Builders: Using Software to Help Ease Margin Pressure

Are you a homebuilder focused on the entry-level and first-time home buyer market? That portion of the new home market is hot -- and the Millennial home shopper is more focused on purchasing than ever before!

Are you experiencing price increases on basic materials? How about difficulty in obtaining labor -- especially in critical trades? Labor shortages lead to price increases -- and these factors mean you're seeing margins being squeezed.

Now is a good time to focus on Operational Excellence

Recently, John McManus had a great article in BuilderOnline. McManus notes there's an opportunity today to motivate apartment dwellers to purchase homes. Home shoppers prefer new -- and apartment dwellers don't need to sell their current home so there are fewer strings attached to the purchase.

But, these buyers are at the first-time, entry level price point so price increases on the builder side indicate a need to be extra focused on what could be considered controllable costs to maintain margins. McManus notes builders are "doubling down" on items under their control such as construction cycles and workflows.

Construction Scheduling Offers an Effective Management Tool

Cycle time doesn't live in a vacuum -- and can't be determined or measured in the abstract, either. Do you have a published schedule -- do you track progress against it? Does everyone look at the same schedule or are there multiples floating around within the organization? If so, there's where inefficiencies multiply!

If there's one schedule, not only can you measure cycle time but you're able to provide consistent, reliable schedules to your vendors. That's a win/win as your vendors can rely on your schedule to book their crews. That lets your vendors get and stay efficient.

Construction scheduling software will help you develop the tools so there's only one schedule (for everyone -- within and outside the organization). Not only can you track and measure against it but..your vendors will have easy access to it and can rely on it.

CPS FieldCollaborate: Award-winning Construction Scheduling Software

We're available to provide a FieldCollaborate demo -- and we'll show you how to implement and use software that has resulted in up to 30% cycle time reductions -- day in/day out!

Let's Put Some Spring into Your Sales/Leasing Office!

Spring Mean Sales!

Spring might finally be here and with it: Spring Selling Season!  No matter what you're selling, says Amy O'Connor of Shore Consulting, Inc., people like buying in the spring. Buyers are ready to shake off the last days of winter and ready for something new!

From a visual vocabulary to virtual curb appeal!

Where to start? Amy is clear: the key to spring selling success is starting strong!

CPS adds: Work to Create a Great Buying Experience!

You want to be your customer's #1 choice; what can you do to make that happen? First, embrace the idea that home shoppers visit your office because they're interested in buying one of your homes.. in many cases, today!

Next, we'll suggest that it makes sense to start looking at your sales office as a customer does. What will help you stand apart so the home shopper rates your community #1?

Consider: Virtual Curb Appeal

What are you doing to create a great buying experience? From the minute a prospect drives (or walks) up to your office, they're using all of their senses to evaluate the experience...from smell to sight to touch!

 SalesTouch uses visuals to appeal to home shopper emotions!

Mollie Elkman, a Philadelphia-based marketing expert, reminds us that pictures offer "virtual curb appeal."  Why not build on standard imagery and Go Interactive to make your office stand apart and grab home shoppers' attention? An interactive touch presentation actively engages 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.

CPS offers SalesTouch, the interactive touchscreen system for both large and small (think tablets) screens. We're here to help you kick off (and up!!) your Spring selling season.

Keeping Customers Happy -- Even When There are Lines

QuikLine: Keeping Customers Informed with Line Management

Businesses take lines seriously

They have to.  No one wants grumpy customers annoyed about wait times and abandoning their purchase, because of a line.

Automated line management systems are available to make the wait process more efficient.

Typically, a well-designed system will provide a 15-35% improvement from end-to-end.  Everyone likes the idea of less time in line but … reducing a 3 1/2 minute wait by 25 seconds might not register as a significant improvement for the average consumer. It’s still a wait, in other words.

That’s where queuing management comes into play — and it isn’t just about shortening the line.  Queue theory, a 100-year old field of study, has transitioned from the purely mathematical to more of a psychological analysis of lines and their impact.

As a result, line management considers perceived wait time — the psychological component of line management — as just as important as time in line.

There can be up to a 40% decrease in perceived wait time with a good automated line system keeping customers informed about what to expect and both occupied and distracted by marketing and informational messaging.  It’s play-off season; who wouldn’t mind waiting when they knew they’d see the latest game score? Or, learning about Friday night’s free wine tasting!

What’s your business doing to keep your lines moving — and your customers happy?  Take a look at CPS’ QuikLine automated line management solution!

How to: Make Your Digital Signage Project a Success

Daniel Waldron hit the ball out of the park in a recent Digital Signage Today article: your digital signage success hinges on creating a unique user experience for your customers.

Staying Consistent with Your Customer's Journey!

Making a Unique User Experience

What's needed to make your customer-facing digital solution noteworthy, unique, worth the investment?

Take a Look at the Basics

Waldron suggests there are several key pieces of advice:

• Ask: is your digital solution attractive?  That seems fairly basic but.. you'd be surprised! Is the actual hardware visually appealing? Too often, in the interest of perceived cost savings, you'll see monitors that are too small for the setting -- or have been touched too many times without cleaning. Stay on top of details! And, of course, make sure you're taking advantage of high quality visuals and high-res monitors.
• Incorporate Social Media into the digital experience. Have you seen the Digital Information World statistic: 71% of consumers refer to social media for purchasing decisions? Linking digital signage to social media, Waldron suggests, creates trust -- as social media recommendations carry positive weight and show you're committed to engaging with your customers. 
• Stay Customer Centric. Don't try to do everything, in other words! If you're a homebuilder, for example, stay consistent with your customer's journey: they're at your sales office because they want to make a lifestyle change. Show them your homes, let them try on various options, help them find out about life essentials in this new neighborhood (where are the local schools; how about shopping?) -- and make it easy to do! Add some fun, where possible!

