Put Something Apple in Your Sales Office!

Great article by Carmine Gallo in Forbes, recently, How the Apple Store Seduces You with the Tilt of Its Laptops.

SalesTouch Puts Multisensory Experiences into Sales Offices!

Yes, you read that correctly!  Laptop tilt!

Actually, the tilt is designed to encourage customers to adjust the screen to their ideal viewing angle.

In other words, the tilt is encouraging touch! And, not just with the monitor angle but throughout the store.  Apple wants customers to see what is available and to experiment with hardware, apps and websites as a way to learn about their devices.

Gallo suggests interactivity -- what he calls multisensory experience is built into every component of an Apple Store.  Store employees don't demonstrate items; rather, they encourage shoppers to find solutions themselves.  Gallo suggests Apple discovered customers would be more interested in buying, more loyal to the brand by creating an ownership experience!

Our brains, Gallo writes, love multisensory experiences.  The more engaged a customer is, the more likely it is they will engage with your product on an emotional level.

CPS'  touchscreen system, SalesTouch, is all about interactivity.  It is designed to engage home shoppers the minute they walk in the sales office with interesting, useful, emotional images and content.  Whether exploring the neighborhood or trying on structural options, they're finding solutions (where is the local elementary school? where is the optional den located?).

And, just like the Apple store, they're creating an ownership experience!  And, isn't that what home shopping is about?  Take a look at some of the interactive presentations we've created for builders and developers in the Case Studies section of our website.  We'll be at the National Home Builders Association IBS in Orlando in January and there will be a number of touch opportunities available!

Instead of Broadcasting, Create Opportunities for Conversation!

The expression content is king has become something of a cliche but, Sophie Turton says, it's true as a blue sky is blue!

Sophie writes for econsultancy.com and suggests today's marketing community needs to be focused on creating opportunities for content creation -- Instagrammable moments, inspiring experiences.

Let's Get the Conversation Started!

Instead of broadcasting, she suggests, marketing's focus needs to shift to create opportunities for conversation. That's what is known as consumer-created content and it is the marketing hit for 2016, according to Forbes!

Imagine: live communities of digitally-savvy participants, engaging with your brand!

Don't those thoughts dovetail suprisingly well with Toni Alexander's recent article, A Wake Up Call for the Building Industry and the American Dream,  in LinkedIn?  Toni visited the recent National Association of HomeBuilders Show and asks if the industry has focused enough on millennials.

Toni asks two really interesting questions:

• Has the housing industry focused on millennials to examine both their motivators and what they want in terms of community, housing options and environment?
• Doesn't it make sense to embrace an education program targeted to this market to illustrate the benefits of home ownership from both a tax benefit and appreciation perspective?

Take a look at CPS' Social Media Wall and ask: wouldn't curated Social Media conversations open up marketing processes in my sales offices?  And, we were selected as a Innovative Building Product finalist at NAHB!

Contact CPS and learn how Social Media Wall can start conversations in your sales center.

Let's #GetSocial at IBS2016!

Did you see CPS' Social Media Wall has been selected as a Most Innovative Building Product finalist at the NAHB International Builders Show scheduled to open next week in Las Vegas?

We're thrilled -- and wanted to highlight the product for the Blog!

What makes the Wall unique (and particularly useful) is the ability to integrate traditional marketing copy and images with social media Tweets and posts -- and generate a compelling visual presentation to be used in sales offices and information centers.

Let's #GetSocial -- join us at IBS in Vegas!

We've previously mentioned there's a paradigm shift underway regarding the way people consume marketing messages. Traditional marketing (passive signage, for example) might start the conversation but digital is the new destination.

It's not "traditional" vs. "digital" but..tradigital that will generate better results.

The Wall is all about tradigital -- traditional marketing images and copy are key to the presentation look as they float in/out of view as either single images, copy or a combined large effect.  Then, they're integrated with consumer digital input -- curated, of course, so not everything appears on The Wall!

And, it's possible to Go Big with a set of small monitors (as illustrated above) or to use a single monitor designed to mimic multiple monitors.

We're going to be in Booth C2856 next week in Vegas or you can join us on The Wall using #IBS2016!

CPS' Troy Warr Providing IBS 2016 Construction Education Session

CPS' Troy Warr is presenting an IBS 2016 Education Session: Are the Best Builders the Best Schedulers?

