Local knowledge is part of the business.
Danbolig’s offices are never far apart on Lolland-Falster. Seven branches across two municipalities is more than is usually found under a single Danbolig owner, and that is entirely deliberate.
For Dennis Frederiksen, proximity to customers is essential in order to provide proper advice in a housing market where prices and demand can vary considerably from one town to another.
- There is a world of difference between selling a home in Nørrebro in Nykøbing and in Købelev near Nakskov. The same type of house can differ by DKK 3 million in price. So you have to be local to know your market.
For the past ten years, the company has been the estate agency chain with the highest number of sales on Lolland-Falster, and according to Dennis Frederiksen, around one in three homes in the area is sold by a Danbolig employee. In Sakskøbing, where Danbolig is the only estate agent, it handles almost 80 per cent of home sales.
At the same time, Dennis Frederiksen believes that local knowledge will become at least as important at a time when artificial intelligence and large amounts of data are playing an increasing role in property transactions.
- We now have AI to help us, but the challenge is that it relies on data. And if a house has not been sold in Købelev for the past three years, what kind of data do you actually have? That is why it is important in a local area that we are local too, he says.
Does not want to centralise too much
Ejendomsmæglerfirmaet Dennis Frederiksen now operates seven Danbolig offices on Lolland-Falster, three in West Zealand and a Danbolig commercial property centre covering Lolland-Falster and South Zealand.
Although the company has grown, there has been a clear limit to how much should be brought together in one place. Administration could be centralised to a greater extent, but Dennis Frederiksen believes that would come at the expense of proximity to customers.
- It is a deliberate strategy not to centralise the office work in one centre in Nykøbing or somewhere else. It could easily be handled centrally, but there are two reasons why I have chosen to keep it decentralised. First, the case coordinator needs to be close to the estate agent so that mistakes are avoided and they can communicate constantly. Second, when a customer calls us or walks into an office, they always reach an employee who can actually answer their questions, he explains, continuing:
- The worst thing in the world is calling a company where you first have to go through a phone menu and then end up speaking to a robot that will not let you ask any questions. It may be more expensive in the short term to have case coordinators in every branch. But in the long term, we believe the customer gets a better experience and comes back.
Still focused on development
Although Danbolig has built a strong position on Lolland-Falster, development is far from being put on hold. For Dennis Frederiksen, the key to succeeding as an estate agent is keeping up with the times and adapting the business as customer needs and the market change.
That applies both to digital development and to new business areas. Most recently, the company has expanded into commercial property, giving customers access to assistance with another part of the property market.
Employees are also an important part of the explanation for the company’s ability to maintain its market-leading position. For Dennis Frederiksen, staff loyalty is a particular source of pride.
- What I am most proud of is my success in retaining key employees. I have one employee who has been with us for almost 20 years, which is very unusual in the estate agency industry.
The company has now also been nominated for the Lolland-Falster Business Award, and that carries special significance.
- It is an enormous vote of confidence. I am proud that an estate agency can be nominated. I have attended every awards ceremony, and there has never previously been an estate agency among the nominees – so I am very proud, he concludes.
