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For
example, if we want to create a more favorable first impression,
elements we could review include: ensuring model homes and
homes under construction are tidied up each day; addressing
your phone system (how phones are answered, messages on hold
and voice mail); and creating an effective follow-up plan.
The design phase also helps establish priorities,
timelines and budgets. Perhaps you are already committed
to having a home in next year’s Spring Parade. We would
look at the design of the home, the messaging that would
be placed in the home, any handouts or ads you would place
in the printed Parade guide, PR tie-ins, features on your
web site, training hosts/hostesses and staff, targeted marketing
to area real estate agents, etc.
DEFINING
Most builders know that their female customers are usually
the ones calling the shots – but they may not know what to do with that truth. The
journey to becoming a woman-centric homebuilder begins by developing
a road map and getting good directions. Of course, any journey begins with a clear
understanding of where you want to end up. In this instance,
that destination is to become your area’s Her Home® or
Woman-CentricSM homebuilder. That may
sound relatively easy – get some new signs made, add
a woman-centric tag to your advertising and shout the news
to the world. The problem with that strategy, is buyers will
see through the thin woman-centric marketing veneer and be
disillusioned by the lack of substantive difference.
To be useful, the road map must also include
your starting point. In this instance, that means examining
every aspect of your business through her eyes. Design
Basics’ personnel
are highly skilled in helping builders at this stage – identifying
and evaluating the many customer touch points that all combine
to influence her ultimate purchase decisions. It is
only after defining where you are, where you want to go and
all of the activities en route, that you can proceed to the
next phase – design.
DESIGNING
Because no two builders are exactly alike, no two interpretations
of the woman-centric approach are identical. In the designing
phase, Design Basics’ woman-centric team tailors the
program to match the builder, the builder’s goals and
the specific market.
After identifying all of the customer touch
points, we start designing the overall woman-centric home
buying experience as well as the individual elements. For
example, if we want to create a more favorable first impression,
elements we could review include: ensuring model homes and
homes under construction are tidied up each day; addressing
your phone system (how phones are answered, messages on hold
and voice mail); and creating an effective follow-up plan.
The design phase also helps establish priorities, timelines and budgets. Perhaps
you are already committed to having a home in next year’s Spring
Parade. We would look at the design of the home, the messaging that would
be placed in the home, any handouts or ads you would place in the printed
Parade guide, PR tie-ins, features on your web site, training hosts/hostesses
and staff, targeted marketing to area real estate agents, etc.
CREATING
True marketers love the creating phase, where all of the activities approved
in the designing phase come to life. The synergy becomes apparent at
this stage, i.e., how creating a “buzz-worthy” new home
building experience ties into testimonials and word-of-mouth marketing.
Beyond creating obvious things such as
new marketing messages and flyers, the woman-centric approach
to options and upgrades is developed. Few things in homebuilding
can have such a dramatic effect on increasing sales, profits
and customer satisfaction – all at the same time!
But first you must understand that a successful
option/upgrade program is not simply selling more options.
It is actually about selling more homes. Most of our nation’s
new housing has moved far beyond providing basic shelter
to becoming something innately personal and emotional. Home
is the one place where she can truly be herself. Options
and upgrades allow her to personalize her home.
Perhaps my favorite example is the humble
kitchen wastebasket. Typically, it’s stashed under
the kitchen sink with the garbage disposal and plumbing.
This scenario usually limits the homeowner’s options
to a small waste container– which creates two problems.
An amazing amount of stuff aimed for that little wastebasket
ends up beside it and it will be overflowing most of the
time.
The homeowner’s other alternative
is to purchase the most attractive tall kitchen wastebasket
she can find and display it for all of her friends and family
to “enjoy” when she entertains. (It’s
also easier for the dog to get into when it’s out in
the open.) A pull-out wastebasket drawer in the base
cabinets is a solution most homeowners will opt for and rave
about. But all too often, it is overlooked simply because
she’s not aware it is available or she’s too
occupied with other decisions.
IMPLEMENTING
Congratulations! The road map has led you to your destination. Yet, the
most insightful strategies, executed with brilliant creative messaging,
will be only as effective as their implementation. Signage that’s
slightly misplaced may be entirely missed by prospective buyers. A
great radio commercial has little impact if it’s aired on the
wrong stations. And an improperly trained sales team, no matter how
excited by the inherent power of the woman-centric approach, can inadvertently
undermine this program’s success.
Here, too, Design Basics teams up with
builders to help ensure remarkable results. Based upon the
builder’s unique interpretation of the woman centric
approach, Design Basics can provide a comprehensive and insightful
two-day training for everyone in your organization, ensuring
a consistent understanding of what the program is, why home
buyers like it, the
opportunities for your employees and associates and what’s expected
of them.
From making media buys for our clients
to helping stage events for specific audiences and setting
up builders’ sales centers and design studios, Design
Basics can maximize your investment in the woman-centric
approach. Traditional advertising agencies talk about reaching
the target audience. Design Basics knows the secret
is connecting with her – which can only come from a
deep, intuitive understanding of her buying psychology.
REFINING
As with any business strategy, some of the most lucrative opportunities
can only be seen once you are underway. The refining phase brings the
road map into a new light, helping you see that the destination is
fluid, not fixed.
At the refining stage, we look at what’s
working well and what could be working better. We look at
program enhancements, both subtle and significant, that could
have a major impact on sales for the remainder of this year
as well as next year. We also discuss strategies and tactics
being used successfully by other woman-centric builders and
how these might affect your business.
Customer surveying is one of the important
activities at this phase. In generating the raw feedback
from home buyers regarding their perceptions, expectations
and satisfaction, Design Basics’ team gleans insights
and knowledge of areas which should be addressed. As
with the entire process, the focus is on achieving the original
goal – becoming the woman-centric builder in your area, making
the competition irrelevant!
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