Tuesday, 2pm: Are the Best Builders the Best Schedulers?

Are you still scheduling by pencil and paper, cell phone or fax?  Did you realize you're wasting time and money -- and potentially damaging your reputation with vendors and buyers?

Or, are you using automated scheduling software and wondering when you'll see some benefit -- fewer dry runs, more homes on schedule, improved vendor communications?

What about planning for the future? Do you see organizational excellence as one of your goals? If yes, what steps have you outlined?

Join us at IBS in Las Vegas on Tuesday, January 19th to get fresh insight into these topics and more! Troy is CPS' lead developer for FieldCollaborate -- a cloud-based, anywhere/anytime construction scheduling software system with a Portal for your vendors and buyers. He will be joined by Noelle Tarabulski, President of Builders Consulting Group.

Mark your Show Planner: Central Hall #9327; 2pm -- and CE credits are available!

Social Media Wall Selected!! Best of IBS Awards Finalist

Bob Musa, CPS' President says, "Wow; we were thrilled to hear our Social Media Wall has been selected as a Finalist in the 2016 Best of IBS Awards!"  Musa continues, "What business wouldn't be excited to hear such news in this relatively quiet holiday week?"

Let's #GetSocial!

Social Media Wall combines traditional marketing copy and images with curated social media content. A sales office or information center uses it to create social media conversations between sales/marketing staff, home shoppers, buyers and related parties -- as a part of the general marketing program.

"We've found," Musa adds, "that new home marketing has changed over the last decade with the introduction of digital technologies.  Now, technology is customer-facing and Social Media Wall  effectively moves social media off the desktop and mobile device into the sales center."

A key component of Social Media Wall, Musa explainss, is curated content -- meaning that CPS provides a back-end, web-based management tool for reviewing social media messaging and determining which Tweets and posts will display on the Wall.

Look us up at the 2016 International Builders Show -- we'll be in Booth 2856 in the nextBuild area!

Content Marketing: Telling Stories, Building Relationships

How are you doing as far as all the terminology revolving around today's concept of Content Marketing?

Grab your audience; encourage participation in your brand!

Saw a nice blog on Contently: 10 Content Marketing Buzzwords You're Going to Hear Way Too Much This Year. 

No, we're not going to review all of them! If you're interested, you can read the entire blog here! It's still January so great idea to get a jump on the year!

We particularly liked and wanted to encourage use of Storytelling (as in: your brand encouraging storytelling) and Storyscaping (a new one for us but defined as "Stop creating ads, start creating worlds").

Take a look at some of CPS' other blog posts (including our most recent: Social Media Engagement: try it in your sales offices!). Storytelling and Storyscaping are key components of our SalesTouch and Social Media Wall products.  Take content (words, video, images) and engage your audience by actively soliciting touch and social media participation. Watch your audience and sales grow!

Planning on attending NAHB's Builders Show in Vegas?  We'll be telling stories all week; look for us in Booth 2860!

Today's Home Buyers are Looking for...Energy Efficiency is in the Top 3

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently reported (MortgageOrb summarized here) that today's single-family home buyer's list of most desired features includes: convenience, livability and energy efficiency.


Energy Efficiency: How Buyers Can Save $$

Do you recall an earlier Solutions blog, Bringing Green Out from "Behind the Walls?"

Energy efficiency is right there in the Top 3 desired features -- specifically Energy-Star rated windows, programmable thermostats and Energy-Star rated appliances.

How does your Marketing Plan address these buyer objectives? We'd like to suggest Go Interactive with a SalesTouch system engaging

Show your buyers how a programmable thermostat works

your home shoppers and providing an interactive experience highlighting the "green" features of your homes and the benefits. 

Get specific: show them how much they can expect to save with new energy-efficient appliances.  How cool a room stays with low thermal emissivity windows.  How a programmable thermostat works and why it is so useful in a new home.

And, how about incorporating these "green" features into a "green" marketing program?  Go Interactive  provides print on-demand brochures as well as e-brochures. Build your "green" brand as you provide energy-efficient solutions at the first consumer encounter as well as within your homes!

Townhouse Construction Increasing: Weather Can Motivate Buyers

A recent Eye on Housing report from the National Association of Home Builders projected the share of  townhouse construction to increase from its current 4%  (do you remember the days of a 12% share back in 2004)?


NOAA 2/2014 Average temp comparison!!

Now, take a look at the NOAA February 2014 weather map on the left!

