Why data beats assumptions – building insight into every decision: MMC Research X iamproperty

Pictured from left to right, are Vicki Shouksmith, MMC Research director of research and operations; Natasha McDonough, MMC Research founder and chief executive; and Michele Gettins, iamproperty chief marketing officer

MMC Research
www.mmc.agency
LinkedIn: MMC Research

iamproperty
www.iamproperty.com
LinkedIn: iamproperty

Pictures: Andrew Lowe

From product launches to acquisitions, Gosforth-based property tech organisation iamproperty has embedded customer insight across its business thanks to a long-running partnership with MMC Research.

Here, the Sunderland-based strategic research firm’s Natasha McDonough and Vicki Shouksmith team up with iamproperty’s Michele Gettins to explain how data-led decision-making is shaping strategy, growth and customer experience.

“It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data.”

Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock Holmes line may predate today’s technology, but it could still easily apply to the perils of making decisions in the modern boardroom.

For Newcastle-headquartered property technology firm iamproperty, it neatly sums up how the business moved away from making decisions based on instinct and assumption, and towards structured, independent insight based on real customer experience.

That shift has been shaped through a long-term partnership with MMC Research, the Sunderland-based specialist research and insight agency founded by Natasha McDonough.

Through methodologies led by director of research and operations Vicki Shouksmith, the company provides independent customer research and insight, helping organisations understand what their customers think, need and value – and why.

The relationship between iamproperty – which provides an ecosystem of digital solutions including modern property auctions to UK estate agents – and MMC Research began in 2019 with work on a Net Promoter Score project.

“At that time, we had little to no proactive insight work with estate agents or consumers,” says iamproperty’s chief marketing officer Michele Gettins.

She adds: “There was a real need in the business to understand how our estate agents viewed their relationship with us and the services we provided to them.”

The success of the initial feedback programme laid the foundations for iamproperty to take a more structured approach to customer research and insight, with data now informing operational and strategic decisions at all levels of the business.

A major project for MMC involved testing a new product idea before launch, combining feedback from estate agents, consumers and solicitors to understand how the concept would land across iamproperty’s whole market.

Vicki says: “The breadth of the results meant their marketing team went into the product launch really well informed that it would work.

“They also had real clarity on how it needed to be positioned in the market.”

Michele adds: “It really showed that if you do the insights work up front, and understand how your product is going to be received, you launch from a good position.”

As one of the fastest-growing property tech companies in the UK – it now works with some 7000 estate agency branches and employs more than 700 people nationwide from its headquarters in Gosforth – iamproperty’s use of insights data has become increasingly strategic, particularly for acquisitions.

In recent years, MMC has supported iamproperty’s purchase of three other businesses, carrying out independent customer research as part of the due diligence process.

Vicki says: “What Michele needed at that stage were open and honest discussions with customers of the businesses they were looking to acquire.

“That meant surveys and conversations that allowed us to say, ‘this is a good proposition, customers like the product’, but also highlight where they’d expect improvements.

“It gave them a strong base to start with their new acquisition; they knew where to make changes from day one.”

Michele adds: “It was a core part of our due diligence.

“It was a big investment for the company; while a new acquisition needs to fit strategically, it also has to fit with the level of customer experience we’re committed to providing to our existing base.

“If MMC had found any red flags or deal breakers with customers, we would have made different decisions.

“The work we’ve done with MMC has given us confidence that we can make the right decisions at the right time.”

A key strength of the partnership is that the insight gathered by MMC is instantly understood and useable across iamproperty’s team, including at board level.

That understanding extends into marketing and thought leadership.

MMC now works alongside iamproperty’s marketing agency O, contributing insight to campaigns and where O supports iamproperty to produce large-scale reports on market sentiment.

That includes The Real eState of It, iamproperty’s first industry report examining the estate agency market, which brings together perspectives from agents and consumers.

Michele says: “It’s full of practical insight – real changes that agents can actually make to remain successful.

“It’s the first time we’ve done a full state of the nation report for the sector but, given the strength of our position in the market and the support we have from MMC, we’re confident to put it out there.”

Natasha adds: “The key thing about what we do is that we work with nuance – what does the data actually mean?

“Research is key for any business if it wants to make confident, informed decisions, but you can only do that if you understand exactly what it’s telling you.

“I always say – a survey will tell you what people think, but a conversation will tell you why.”

At iamproperty, insights are now fundamental to how the business operates.

Michele says: “There are no strategic decisions made in this business without being backed by insights data, usually supported by MMC.

“It helps us understand the market context we are operating in, read the terrain and discover opportunities for growth.

“For a business to be successful, it needs to understand its customers – I couldn’t do my job and make the decisions I do without the continuous insight I have from our customers and our customers’ customers.

“The insight data makes us more agile and more knowledgeable.

“Our execution is ingrained in insights, meaning we take the right approach from day one.

“If a business isn’t utilising customer insights and research in some shape or form, it could be missing critical opportunities.”

To find out more about MMC Research, its approach and how it is helping organisations and businesses make more informed decisions, visit mmc.agency