Hans Flink: Competitor monitoring and the dream of becoming the housing market's Statistics Sweden
We called Hans Flink, Head of Sales and Business Development at Svensk Mäklarstatistik, to discuss the challenge of being Sweden's most unknown and most well-known brand at the same time, as well as how they use All Ears to know when it's time to accelerate or slow down their PR efforts.
Many of us surely pay close attention when the radio and TV report on developments in the housing market. What most people don't know is that these reports are based on data collected by Svensk Mäklarstatistik, a brand that most have never heard of. How come?
"We usually say that we are historians. We talk about how the housing market has performed. We don't say anything about how it should be or what it will become."
From quantum physicist to statistician
After studying mathematics and physics with the ambition of becoming a quantum physicist, Hans Flink fell into the IT industry. After several turns at various companies, both in Sweden and abroad, with titles such as CEO, sales and marketing manager and finally many years as a consultant, he was introduced to Svensk Mäklarstatistik. The initial reaction was "damn, that's dull", but that sentiment faded after a first meeting.
- Then I realized that there is a lot to do. I don't like to manage, I like to do things that haven't already been done.
And it certainly seems there has been plenty to do; today, Hans is in his thirteenth year with Svensk Mäklarstatistik and works as the Head of Sales and Business Development.
With the goal of becoming the housing market's own Statistics Sweden
Svensk Mäklarstatistik was founded in 2005 to create uniform and reliable housing market statistics in Sweden. Before the company was established, trends were reported by various players, each based on their own, often very limited, data. This led to confusion and frustration.
"Above all, the media found it peculiar that the industry couldn't agree on having a single set of statistics that everyone could stand behind."
Another important reason Svensk Mäklarstatistik came into existence was the method of data collection. Previously, and still the case with government reports, data was recorded at the time of property transfer, which can occur up to five months after the actual sale. Svensk Mäklarstatistik, however, collects data at the time of contract signing, providing a more current reflection of the market. Additionally, there was no accurate statistics on the sale of condominiums, which is twice the size of the single-family home market.
With access to data from all real estate agents across Sweden, Svensk Mäklarstatistik continuously updates its statistics and releases a monthly report on the current trends in the housing market. A crucial step is that all data is verified by Statistics Sweden (SCB) as an independent party. The perception of Svensk Mäklarstatistik as a neutral entity is of utmost importance.
“We want to be the housing market’s own SCB (Statistics Sweden),” Hans explains. “When someone wants to look at housing market statistics, they should come to us.”
Governmental status, an unsexy and slow brand-building process
In comparison to its competitors, Svensk Mäklarstatistik is mentioned up to five times more frequently. But how is it, then, that so few people recognize the brand? Hans believes that neutrality and the absence of opinions are contributing factors. With the goal of operating as neutrally as a government agency, having opinions is a luxury that Svensk Mäklarstatistik simply cannot afford. Compared to flashier competitors, visibility in the media becomes extremely important.
“We often say that we are historians. We talk about how the housing market has performed. We don’t say anything about how it should be or what it will be like.”
And it’s precisely when competitors are mentioned that All Ears comes into the picture. By monitoring the mentions of competitors along with their own, Hans can quickly compare how much space is being occupied. Thanks to All Ears picking up all spoken media, even brief mentions of both competitors and Svensk Mäklarstatistik can be pinpointed to the minute. Each month, analysis is done using the data to understand the overall media impact. Through this, questions about additional efforts can be answered. For example, whether more press releases need to be sent out or if a themed report needs to be compiled to maintain visibility.
When Svensk Mäklarstatistik takes the pulse of the housing market, we at All Ears help take the pulse of their presence in the media. Whether or not the authority status has been achieved remains to be seen, but now you know a bit more about what we can assume is Sweden’s most unknown yet most well-known brand.
