Technical innovation helps Tucker Gardner dominate the property market
If you want to lead your field through technology, you need to take risks – and have a lot of trust in your technology partner. You also need to provide a great service in the first place, otherwise the technology will come across as smoke and mirrors.
Cambridge estate agent TuckerGardner has done all of this. From taking risks to develop innovative features way ahead of its competition, to a fervent commitment to provide incredible service – all the while trusting Fluent to see the future and build it in the present.
Over the decade that we’ve worked together, TuckerGardner has risen to the top in a very competitive market. The property sector in Cambridge is notorious and now TuckerGardner sells and rents more houses in the area than anyone else.
Over this time Fluent has kept them ahead of the competition with constantly evolving websites and systems. It’s not a story of creating sites that look great and furnish TuckerGardner with a strong brand – although that is part of the picture. Rather, we have continually improved the online services that matter to users while building efficient systems behind the scenes for the staff.
10 years is a long time on the web
One early version of the TuckerGardner website featured a map displaying all the properties. This is commonplace now, but back then there was no global mapping courtesy of Google. We designed and built the map of the area ourselves – a big piece of work! – to give our client the first interactive property map in the city.
Of course, once Google sent out their cameras, things were easier. And that shows the importance of rolling development. TuckerGardner were forward-thinking enough to allow us to update the key features of their service regularly, to make the most of new services, technology and user habits.
This has allowed TuckerGardner to keep being first in the market. The first to offer rich information for every property online. The first to have a mobile site that leads the user to nearby houses for sale. The first fully responsive websites. The first to automate countless processes from emailing custom search updates to gathering buyer feedback to providing helpful data to sellers.
The Fluent team have an intuitive feel for not only what we want but also what we need. They back their words with excellent delivery and support.
Intelligent property search
The jewel in the crown is the intelligent property search. We keep pushing it to deliver ever increasing delight to home buyers – delight that comes from ease of use and flat out usefulness.
The search method has evolved from that early custom made map to a technological marvel which delivers information to users incredibly quickly. It has been through many phases, involving SEO, the initial search function, methods of filtering results and the various ingenious ways of defining search areas on the map, such as school catchment areas. All of this contrives to put the right houses in front of users very quickly, on whatever device they are using. The search will continue to develop to surpass user expectations as the technology becomes available.
Working with TuckerGardner is a clear example of partnership at its best. Whilst they have trusted Fluent to innovate, we have been working with their field expertise and ideas, their great content, and their high standard of service. It was no surprise in 2011 when their website was a finalist in the UK Property Awards alongside much bigger players.
TuckerGardner has been open to training, not just in using new systems but in how to produce great content too. We were flattered when one TuckerGardner promotional video had the line, ‘even our geeks are second to none’.
That’s us. And that’s what a strong partnership between an ambitious company with high standards and a skilled technology team looks like.
Let's work together
We’d love to hear from you. Make our day.
All ideas welcome. We’ll soon let you know if we’re able to help.