5 Ways QR Codes Help Homebuilders Level-up New Home Sales

 

Builders and Property Managers Embrace Technology

Homebuilders, who have done remarkably well despite external forces like a world pandemic and material costs (kudos!), are relying more and more on technology to level-up their new home sales efforts. As pandemic restrictions ease, a noticeable addition has emerged in the form of a black and white matrix barcode: the QR Code.

When scanned with a digital device such as a phone or tablet, these codes come to life, leading viewers to landing pages populated by video tours, photo galleries, location information and pricing details.

According to Statista, an estimated 11 million American households would scan a QR code in 2020, which was a marked increase from a previously estimated 9.76 million scans in 2018. The adoption of QR codes by businesses is now being met with equal acceptance from consumers. Digital device makers such as Apple and Samsung are including native QR code readers in their operating systems—confirming that QR codes are poised to explode.

The seemingly innocuous black and white squares are intelligently designed to not only store digital details for quick scan and link access, they deliver a number of additional benefits to homebuilders and their home shoppers.  

1. Easy Integration and Use

The generally held belief is that the addition of new technology is a benefit to business. However, if it isn’t user-friendly or intuitive for staff and customers to use, it won’t quickly be adopted. Luckily, QR codes require no training – just scan and go! And, it’s easy and inexpensive for builders to integrate the codes on their digital signage, websites and other marketing collateral.

2. Provide Immediacy and Convenience

Do you know that “QR” stands for “Quick Response”? Many people today complete the bulk of their research online and these “Quick Response” codes put the details they seek immediately at their fingertips! Interactive QR codes can be designed to easily link to specific websites, maps, amenities, floor plans and even showcase the greater community and proximity to desired locations such as parks, schools and hospitals.

3. Eco-friendly and Easily Modified

QR codes can be digitally modified and updated an infinite number of times without requiring a change to QR code graphics. This leads to reduced waste and need to re-print materials (sales brochures, business cards, signage) on which codes are included. Home shoppers get details right on their smart device that they can easily view or share at any time without having to find a piece of paper! Builders can also design QR codes with unique and creative colors and designs to align with their overall brand and to maintain seamless appearance, helping to bridge the gap between print and digital strategies.

4. Track and Capture Valuable Analytics

QR codes not only deliver information, they track valuable data. They can be coded to track location, obtain contact information, show repeat engagements and record real-time reactions, all of which can be compiled into reports that include where, when and with what device a code was scanned. QR codes can also be designed to capture contact information, resulting in a bank of leads for prospect follow-up and future engagement. To drive sales office traffic, QR codes can direct home shoppers to an online form to arrange site visits. Voila! Instant appointment.

5. Enhance Interactive Experiences

Dynamic QR codes offer suggestions, options, previews and help guide prospective buyers along their home shopping journey.

The cornerstone of CPS’ suite of interactive solutions is SalesTouch, a powerful and dynamic sales and marketing presentation used both online and in sales and leasing offices across the country. To further enhance an already compelling experience, CPS has added the new QR Code Brochure which integrates directly onto the SalesTouch interactive kiosks. Home shoppers scan the unique QR code to get ‘whisked away’ to an interactive brochure—no touching required!

The brochures give visitors information at their fingertips including floor plan views & interactive options, as well as a community details page, a community site map with homesite availability and an included features list. They could also include links to other communities or properties to help with cross-selling efforts! To see how CPS’ QR Code Brochure has been integrated in a real-world scenario, click this link which will transport you to a Dan Ryan Builders’ DRB Coastal community.

For over 35 years, Computer Presentation Systems (CPS) has helped shape how homebuilders and property managers avail modern technology to simplify and improve everyday tasks and elevate overall experiences. QR codes are one of the latest contactless technology integrations adding another level of convenience to user experiences—while keeping germs at bay.

