WE ARE IN THE AGE OF DIGITIZATION! This technological phenomenon is present in business everywhere; there is no escaping it. Some view digital technology as revolutionary, presenting endless opportunities for development and increased efficiency. Others refuse to accept it, viewing it as unnecessary in the business world; they will continue to shun it unless it is forced upon them.
The marketing industry has unquestionably been revolutionized by the creation of such digital media as company and sales websites, search engines, viral videos, Photoshop, and more. Other industries vary in their dependence on this technology; the size and type of businesses are what seem to determine their need for digitization. For example, small businesses are at times able to avoid this technology entirely, whereas large businesses are rarely capable of the same.
In the real estate industry, appraisal firms often have a company website for advertising and communication purposes. However, the owner of the small appraisal firm, my dad, feels that a website is unnecessary for his company at the moment because it already receives sufficient business and is at its current capacity to expand. Furthermore, he feels that the type of customers typically attracted to an appraisal firm’s website cause more hassle than they are worth to deal with. The customers he is referring to are the ones who he typically deals with on referrals who regularly make ignorant requests and even revoke offers of jobs to which they have committed. At the moment, his company receives the majority of its work from a number of banks through the appraisal management firm, Nationwide Appraisal Services (NAS), which presents any information about the request in a clear and simple manner. In his opinion, creating a website for his company would only make him worse off at this point by increasing the num
ber phone calls he receives that do not end up generating business. In this sense, his company has been able to avoid digitization. However, the digital world has long since overtaken the field of residential real estate appraisal as I will describe in my next blog post, “Digitization in the Field of Real Estate Appraisal.”
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