Home Builders: Interested in a Referral Win?

Had a chance to read an earlier Solutions Blog: Homebuilder #1 Referral Driver: Keeping Buyers Informed? You can read it here.

Communication is the Driver!

Not surprisingly, that Blog is one of our most read posts as it summarizes Eliant CEO Bob Mirman's comments in Builder and Developer, that the single largest referral driver for homebuilders is how well the builder keeps buyers informed regarding the status of construction. 

Mirman suggests: think of the homebuying process as similar to a hospital stay.  Both are stressful -- yet, the stress can be mitigated by information.  No one, basically, likes to be in the dark.  And, with today's social media, bad experiences can be broadcast all too easily.

The same can be said for good experiences, suggests Mirman in the June 2017 Builder and Developer. He notes the #1 driver of buyers' Willingess to Refer a Friend is the ability to keep them informed of their status.

Importantly, Mirman notes, you don't need conversation -- just communication! CPS' software Portals take information developed by Field Collaborate's construction users and WarrantyWatcher's customer service teams and make it available to buyers and home owners via the Internet.

No additional work required: the construction schedule is available for buyers to view. Warranty requests, status and appointments can be seen, as well, via mobile or desktop. In both cases, 24/7, anywhere/anytime!

Millennial Marketing: Highlight Your Features in Language They Use!

Did you see the recent Sacramento Bee article: Elk Grove millennials buck national home ownership trend in a big way?

Author Thomas Oide cites marketwatch.com's studies indicating Elk Grove (a suburb south of Sacramento) is the No. 1 city in the country for homeownership for those under 35.  That's the Millennial demographic everyone is focused on!

Millennials favs: large, open spaces, multi-functional rooms -- check!

Smartasset.com attributed the high rate of Millennial homeownership to the strong Sacramento job market (finally!) and relative proximity to San Francisco. Note: median home value is $390,000.

Not every community has the San Francisco factor available for their marketing campaign, however. Builderonline offers suggestions for the rest of us in Redfin's Whitney Bennett's How to Make a Home More Appealing to Millennial Buyers.

We'll focus on Millennial-friendly Suggestion #1 and follow-up with others, soon: Create an Open Floor Plan.

Bennett says most younger buyers are interested in large, open spaces with fewer walls and partitions. Why? They like entertaining in large spaces and are also interested in multi-functional rooms.

How to market that open floor plan? Let's look at a recent CPS SalesTouch installation at Cornerstone Homes' new Agave community in North County San Diego. You'll notice an open first floor area as well as a second floor flex space.

Now, image your home shopper going one step further and interacting with the floor plan, using the drag and drop furniture feature, finding the floorplan meets their lifestyle objectives!  As a builder, your're letting your home shopper dream and create their new living space!

And, it's in a "language" they understand -- interactive technology. This is the generation that grew up with iPhones and iPads, after all.

Encourage your Millennial home shopper to create their lifestyle using interactive tools -- moving away from the standard brochure plan by mixing/matching structural choices, adding furniture, marking up the plan -- and making it their own!