In housebuilding, effective customer communication has become paramount. Technology has brought about a new wave of tools and systems to keep in touch with the businesses we’re buying or receiving services from. That’s everything from livechats, messaging support through WhatsApp, to the classic communication method of email. Offering this and meeting customer expectations can be challenging, but with this now often the norm every industry including the new homes and estate agency industries have to meet this demand.
This takes many forms, that could be communications with buyers who’ve expressed interest in your development, those who’ve reserved or even a buyer who just needs a helping hand with their lovely new oven. Each of these customers is a different challenge requiring separate systems and processes. In today’s article we’re going to examine meeting the needs of each of these and help you work towards better sales processes.
As a consequence of the digital revolution, modern buyers expect to stay informed about the progress of their property with little resistance. They value real-time updates and transparent communication, but many are resistant to over communication – and more than happy to mark an email as spam due to having an overflowing inbox.
To meet these standards, it’s essential for marketing and sales teams within housebuilding companies to collaborate closely. By unifying their efforts, they can manage contacts and audiences more effectively, ensuring that buyers receive relevant information throughout their purchasing journey.
This collaborative approach prevents the dissemination of irrelevant marketing materials, enhancing the overall customer experience and reducing the chances of ending up in a spam inbox. But more importantly by working together and effectively marking your contacts on their journey to become buyers, marketing teams can ease off a little and provide them with more tailored materials. This of course requires a high degree of organisation if you’re working with spreadsheets and separate email marketing tools – it’s nearly impossible.
There are a lot of ways of achieving this. When building Housebuilder Pro, we’ve tackled it from a few different angles with integrations to your website and email marketing tools, we facilitate this segmenting of your audience, without the need to update your contacts in multiple places. A contact reserves a plot, well as they’re added to the plot that updates everywhere – facilitating a seamless collaboration between sales and marketing.
When the most effective businesses on the planet either have custom software developed or off-the-shelf sales software to achieve these sales processes with ease, your business must arm itself with the right tools to get the job done.
Then we turn our attention to your buyers. The New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) has introduced the New Homes Quality Code, setting higher standards for builders and offering enhanced protections for buyers. A key component of this code is the requirement for developers to provide comprehensive handover packs to buyers, ensuring they are well-informed about their new properties.
Now this is easier said than done.
With buyers getting more and more tech-savvy, with more and more demands placed on their time.
They seek immediate solutions for minor issues in their homes, to meet this need it’s best to provide an self-service element to your customer support. Providing on-demand resources, such as video guides and digital instruction manuals, can empower homeowners to address simple fixes independently, reducing the need for support team interventions. This is brilliant if you get it right, you’ve saved your team’s time, and the customer has got an answer when they needed it without having to wait to call you or sit on hold. Everyone wins!
Our belief is that these tools are worth their weight in gold, as embracing technological solutions can significantly enhance customer satisfaction. So, at Housebuilder Pro we went away and built this ready for you to use. Housebuilder Pro’s customer portal is a brilliant case study for how to achieve this first line of response. The portal offers access to documents like the reservation agreement with a few simple clicks. Come handover you’re able to supply them with video guides, instruction manuals and more!
Our portal of course doesn’t stop there, as buyer communication goes far beyond this. Through it you can provide real-time build updates, allowing buyers to track the progress of their new homes conveniently. It also provides on-demand access to snagging information, enabling customers to report and monitor issues directly through the platform. Furthermore, the portal allows buyers to personalise their homes by selecting fixtures, finishes, and layouts, all within an intuitive interface.
In the next Housebuilder Pro update our new customer portal will launch, enhancing its user-friendliness and premium feel. These improvements not only streamline the user experience but also foster greater trust between builders and buyers, aligning with the NHQB’s emphasis on quality and transparency.
Revolutionising customer communication in housebuilding is no longer optional but a necessity. By adhering to the NHQB’s guidelines, fostering internal collaboration, and leveraging advanced technological solutions like Housebuilder Pro’s customer portal, developers can meet modern buyers’ expectations and set new standards in customer satisfaction.