What might that map suggest to you when marketing your new townhome community? Some parts of the country usually factor in  weather but.. who would expect agents in Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte or even Myrtle Beach to develop new selling points focused on weather?

We'd suggest go interactive and provide an Advantages of Townhome Living section.  Your home shoppers typically look at floor plans and sitemaps; however, they might not focus on all of the advantages your townhomes offer.

You might visually mention: No Shoveling, No Exterior Maintenance, Community Gym Available (no driving at the end of the day!), Community Clubhouse Available (sense of community available here!),  Underground Parking (no scraping!) and the like. Maybe another No Shoveling Necessary image could cycle through!

Tongue in cheek? Sure...but, we all know there are all sorts of motivators in the purchase process!

Construction Field Managers: "Tablet Revolution" includes you!

 

Smartphones and tablets are changing the way almost every business does business.

The reasons vary but we can say that communication is at the heart -- whether you're presenting beautiful products,  providing information for off-site employees, doublechecking a phone number, photographing a problem ... business uses are as varied as the number of businesses. 

Construction field managers have had the opportunity to utilize mobile devices (remember PDA's?) for several years.  There wasn't a "standard" environment across devices, however, so scheduling programs typically had to be designed for a specific mobile device.  If you didn't have the "right" device...you'd either have to change or add another device to your toolbelt!

Now, widespread acceptance of iOS and Android smart phones/tablets have encouraged/enabled developers to design for a large portion of the market.  Yes, there are others but -- at least for now -- iOS and Android are the major smartphone/tablet operating environments; lots of construction personnel already have them and scheduling programs need to be available across both platforms.

Why should Field Managers get enthused about CPS' new cross-platform FieldConnect Mobile? First, they're able to use phones and tablets they already have -- no additional expense.  Then, they can starting improving both their business processes and communications.  Current FieldConnectMobile builder clients report measurable critical business benefits: decreased cycle times and increased carry rates.  And, there are the "softer-side" benefits, too: ease-of-use, access to buyer/vendor data on the jobsite, better communications with vendors and the ability to incorporate "built-in" features such as cameras and voice recognition. 

We like to talk about "connectivity" -- and there are many components to that phrase.  FieldConnect Mobile changes the construction "connectivity" game with anytime/anywhere scheduling that works on virtually all of today's smartphones and tablets.  And, we'll be demonstrating these benefits at NAHB's IBS2012 in Orlando next month!

Jeff Shore's Nationwide Sales & Marketing Survey

Jeff Shore

With over 20 years of new home sales and Fortune 500 experience, Jeff Shore blends hard working, real-world expertise with humor, insight and wit in his unique approach to new home sales training.  CPS has sponsored several of Jeff's sales agent and management training programs throughout the US over the last several years. 

And, we're really excited about the latest opportunity to partner with Jeff during this year's International Builder's Show in Orlando.  Jeff is asking new home sales/marketing professionals to participate in a nationwide sales/marketing survey.  He'll forward survey results to participants as well as discuss What's Hot/What's Not in Orlando at a fun and free event scheduled for Weds., February 8 at B.B. King's Blues Club.

You're invited to participate: take a look at the invitation from Jeff here:

I am conducting a nationwide survey of New Home Sales and Marketing Leaders about what’s working, what's hot and what’s not – and I need your help! This anonymous survey focuses on industry benchmarks, key challenges and emerging trends that will enable all of us to grow and improve together in 2012. Please know that I am doing this to better understand and share with you the current pulse of our ever-changing industry and not to solicit business. In fact, if you participate in our survey, it would be my privilege to send you a copy of the final survey results and analysis at no cost to you. On top of that, I’d also like to invite you to join me for a fun, energizing and free event during the International Builders’ Show in Orlando on February 8th at B.B. King’s Blues Club from 3:00 - 4:30 pm where I will present the results of The Sales & Marketing Pulse 2012. https://www.builderwebapps.com/pulse/ So, if you are a Sales Manager, Director or Vice President, would you please take about fifteen minutes now to complete our survey? If you are a Sales Professional and you think your Sales Leader would benefit from this offer, please feel free to forward this email on to them! You can find the survey here: http://jeffshore.com/pulse My commitment is to make this small investment of your valuable time pay you a handsome return once the survey results are compiled. Thank you in advance for your time and best wishes for a very successful 2012! Jeff Shore