In-House Tools for Powerful Lead Generation
CALC: Your Tool for Evaluating Total Rental Costs
Challenges:
In the commercial real estate industry, the rise of coworking spaces has led to an increasing number of clients wanting cost comparisons between traditional lease models and coworking options.
CBRE was using spreadsheets for these calculations, but this method suffered from drawbacks such as the inability to provide real-time updates and unsuitability for generating clear outputs.
There was a need for a web application that could offer a flexible selection of various options and compare the costs of leasing and coworking in conjunction with real-time market data.
Solutions:
Monstarlab conducted multiple design sprints to understand the characteristics of the spreadsheets in use. They analyzed the calculation algorithms to identify the figures with the most significant weight in the comparisons.
Additionally, interviews were conducted with CBRE employees and customers to carefully select the functional requirements desired by users. This process revealed that the numerous options associated with each property were causing complexity and preventing accurate comparisons.
The insights gained from the research were then incorporated into the UI design, with efforts made to enhance usability, such as minimizing the number of questions to prevent user drop-off.
Results:
The completed product received high praise within CBRE for its operability and visual appeal. Initially intended for internal use, there was a subsequent request to also provide it to clients.
Furthermore, Monstarlab was recognized for sharing knowledge, such as design sprint methodologies, throughout the product development process, contributing to the establishment and internalization of an in-house operations team. This led to their involvement in other projects for the company.
Currently, "CALC" is utilized as a lead generation tool from an advertising and marketing perspective and is publicly available in over 60 countries.