Keep Your Salespeople Involved

Take a look at CPS' interactive touchscreen SalesTouch system designed for Cornerstone Communities' Aventine sales center. Wouldn't you agree it is visually attractive? And, consistent with prospective home shopper's life journeys?

Although most interactive presentation systems are designed for self-service, it is critical that your sales team is knowledgeable about their operation -- and proactive in getting home shoppers engaged. Bob Musa, in his Creating Customers book, notes that the sales process has always included making the customer aware of the product, creating interest in the product and creating intent in the purchase.  Today, home shoppers want to be educated about how your product will meet their lifestyle needs -- both system and sales agent are actively involved in that process!

Interactive Presentations: Content is Critical

Your audience -- whatever the product, whether they're new new home shoppers or retail customers -- has a short attention span.

CPS SalesTouch content helps focus the customer journey!

They want content -- in short bursts -- and they want it now.  Reading through brochures is so 2000, in other words!

What can you do to improve your approach to content and make it relevant to your audience?

• Focus on grabbing their attention -- right away.  Remember: visuals are key as they spark the imagination.  Let your customers know there's a story unfolding in front of them -- make sure your copy and content is relevant to their lifestyle, goals and aspirations.
• Provide actionable information -- that is easily approached. Your customer is there because they want something new -- they want to find out how your product (be it a new home, an appliance or clothes) will improve their current situation.  Help them explore your solution. If you're a new home builder, that means interactive floorplans, furniture placement, design center features.  A grocery? There's recipes, nutritional information and new cooking methods.
• Motivate them to take the next step -- make sure you've defined it.  Do you want prospect registration? A tour, followup meeting or call back? Make the next step realistic, identifiable and easy to locate. 

Take a look at the CPS SalesTouch interactive touchscreen presentation above: what can you tell about the audience, their goals and aspirations and the next steps?  We've put SalesTouch case studies on our website so you can see how effective content grabs a home shopper's attention and encourages them to take the next step on their path to home ownership.

Yes! Interactive Technology & the 55+ Home Shopper are a Great Fit!

People are always asking: My new project is a 55+ community -- do you think interactive technology would be useful?

Technology helps answer your home shopper's questions!

The answer is a resounding yes!

First, a few thoughts about 55+ and technology: today's 55+ home shopper is more tech savvy than you might think.

The largest growing Facebook user group is the 55+ audience. The 2017 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report reports that 89% of home shopping Boomers search online -- which is consistent with any of the other age groups -- including Millennials.

We've found every generation of home shoppers expects some sort of digital engagement and builders need to consider providing tools to meet those consumer expectations.

By the time a Millennial, Gen Xer, or Boomer home shopper walks into your sales or leasing office, they’re already well into their journey for a new dwelling.

One key take away: technology acts as an assistant to sales and leasing agents as it encourages home shoppers to ask questions and find solutions.  Whether the process includes creating a dream home with a hobby room in lieu of the standard 3rd bedroom or determining how Plan 2158 fits on the selected lot, interactive technology helps the home shopper visualize and embrace their new home.

And, your 55+ audience seeks information! They're considering a life-changing purchase and want to make sure they've checked all the possible boxes. Take a look at CPS' interactive touchscreen system, SalesTouch, engaging home shoppers at Latitude Hilton Head -- the latest Margaritaville 55+ community. The sales agents address questions and provide understandable answers at a touch!

It's President's Weekend -- Spring Selling Season is Around the Corner!

It's true: we're just about to wrap-up February -- and that means the Spring Selling Season is kicking off! This week offers a great time to take stock and develop plans to kick-off new Spring new home sales/marketing efforts.

How do you create a great Buying Experience?

We'd like to suggest several ideas to help generate visits to your sales office and better engage home shoppers when they're there:

(1) Start Reaching Out to Realtors, Now -- We've blogged about the value of co-op agents before (here's an earlier Solutions blog -- Builders, Co-Op Agents: Reaching the Asian Community.)

BuilderOnLine reports Spring is the busiest season for Realtors and suggests offering incentives to make sure they are up on the latest about your community.  How about putting together a Get Ready for Spring Open House -- maybe offering a "spa event" raffle for attendees?  Or, a Wine & Cheese evening with a several bottles of your favorite?

Keep the buzz going: don't stop with one event!  If you start now (in dreary February), you'll be ahead of 90% of your competition!

Don't forget Realtors often focus on specific demographics -- relocations, ethnic or religious groups, 55+ buyers, etc.  Try reaching out to the 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) Work to Create a Great Buying Experience --- You want to be your customer's #1 choice; what can you do to make that happen? First, embrace the idea that home shoppers visit your office because they're interested in buying one of your homes.. in many cases, today!

Next, we'll suggest that it makes sense to start looking at your sales office as a customer does. What will help you stand apart so the home shopper rates your community #1?

Think about: what are you doing to create a great buying experience! From the minute a prospect drives (or walks) up to your office, they're using all of their senses to evaluate the experience...from smell to sight to touch!

Mollie Elkman, a Philadelphia-based marketing expert, reminds us that pictures offer "virtual curb appeal."  Why not build on standard imagery and Go Interactive to make your office stand apart and grab home shoppers' attention?

An interactive touch presentation actively engages 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.

CPS offers software to help you zero in on the co-op agent community (that's CPS CRM) as well as SalesTouch, our interactive touchscreen system for both the large and small (think tablets) screen. We're here to help -- even when it's snowing and raining!