The much-anticipated announcement of the 2021 Global Brands Awards winners has seen the Rawson Property Group sweep the decks in a total of three categories - yet again! This marks the third consecutive triple-win for the Group, and the fifth year of recognition in this prestigious and competitive international event.
This year’s wins include Best Real Estate Marketing Brand (South Africa), Most Innovative Real Estate Brand (South Africa) and the all-round Best Real Estate Brand (South Africa). Having successfully defended these titles since 2019, Rawson Property Group MD, Tony Clarke, says the brand is not just proud of their repeat achievement, but also their ability to remain consistent in their commitment to service excellence, despite challenging times.
“Sharing the stage with brands like Google and Tencent is always a humbling experience,” says Clarke, “but for us, it also drives home the importance of innovation and the power of technology in every industry. I genuinely believe the Rawson Property Group’s investment in innovation and technology has been the key to our ongoing success as a brand, and our ability to keep delivering value to buyers and sellers, despite the challenges affecting the world today.”
Rawson’s technological innovations include an award-winning website, a critically acclaimed valuation platform, cutting-edge virtual tour and showhouse capabilities and an exclusive customer relationship management tool available to all Rawson agents. While technology is certainly central to their strategy, however, Clarke says the intention behind these tools is not to remove the human touch, but rather to facilitate an even more personal service.
“I think a lot of businesses are falling into the trap of trying to replace people with technology, particularly in the real estate industry at the moment,” he says. “Our approach is the opposite. We’re using technology to give our agents the freedom to focus on what they do best: provide hands-on advice, experience and support – in a COVID-safe way – to people at all stages of their property journey.”
This focus on customer-centric experiences and obligation-free support is also central to the Rawson Property Group’s award-winning marketing strategy.
“Modern customer service is all about empowerment,” says Debbie Reabow, the Group’s Marketing Manager “As a brand, we’ve always believed in providing free access to advice and knowledge on all aspects of the property market. We’re now using technology to share that knowledge more effectively, and with a wider audience than ever before.”
Not only has this enabled Rawson to build a reputation as an industry thought-leader, it’s also created a large pool of clients who consider the brand to be a real estate partner, rather than just a once-off service provider. It’s this trusted position that, according to Clarke, has allowed the brand to keep connecting buyers and sellers for mutual benefit, despite the logistical challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sales are only one facet of the group’s core objective, however.
“Ultimately, our goal is to help make property more accessible and less intimidating to the general public, and to empower our clients to make the best possible property decisions,” says Clarke. “We’re always gratified to receive acknowledgement for our efforts in the form of awards like the Global Brands, but our real satisfaction comes from the success of our clients.”
Despite their achievements, Clarke says the Group is not about to rest on their laurels.
“Our work is never done,” he says. “The real estate landscape is one of constant shifts and constant changes. We need to stay agile, stay innovative, and stay ahead of the curve to make sure our clients are at the forefront of every opportunity.”
