So you're in the market for a virtual staging company? Where do you start? There are literally thousands of different companies offering services to help make your house look more attractive before putting it on the market.
Should you just choose the first company that comes up in your Google search? The answer is no. You should consider these six qualities that make an excellent Virtual Staging Company and that ultimately help you sell your properties faster and for more money:
- Experience – How long have they been operating their business?
- References – What do the previous clients have to say about them?
- Customer Experience – Are they responsive and easy to work with?
- Price – Do they offer competitive prices?
- Turnaround Time – How quickly can they get the job done?
- Quality product – Is the finished product good?
1. Experience – Trusted and Proven Services?
You are looking for someone with extensive experience in working with real estate agents and interior designers. Don't settle for a novice just because his rates are better than other options you might find.
The company's experience can best be seen in its knowledge of all interior design styles and current trends, including how those styles relate to one another. If the staging is done in an outdated style, it will not appeal to the majority of buyers who expect more modern spaces in their homes.
Their designers should also be aware of color psychology and how colors play off one another. Color psychology plays an essential role in interior design as it can change your mood perception and heighten your senses. A proper color atmosphere can make your house feel elegant, warm, and welcoming.
An excellent virtual staging company will also have knowledge of how different types of furniture function in rooms with specific layouts. For example, someone familiar with Feng Shui knows that specific furniture arrangements in rooms will create negative energy while others will create positive energy in the space.
In addition, they should be tech-savvy, as this is a growing field. Many of the companies you will come across are up and coming, so make sure you are only working with reputable ones, which brings us to our next point.
2. References – Have They Earned Clients' Trust?
It's easy to find a virtual staging company that promises you the moon and stars but produces lackluster results. That's why it's essential to do some research to see whether their previous clients were satisfied with their services.
Any great business is going to have references and testimonials from customers. If a virtual staging company does not have reviews on their site or has only positive reviews from family and friends, then there is something wrong with them.
Also, feel free to check out their website. A lot of businesses have websites that are poorly designed with few pictures and information. This is a red flag because it shows that they do not care about their business or image.
A good website will be user-friendly and have an intuitive design. It needs to be simple and easy to use, so an absolute beginner to virtual staging can find their way around it.
And lastly, check out who their top vendors are and if they are working with any reputable companies. This should be a good indication if their services are worth trying out as big established companies wouldn’t work with somebody who is unreliable and produces mediocre results.
3. Customer Experience – The Relationship Built with Customers
In order to earn the title of the best virtual staging company on the market, they need to work on providing the best customer experience possible. Their team of experts needs to respond quickly to questions and requests and provide a unique, affordable, high-quality staging solution that is easy to work with.
They need to have a team of virtual staging specialists that are ready to help you breathe new life into your home. Best virtual staging companies on the market work with each seller every step of the way to ensure that they meet their clients' needs and exceed their expectations.
But what makes a customer support system expert? Here are some of the qualities of an expert customer support system:
- Consistent performance – The customer service team should be able to perform at the same level, regardless of the time or day of the week.
- Capacity to handle multiple customers at once, regardless of whether they're all asking questions at the same time or performing transactions simultaneously.
- Ability to get back to customers within a short period of time – This is especially important for businesses with international clientele since they're likely operating in different time zones.
- Customer service team members should be well-trained to correctly answer questions and solve problems efficiently, even when faced with unique situations that are not covered by the FAQs page or knowledge base.
4. Price – Reasonable or Exorbitant?
Cost is one of the important factors people look at when buying a product. The major question you should ask yourself is: if I buy this service, will it enhance my business and help me generate revenue? Please do not fall for the allure of expensive virtual staging companies who will provide you with subpar products but charge you exorbitant prices for them.
For a company to earn the title of the best virtual company on the market, its prices need to be competitive. They need to be low enough to make it worth your investment into the service but not low enough to raise suspicion about the quality of their service.
The only way to find out if a company is worth your money is to test it out. Do not be fooled by claims of low prices or extremely high quality. Instead, you should make an educated decision about which virtual staging company you will trust to give you the best possible product.
5. Turnaround Time – Need Your Home Staged Quickly?
One of the most important things to look for in a virtual staging company is a quick turnaround time. You likely need your digitally staged images right away, so you need to make sure that the company you choose will have them done quickly.
How quickly can the company deliver after they have received all of the photos? Can they do it in less than a day? If so, that's awesome; you want this because you want the photos of the listing up as soon as possible.
