Are these mistakes costing your brand?
Today’s customers expect instant, informal communication and many sales teams have naturally leaned towards platforms like WhatsApp, iMessage and Messenger to keep housebuyers in the loop. But while the intentions are good, the lines between professional and personal can easily blur and this casual approach to communication can come at a serious cost.
When Friendly Becomes Inappropriate
In an industry built on trust and professionalism, even well-meaning communication can be misinterpreted when sent through informal platforms. The housebuilding industry has seen real examples where sales representatives have signed off messages to housebuyers with affectionate sign-offs such as adding kisses (“xxx”), or using chatty text-style language. While intended as friendly, this kind of language can easily be perceived as unprofessional or overly familiar to certain customers and may lead to bigger problems.
If left unmanaged, relationships between sales representatives and housebuyers can extend beyond business matters and lead into inappropriate personal relationships. Situations like these can result in reputational damage and HR challenges for the developer.
These incidents highlight the risks of informal, unmonitored communication where tone and intent can be easily misunderstood, and professional boundaries become blurred.
Personal Platforms, Professional Problems
Another hidden risk of using personal messaging platforms is the lack of protection for your team. When customer details are stored directly on a sales representative’s personal device (or vice versa), and communication happens outside company oversight, any breakdown in service or dissatisfaction can lead to the individual being targeted.
In cases where a buyer feels let down or mis-sold, frustrations may be directed not at your brand - but at your employee. This not only puts unnecessary pressure on your staff but also exposes them to personal attacks that should instead be handled through official customer service channels.
The Risk of Unmonitored Messaging
Using social messaging apps for professional communications opens up housebuilders to several risks:
Lack of oversight: Managers have no visibility into the tone, language, or frequency of interactions.
No audit trail: If a complaint arises, there’s no way to refer back to what was said and when.
Brand inconsistency: Casual or overly personal language can undermine the professionalism of your brand.
Blurring boundaries: Personal devices and personal messaging styles can lead to reputational risk.
Social Messaging Can Work If It’s Built for Business
This is not to say sales teams should abandon instant messaging altogether. In fact, when done correctly, messaging can be one of the most effective ways to build rapport, provide timely updates, and enhance the customer experience.
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But it needs to be secure, professional, and monitored. That’s where purpose-built platforms like Movin come in.
We built our solution specifically for housebuilders so sales teams can send friendly, engaging, secure and branded messages to housebuyers, while giving managers full oversight and ensuring every interaction reflects your brand’s values.
Secure, trackable communication.
Message templates and branding built-in.
Real-time insights and reporting.
Video messaging capabilities to elevate the customer experience.
Don’t Let One Message Damage Your Reputation
Unmonitored messaging can seem harmless…until it isn’t. If your teams are using personal platforms to speak to customers, it’s time to ask: is your messaging putting your business at risk?
Let’s bring professionalism and personality back into customer communications.
Book a demo to see how Movin Technology can help you message smarter and safer.
