The term “customer experience” is one we’ve been hearing a lot lately – specifically in relation to digital and online ecosystems. But what exactly does this mean and why should homebuilders care about creating a positive experience for their customers?
The simple answer is that creating a better experience for your customers keeps them happy longer and generally leads to increased sales and fewer cancellations. This is especially important for businesses that sell high ticket items and have a long, drawn-out sales process – such as homebuilders and community developers.
By using virtual home tours and house design software from digital companies like Roomored, we can keep new home buyers interested and engaged throughout the lengthy design process and reduce the number of cancellations that occur. Let’s explore how.
A Shift Towards Digital
Modern consumers are accustomed to getting exactly what they want exactly when they want it. If you aren’t able to give that to them, they will find it somewhere else and your chances of closing on that deal become significantly smaller.
Every industry from retail, to food and beverage, and even automobiles have adapted to this change. The homebuilding space is one of the last industries to shift toward the digitally-focused mindset, but that is quickly changing.
This isn’t to suggest that homebuilders should start placing “BUY NOW” buttons all over their website and social media pages. Think more along the lines of automobile manufacturers who allow customers to build their dream car online, but require them to go to a physical dealership to make the final purchase.
This is the vision that we had when we created Roomored – to create an interactive design tool that users can access anywhere at any time to build their dream home while experimenting with different finishes and fixtures.
Enhancing the Online Experience with House Design Software
Homebuilders need to acknowledge that we are living in a digital age and everybody’s customers – no matter what industry you are in or what your product is – are spending lots of time online. The question we now ask isn’t “Should we be online?” it is “How can we create an online experience that is valuable to our customers?”
The team at Roomored identified that the biggest gap in the home buying process occurs during the design phase. Since this phase often has long periods where little to no communication takes place, we start to see a lot of potential customers drop off or cancel their contracts.
Clearly, there is room for improvement here and improved visual tools have been at the top of many homebuyers’ “want list” for quite some time. We took it upon ourselves to develop a product that solves both of these problems.
How Can Roomored Help?
With the Roomored Virtual Experience, we set out to create an interactive tool that new home buyers’ could use to design their new home and explore new options for flooring, finishes, and fixtures on their computer or tablet.
These aren’t stock options either. We work with home builders and supply companies to create a virtual model of the home (based on real blueprints) and provide samples of the actual flooring and finish options that are provided. This allows new home buyers to explore their options without exploring other companies or succumbing to buyer’s remorse.
It Starts Online
Builders who create the most engaging and exciting online experiences are the ones who are going to see the most traffic in their sales center. Interactive tools such as Roomored give you an opportunity to engage with your customers when and how they want – with no extra effort from your sales team.
If your organization is not focused on creating an excellent online experience for your customers, you are bound to lose to somebody who is. Contact us today to learn how Roomored can improve your online sales and marketing efforts.
