Builder Sales Offices and the Ever-Changing Consumer Landscape

Generally, we focus on the new home sales, marketing and construction management landscape. Today we're adding a bit of a more "retail" experience focus kicking-off with a recent Jane Meagher (she's with Success Strategies) comment,

In 2016, builders need to think like retailers selling new homes,                                                     rather than construction companies building homes they then sell.

Are you starting to think like a retailer?

 Meagher continues,

Let's strategically focus on influencing our buyers...like all smart retailers do.

Couple those thoughts with recent  Doug Stephens (he's known as a retail and consumer futurist) comments. Stephens analyzes trends -- financial, media, demographic, technology -- in order to provide insight into consumer and brand relationships.  

Stephens was asked, in a recent Retail Customer Experience interview, how to describe today's consumer and what is the top expectation in a retail transaction (remember: home builders are being encouraged to think like retailers!).

Try taking your immersive tools out!

Stephens suggests that, regardless of age, geography or economic strata, consumers are empowered.  And, it's not just technology doing the empowering, it's what he labels an unprecedented level of access to choice and information. 

One final thought, for today's blog, is Stephen's idea that consumer's expectations depend on what they're buying.  Stephens breaks the purchase experience into two categories: 

• fast, easy and frictionless (you might think website or fast food here) 
• exclusive, personalized and immersive (sales offices and design centers should be here)

Meagher mentions further, We need to thrill and delight our buyers with their (options) selections experiences.  

Would you consider evaluating your sales office experience in light of these thoughts?  Stephens says many organizations are intellectually aware of the need to change but plagued by process inertia. CPS can help you look at exciting, innovative and effective consumer engagement tools -- from interactive touchscreens to social media walls to tablet experiences.  You can adapt, innovate and keep in sync with today's changing consumer objectives!

Homebuilder Collaboration Software: Enhances Office-to-Field-to-Vendor Interaction

Traditionally, there were separate sets of knowledge, requests and data.  Homebuilders developed schedules and assigned tasks to their vendors.  There were faxes and telephone calls to communicate what needed to be done -- with more calls and invoices indicating what had been done.


Shared Schedules, Punch Items, Safety - Anywhere, Anytime

Today, homebuilders are focused on replacing localized data with a central repository of information accessible by authorized team members via the lowest common technology denominator -- software utilizing an internet browser.  This process means that office desktops, mobile phones and tablets are able to share information -- and design drawings have been added to this shared set of information.

CPS' Vendor Portal meets the core objectives needed for effective collaboration: organizational features such as security settings, user authorization and the like; communication features including publishing items such as FieldCollaborate construction schedules, management features including work standards and sharing/viewing/working with design drawings through 3rd party add-ons such as

Construction Technology: Providing the Extra Edge

What does an automated construction scheduling system offer a homebuilder? Are construction managers getting extra value from smart phones and tablets on the job site?

FieldCollaborateMobile:  Tools for more effective field personnel

Of course, there are the basics: consistent scheduling and tracking, notifications to subcontractors, management reporting, automated payment notifications, punch lists, safety assessments.  Those are the factual aspects of an automated system.

Then, there are the impacts of the process: more effective field personnel (as they're not spending so much time talking when technology can notify, remind and cajole), more efficient subcontractors (because they know when to arrive, what to do and when schedules are changed), decreased cycle times, increased carry rates, fewer dry runs.

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!