Unlocking Growth: An Interview with Elfi on Choosing Wunderbricks

Efficient, open, and scalable: What if we told you there’s a real estate company that views tenants as customers and housing as a service? Elfi, the Netherlands' most forward-thinking developer and landlord, is doing just that. Their unique, customer-centric approach has led to massive growth.

With over 1,000 properties now in their portfolio, Elfi needed a powerful software solution to make their processes super efficient and scalable. They found their perfect match in Wunderbricks!

To understand why Elfi chose us, we recently sat down with Youri Treur, Marketing & Technology Manager at Elfi.

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The Interview: Elfi's Journey to a Smarter Solution

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Wunderbricks: Youri, it's great to have you. Elfi has a truly unique philosophy, seeing housing as a service. Could you tell us how this approach influenced your search for new software?

Youri: Absolutely. For us, housing is more than just a place to live. We want to provide excellent service to our customers, and that includes offerings like our 'WoonBundels' – these are subscription services with partners, like furniture packages, insurance, and internet. We needed modern software that could easily streamline this entire package of products and services. We were looking for a tool that truly met our very specific needs and requirements. After thoroughly mapping out the market, we narrowed it down to just three potential partners.

Wunderbricks: "Mapping the landscape" sounds like quite a task! What did you discover about the real estate software market during your search?

Youri: Well, I consider myself a professional when it comes to selecting software for various processes. However, the real estate market was relatively new territory for me. I quickly found that in the Dutch real estate software scene, you often encounter older companies that have been around for 30 or 40 years. They claim to do everything, but their systems are often closed. Many of these products were geared towards the basic rental process, but with our ambition to truly put the customer at the center, we needed something that could do much more.

Wunderbricks: It sounds like you had a very clear vision. What exactly were you looking for in a solution?

Youri: Many of the parties we spoke with worked with closed systems. However, we firmly believe you can only be truly excellent at a few things. And that's where the problem with all-in-one products and closed systems lies: you're essentially stuck with them. An excellent product for one process doesn't necessarily mean it's suitable for others. This was exactly what we saw in the market – many outdated products.

Moreover, the larger providers offered us huge software suites, but we're a scale-up ourselves. This created a mismatch right from the start. I was looking for a manageable, open tool that we could configure ourselves, allowing us to choose the best solutions for each process. We found that tool in Wunderbricks.

Wunderbricks: That's fantastic to hear! Were there any specific features of Wunderbricks that were truly decisive for your choice?

Youri: Definitely. Wunderbricks is like Salesforce, but designed specifically for real estate. It's built on Salesforce, which is the most powerful CRM system in the world. So, right away, you know that when it comes to customer contact, you're getting a top-tier product. Beyond that, we wanted the most efficient solution possible. This meant automating and linking as many processes, tasks, and workflows as we could. For example, connecting with DocuSign for contract management or various financial plugins for administration.

Wunderbricks: And these integrations are a key strength of Wunderbricks, right?

Youri: Yes, exactly! The best thing about Wunderbricks is the sheer number of integration options. That was our main reason for choosing your software. You guys focus on working with plugins instead of trying to develop everything yourselves. Add to this the robust reports, the insightful dashboards, and the scalable nature, and you truly have a killer system.

Wunderbricks: And let's not forget those automatically generated leases!

Youri: [Laughs] Indeed! What’s more, working with the Wunderbricks team is simply pleasant. We're invited to help think about solutions, and you're always ready to solve issues together while also considering ways to enrich the product even further.

Wunderbricks: Beyond the software capabilities and communication benefits, what else did you appreciate about working with us?

Youri: What I really valued were the clear boundaries you set. Wunderbricks is transparent about where your expertise ends and where customers might need to look elsewhere for more specialized solutions. You guys openly state:

"We don't do this. Here is the limit of our core functionality: this is an accounting process, and it belongs within a financial toolkit. So, we won't pick this up ourselves, but we can figure out how to talk to it optimally and help you with your process."

This kind of open approach is critical for me. It helps me to have realistic expectations and find the absolute best possible solution for Elfi. It's all about clear communication and truly understanding what’s best for a company's needs.

Wunderbricks: That's incredibly insightful, Youri. Do you have any final words of advice for our readers who might be looking for a new real estate solution?

Youri: Whatever you do, always choose an open platform. That way, for every feature or plugin you need, you can always choose the best in the industry.