For the Larios family, business is about turning houses into homes and spaces into memorable places.

Luica Larios heads Hermosillo, Mexico-based Larios Bienes Raíces & Avalúos, a family business established by his father in 2011 that rents, sells and evaluates everything from storefronts to sprawling homes. At any given time, Luica and his team work on 30 different properties across the city.

To standardize communications with their diverse clientele, in October 2018, Luica introduced the WhatsApp Business app to his team of eight. Today, 100 percent of their sales are completed via the app with the team taking turns to use the company’s WhatsApp Business-enabled mobile phone to send out an average of 100 daily messages. Luica says a reliable service, which keeps up with the fast-paced nature of their industry, has made business better.

Today, 100 percent of their sales are completed via the app

“Every response now takes me less than a second,” he says.

Since Larios Bienes Raíces & Avalúos began using the app, Luica estimates sales have grown five-fold, all without having to increase staff. The business has also seen a drop in expenses, from operational costs to renting office space.

The WhatsApp Business app’s quick replies feature means Luica’s team can instantly respond to frequently-asked questions.

“They send me photos and all of the information of properties via WhatsApp; it is super practical,” says Isabel Molina, a local real estate agent who contacts the Larios team when she needs information regarding particular properties.

And the labels feature helps them categorize and track customer interactions — from first contact and property visits, to paperwork and delivery. “This way, not a single client falls through the cracks,” says Luica.

Luica wants to expand his family’s business beyond Hermosillo and dreams of covering properties across the state of Sonora. With the WhatsApp Business app helping his team reach more customers with greater efficiency, managing properties across a larger area is a more realistic business goal than ever before.