Selling New Homes? How Your Neighborhood Can Win Over Resale

Home shoppers today can find many reasons to purchase new: improved construction processes (think structural reinforcements if you're selling in tornado- or hurricane-prone areas); energy efficient appliances and related savings, customization choices...no doubt, much of your sales and marketing attention focuses on these tangible items (and it should!).

Close to Everything: Take a Look at What Interests You!

At the same time, Marilyn Lewis' article, 20 Signs You're Buying in a Great Neighborhood, reminds us "a great neighborhood sells a home"!

What are you doing to promote your new neighborhood? Lewis' article (you can read it here) suggests the first thing you can do is: get out and learn about the neighborhood! Take a walk, pick up a latte, locate school resource guides and, soon, you'll feel comfortable talking-up the area to your home shoppers.


Lots going on in this walkable neighborhood!

Of course, there are brochures, guides and the like but...why not put technology to work introducing your neighborhood to your home shoppers?  Make it an engaging exploration; add personalized touches (we love the John Marshall's "Must Try" pick for their dining examples); Go Interactive!

Take a look at the SalesTouch interactive touchscreen presentation location displays above and to the right: you're able to view the local  area map and select a topic of interest mirroring

What Builds a Customer Relationship? Conversation!

We all can recognize an essential fact about conversations: it's really difficult to have one with someone you don't know!  Where do you start? Do we have a common interest?

Interactive Touchscreens Engage & Start the Conversation

That's one reason we champion interactive touchscreens for use in sales and information centers: they get conversations started.  Between home shoppers, between consumers and sales agents, even between prospects and a touch monitor!

People walk up to a touch monitor when its visually inviting.  They've seen a message they're interested in and want to start engaging.  In other words, they're starting the conversation with your brand!

Take a look at the image above: the home shopper has viewed Camberley Homes' Lakeshore floor plan and taken time to personally note they love the Open Kitchen.

What can we gather from this interaction? We'll suggest that a conversation has been started, the sales

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

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!

What's Trending for Customer Service? Think Proactive, Omnichannel

It's been said that effective customer service is both a strategy and philosophy as much as a major business function.  As a result, it makes sense to monitor trends and understand new channels in order to evaluate whether it makes sense to modify your customer service strategy. We've seen two major trends emerge over the last year:

Interactive Touchscreen: Proactive Customer Service

(1) Proactive interaction -- Most agree that customer service shouldn't focus only on "putting out fires." It's about developing relationships from the first point of contact. Providing proactive interaction shows you support your customers and reduces the number of fires long-term.  Utilizing"self-service" throughout your engagement process allow customers to interact at their timing. You'll start the conversation as your consumers provide feedback, suggestions and requests ahead of a critical item. Using technology (such as a knowledge base) lets your customers engage with you and each other. Your customers will tell you about their interests and concerns when presented with the ability to interact.

(2) Omnichannel customer service -- Zendesk reports 2014 is shaping up as the year of omnichannel. An interesting blog suggests consumers are becoming more comfortable interacting with companies via email, phone, in store, etc.  What's really interesting to read is how companies benefit when providing multiple engagement channels -- that is, there are economic benefits: 75% of

Kicking Off Spring's Selling Season

Are you ready to kick start your Spring selling season?

Yes; for many, it's been a long, cold winter with ice storms, record cold and history-busting snowfalls. Hopefully, we're past the worst of that and can start generating Spring marketing efforts.  Here are several that should resonate and can start generating visits to your sales office:

(1) Reach Out to Realtors -- We've talked about the value of co-op agents before (take a look at an earlier Solutions blog entry --  Builders, Co-Op Agents: Reaching the Asian Community.) 

Co-op Agents: Give them a reason to visit!

BuilderOnLine reports Spring is the busiest season for Realtors and suggests offering incentives to make sure they spread the word about your community.  How about putting together a "Get Ready for Spring" Open House -- offering a "spa event" raffle for attendees?  Or, a "Wine & Cheese" evening with a case of your favorite?  And, keep the buzz going: don't stop with one event!  Follow-up with emails announcing the winner and promoting your next event -- as well as your community.

Don't forget that Realtors often focus on a specific demographic -- relocations, ethnic or religious groups, 55+ buyers, etc.  Reach out to these demographic-centric agents, often.  They always will have a group of interested buyers available to visit your community -- provide them with a reason to stop by.

(2) A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words --- Mollie Elkman, a Philadelphia-based marketing expert, reminds us that pictures offer "virtual curb appeal."  Why not take one step further and Go Interactive with a touch screen system? 

Go behind the walls -- and beyond the floorplan!

You'll start engaging prospects from the minute they step into your sales office and can continue the conversation with interactive floor plans, the ability to select and place furniture inside your homes and e-brochures. 

Take your home shoppers "behind the walls" and visually talk about your location, amenities, and features.  Show them you're "in the center of town" and what that offers -- or your rural location and the great amenities provided by the HOA. 

Bringing Green Out from "Behind the Walls"

Incorporating green into building has been gaining momentum -- particularly, according to a recent Constructech article -- among residential homebuilders.  Builders, says Constructech, can market green from a cost savings perspective -- thus, a gaining a competitive value add in the marketing equation.

What drives consumer interest in green?

A recent Navigant Research study (discussed in a Constructech article here) suggests home energy-management systems have had a difficult time gaining traction in the market. But...Navigant suggests increased awareness will drive future growth.

How can you provide the critical increased awareness so your home shoppers will want to buy-in to your energy-saving options?  Take a look at what Navigant says are the primary drivers: the desire to reduce electricity bills as well as utilize smart thermostats.

Consumers have signaled their interest -- how are you responding?  One great way to