Home shopping continues to scale in intensity as the summer months near and as we emerge from our shared pandemic slumber. Prospective buyers are on the hunt for new places to set roots and any edge homebuilders can provide ultimately eases burdens associated with home shopping. QR codes offer visually engaging and information-filled experiences that leverage new technology enhancements that have become native to the most used digital devices!

How are you engaging home shoppers with technology? If you’re a homebuilder or property manager interested in leveling-up your new home sales or leasing efforts, contact CPS to learn how our suite of interactive solutions can help!

#newhomesales #interactive #engagement #technology

Personalize the Experience and Spark Your Home Shoppers’ Imaginations with CPS’ PlanViewer

Web Floor Plans: A New Addition to the Interactive Sales & Marketing Solutions Suite

We’re proud to announce PlanViewer, our latest offering in a suite of interactive technology solutions that helps builders and developers offer home shoppers a more personalized, tech-forward experience.

The timing couldn't be better. Even before the pandemic, the trend for virtual homebuying was on the rise. Our ability to pivot—an overused but very relevant word in these times—allowed us to design a solution for builders to engage more with shoppers now and moving forward. In other words, virtual home shopping and buying aren’t going away when the pandemic officially ends.

As part of our research—research that helped drive the design and capabilities of PlanViewer—we learned that a whopping 97% of homebuyers use the internet to search for new home options. Meanwhile, consumer purchasing behaviors are accelerating online due to the pandemic while the high-demand real estate market doubles down on the immediate need for technology solutions like PlanViewer, making home shopping and floor plan personalization simpler (and more important) than ever.

Features You and Your Home Shoppers Will Love 💙

• Offers interactive floor plans to help home shoppers visualize and customize structural options on their favorite plans.

• Allows home shoppers to create a desired home plan at their convenience, then arrive at the sales office as more prepared and qualified buyers.

• Updates structural options in real-time as they’re selected, creating a hands-on, immersive experience that helps inform and motivate purchase decisions.

• Provides drag and drop virtual furniture placement that sparks imagination and helps home shoppers visualize living in the space they’re creating online.

• Includes email capability so home shoppers can view & share their plan, selected options and elevation — and you collect prospect information.

Easy to Implement – Easy to Use 

PlanViewer Interactive Floor Plans
Spark Home Shopper Imagination

PlanViewer is designed to be easily implemented directly into the builder’s or developer’s website. It keeps the process consistent via templated designs, yet remains flexible enough to include all available plans or only the most popular structural options. 

Every floor plan receives a single URL, so web teams can seamlessly integrate PlanViewer onto company or community websites using iFrames. The responsive technology is viewable 24/7 from any desktop or mobile device with scalable views so shoppers can zoom in for a closer look at their home creation.

PlanViewer can be used as a stand-alone product, or it can be an excellent add-on to other CPS staples you might already have in your stable, such as your interactive sales presentations or web-integrated sitemaps.

For more information on PlanViewer visit here or contact us here. We’d love to tell you more about our newest product!

Let’s Be Clear: Home Shoppers Need Transparency

Is that what I ordered?

Picture this: You’re hungry and pop into a nearby restaurant to grab lunch. You’re browsing the menu on the wall behind the counter. It’s full of mouth-watering dishes that look so delicious it’s hard to choose your order. You settle on something, pay the cashier, and grab yourself a seat. Your stomach is growling as you wait anxiously for your meal to arrive. You’re ready to gobble up every bite.

Then your plate is plopped down in front of you. It’s an unseemly mishmash that loosely resembles the meal from the photo. Suddenly, your stomach growls turn into full-body frustration.

You wonder to yourself, “Why does the picture always look so much better than the real thing?!”

Your appetite has subsided. Since you already paid, you begrudgingly take a few bites, underwhelmed by the whole meal. Most of it stays on the plate untouched. You leave. And you probably won’t be back.

The sad reality is that this happens every day, for many customers, across virtually every industry.

Customers crave transparency.

They crave it like they crave a great meal at the end of a long day. In fact, 9 out of 10 customers will stop purchasing from a brand that lacks transparency. In home shopping, the same notion is true. Transparency matters now more than ever, especially with the limitations of physical distancing and the rise of virtual home tours.