Time is money, as the popular saying goes. You don't want your listing process to last longer than absolutely necessary because you can miss out on potential clients. You want it to be streamlined as much as possible. You upload the photos, and in a couple of hours, they are ready for you to put them up on a website.
6. Quality Product – Services that Deliver Results
Good virtual staging companies recognize that you are ultimately looking for results: something that will look great in a real estate marketplace! That's why the best ones invest in high-definition and photorealistic furniture 3D models. Quality 3D models make a world of difference in the finished product.
On the other hand, low-quality models feel out of place in the image. I'm sure you've seen examples of this. Sometimes it's obvious what's wrong with the image, and sometimes something feels off, and you just can't place your finger on it.
In addition to quality 3D models, good virtual staging companies and their interior designers pay attention to furniture scale, making sure that they use 3d models of furniture pieces that would fit nicely into the space. They also take into account lighting, making sure that it's consistent with the original photo.
Finally, their dedicated team of designers puts the finishing touches on the image in post-processing. This means that they will make minor tweaks and changes in Photoshop to make the image appear more natural and in line with the realtors' high expectations.
What Makes VirtualStaging.com the Best Virtual Staging Company on the Market?
VirtualStaging.com (previously known as VS24) checks all of the categories above. We have been in business for years and have proven that we are here to stay. Most importantly, we have developed a loyal customer base that keeps coming back for more. In addition to this, we work with trusted industry giants like Redfin and Keller Williams Realty.
We also take great pride in the relationship we've built with our clients, evident by the 100+ testimonials on our website and a 4.9 rating on TrustPilot. This relationship is so strong precisely because of all the time and effort we put into customer care. You can contact us via live chat, email, or just call us at (206) 350-7201. Our responsive customer support team will be there to answer any query you might have.
When it comes to price, we believe that virtual staging should be affordable for everyone. That's why we were the first in the market to offer the groundbreaking price of $24/image, which led to other companies lowering their prices to stay competitive.
We also offer the best turnaround time on the market. You can get your staged images anywhere from 4hrs to 8hrs (from 7 am to 7 pm PST, after that, it’s 8-24 hrs), and we are actively working on shortening this gap. We understand that in order to be the best in the business, our delivery needs to be fast and prompt.
The final thing that we can boast about is our product. We will provide you with a well-designed final image with exceptional 3D models that will fit seamlessly into the rest of the image. And if you are unsatisfied with your staged image for any reason, we offer an unlimited number of revisions. And if that doesn't work, we will refund you, no questions asked.
We know that the home staging process can be daunting for many. That’s why we’re dedicated to simplifying the experience for realtors––we want you to get the best results for the lowest cost.
All of these factors make us the best in the business. However, this doesn't mean that we aren't working on improving our services even more. We love hearing from our clients and implementing their suggestions to improve our services. So, please write to us and tell us what you think could be improved and what works for you.
Is Virtual Staging Worth It?
Virtual staging is 100% worth it. It will help your prospective home-buyers visualize their lives and futures in the space they are viewing. It might give them ideas and solutions for decorating their home and making the most of the space. Above all, this allows them to connect emotionally with the home they are considering buying.
In addition to this, virtual staging costs a fraction of what you would pay for traditional staging. And the whole process is much shorter. In just a day or so, you can have your property images back, all virtually staged and ready to be listed.
Virtual staging is non-invasive as well. You don't need to organize movers to take out the previous owner's bulky and outdated furniture. It all can be done digitally with our item removal service. We can easily declutter the space in just a few minutes, and it will be ready to be virtually staged in a more modern and cohesive manner.
On top of all this, virtual staging is creative. You can choose between multiple interior design styles to see which one would fit your potential buyer demographic the most. For example, if your demographic is newly married couples or families with small children, you can turn one of the rooms into a nursery. The possibilities are endless with virtual staging.
If you want to learn more about what virtual staging can do for you, check out our blog post about virtual staging benefits here.
Best Virtual Staging Companies Care About Their Customers
Finding the right virtual staging company can seem like a daunting task if you do not know where to begin looking. But, as with many things in life, the best place to start is right at the beginning. Deciding on the right questions to ask to find a great match will make searching easier.
So make sure to check for these 6 things (experience, references, customer experience, price, turnaround time, and quality product) before committing to a long-term relationship with your virtual staging provider. And if you are looking for truly great virtual staging, you are at the right place, so let's get started.
Click here to test out our virtual staging services today.
