, its reliance on highly available systems has grown over the years, to the point where Robert Lewis, Balmforth’s Managing Partner, describes it as ‘one of the most important aspects of the business.’
However, in the past, Balmforth has struggled to find the ideal support model that worked well for its management and staff. With a limited headcount, it could not justify hiring a full time employee to provide the 24/7 support it needed. Balmforth had experimented with someone who could come onsite as required, but that didn’t guarantee the level of service they needed, with staff split across two sites and one employee based in North America. Equally, larger service providers were a disappointment too, as Balmforth found them both expensive and inflexible.
Other service providers were reluctant to support when it came to third-party applications, which was frustrating for Balmforth’s management team looking for an end-to-end IT support service.
Managing the cost of IT Support
Another challenge was managing the cost of an IT support service. While the Balmforth management team was deeply knowledgeable about running an Estate Agent, it was far less familiar with understanding its IT needs and was concerned about the potential of buying expensive systems that the company wouldn’t fully utilise, with costs potentially spiralling out of control.
Following a recommendation from a fellow Estate Agent, Balmforth engaged Press Start to see if they could provide the quality of service that Robert and his senior managers wanted for the business.
The Solution
Seeing the true cost of Managed IT Support: Adapting to Remote Work and Pandemic Challenges
The COVID Pandemic in 2020 meant that a lot of businesses had to unfortunately shut down and stop trading. Unlike many of their competitors and solicitors who shut the doors and put the phones on hold, with the support of Press Start, Balmforth were able to continue operating under strictly controlled COVID conditions and the rules set out by the government for rental properties.
The level of understanding Press Start had about Balmforth as a business including their way of working and their IT infrastructure meant they were able to seamlessly move to fully support remote working within 24 hours.
This resulted in an increase in Balmforth’s market share from 45% to 75% and they are still reaping the rewards today.
A Fully Defined IT Support Service Model With Flexibility Built-In
Press Start’s initial conversations with Balmforth focused on understanding the type of support the business needed. While the use of technology was widespread across the company, it was also clear that the rate of change was limited, which allowed Press Start to propose a defined service model that covered the key support requirements. This involved delivering a remote service but with the option for Press Start staff to come onsite, if necessary.
This approach ensured a base level of service that Press Start could commit to delivering for a defined cost, allowing Balmforth’s management to be confident in managing their cost base.
Technology Strategy Meetings were also scheduled to review the overall service and identify specific issues that needed to be addressed, whether driven by changes in the business or by technology developments which allowed Balmforth managers to understand and discuss key developments and initiatives to meet priorities and budgets.
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