Our product SiteViewer creates more transparency in the home shopping process. It’s an interactive web solution that allows home shoppers to view homes and community details, and it’s proven to work wonders for homebuilders and sales offices, even more so now that person-to-person contact is still limited.

Builders and leasing agents can stop worrying about losing out on valuable leads because SiteViewer offers real-time updates – so the customer is always aware of the latest availability, pricing, amenities, floor plans, elevations and more. It removes the guess work for customers, allowing them to successfully make a choice on their new home and rest assured that what they’re investing in is reliable.

What you see is what you get.

That’s what you can expect when SiteViewer is in the mix, and it’s a motto every company should believe in when it comes to transparency. Having the best software that effortlessly allows you to show off your product is important, but it’s not the only component of a transparent shopping experience. Every facet of your brand should amplify your commitment to transparency.

Another way to promote transparency is through social media. According to recent research, 86% of people think transparency is more important than ever before, while 81% of people think social media has increased transparency accountability for businesses. Just as important, 73% of customers are willing to pay more for products that guarantee total transparency. 

Combining a transparent social media strategy with a web-based software solution like SiteViewer, businesses can build long-standing trust with customers. That’s the ultimate goal: conveying a level of transparency that fosters trust. Once a customer trusts a business, they’ll feel more comfortable making a purchase.

Give the customer what they want.

Whether it’s a new home or a quick lunch, customers want to know that the investments they make turn out exactly as they expected. Businesses can spare themselves negative reviews, lost leads, customer confusion, and other factors that affect ongoing sales when transparency is prioritized and valued.

Transparency, truth and trust: These are the ingredients that make up any customer’s balanced daily diet. How is your business satisfying that hunger?

Technology That Gives Home Builders More Time

 

Humans get stuck in cycles.

Wake up. Brush your teeth. Change your clothes. Work. Eat. Go to sleep. Rinse and repeat.

Any time we fall into a habit or pattern, we start conditioning ourselves to think, “Well, that’s just how it is.” When we get complacent with “the way things are,” we stop optimizing for success.

Construction is an industry that’s notoriously slow to change. In fact, productivity in construction has been on a steady decline since the 1970s simply because more time is being spent on non-value-adding work. The construction industry also tends to underinvest in technology.

One of the simplest and most effective ways of improving construction management is by finding more time. After all, it’s long been said that time is the most valuable resource. What would you do if you had more of it?

Take back your time with technology.

We developed FieldCollaborate not to create more time – but to give time back to you. FieldCollaborate, a software solution for residential homebuilders, includes construction management tools like scheduling, vendor and buyer portals, punch item management, safety assessments and more. It’s 24/7 cloud-based access allows anyone on your Team to collaborate whenever and wherever, from field managers and corporate staff to vendors and even homebuyers.

We know what you’re thinking: "Now I have to learn another new program?"

Valid point! When time is already in low supply, who wants to spend more of it adopting new software? But it’s extraordinary how a small time investment with FieldCollaborate can save weeks of time in the long run.

Our client Homes by Taber took the leap of faith. This Oklahoma City single-family production builder implemented FieldCollaborate for their entire Team and reported astounding results. Homes by Taber reduced their cycle time by 28%, which amounted to a savings of 45 days.

45 days! That’s a month and a half of time they get to spend being more productive and picking up more work. Year over year, they’ve been able to grow another $10 - $12 million because FieldCollaborate helps them build houses faster.

This isn’t a one-time success story. We see the benefits of FieldCollaborate with every client. No matter the size of your company, FieldCollaborate scales with you. It can be implemented today, start saving you time tomorrow, and help grow your business more efficiently for years to come.

More time, more productivity, more money.

When we get our time back, we realize how valuable it truly is. When we realize the value of time, we spend it in more productive ways. When we spend time more productively, we have more opportunities for increasing revenue.

Now that’s a cycle we can get stuck in.