Given that our team has spent much of the past year digging into and sharing insights from our own homebuyer research study, it’s possible that our takeaways may be a bit skewed. That said, we found many of the sessions – and conversations – at the National Association of Home Builders’ International Builders’ Show (IBS) this year connect in one way or another to Wick’s Beyond Buyer Profiles & Demographics study, as well as an additional handful of important key ideas.
Customer Experience
The common theme was around the importance of understanding who your customer is, what they value and how they want to do business with you. Data from our research showed that only 22% of recent new home buyers fell into a category we labeled “confident and satisfied,” reflective of their attitudes around their homebuying process and home purchase decision. So, there’s room for improvement.
Among the solutions discussed in IBS sessions for improving the customer experience were some that we’d consider “table stakes.” Be easy to work with and provide useful information. But then going beyond that, brands that invite buyers to engage with them through understanding their priorities, and that offer invaluable support and information are likely to fare better with today’s new home buying consumer than the brands that do not. Some sessions, one including K. Hovnanian’s Chris Hartley, went deep on the idea of improving the customer experience by leveling up greatly at every single touchpoint.
Trust
Without it, nothing else works as well as it could. Certainly not the homebuying experience. Our survey data showed that only 21% of recent new home buyers had a high level of trust in builders. At that level, everything is more challenging – and carries greater risk. Sales, customer service, public relations and social media management, staff acquisition and retention, even legal concerns are all potentially bigger (read: more expensive) issues in a low-trust environment.
Protecting trust – in the customer-facing individual and in the brand – should be priority number one.
In addition to our survey insights around trust and customer experience being part of two sessions where Wick presented, the data also was referenced in a couple of sessions from the team at Do You Convert, and the theme of trust was repeated on multiple stages and in conversations throughout the week. As an industry, we have work to do here, and big opportunities because of it.
Transparency is key. Whether it’s pricing on the website, helping buyers to fully understand the financing and homebuying process, or attentive and skillful relationship management, transparency was among the top issues repeatedly covered under the umbrella of building and keeping trust.
Brand Strategy
Storytelling took center stage, both in terms of written stories and those told visually. Knowing that a significant percentage (some say 90%) of buyers have all but already chosen their builder once they visit onsite, marketing touchpoints that buyers encounter prior to an onsite visit carry more weight than ever.
A strong and clear brand that differentiates itself from the competition consistently demonstrates an understanding of the customer, attracts their attention, inspires them to take another step in the process and focuses on what the buyer cares about – and that’s where you want to be.
Some sessions dug deep into effective strategies for website, CRM, digital advertising and for some efforts, print and event tactics. And many others, still, shared tools and approaches for capturing data and insights to help guide decision-making. And, as expected, several sessions shared a multitude of uses for AI as a tool, saver of time and money, as well as some predictions for how we may find ourselves incorporating it into our world by this time next year.
At the heart of it, though, everything needs to tie back to the brand, and that brand and its storytelling need to be strategically crafted and thoughtfully executed.
There was more. So much more. It was a packed week. But, based on our observations, a tight focus on customer experience, trust and brand strategy is some of what you’re likely to see from your fellow builders and developers in the year ahead. Those were the themes that really seemed to resonate with many attendees at a very successful and information-packed Builders’ Show.
We’re here to help. If you want to talk about how we might do that, let’s chat! Reach out to Barbara Wray at barbara@wickmarketing.com or (512) 564-4289.
