5 Tips – Grand Opening Success for Home Builders
Here are some important tips home builders should keep in mind when planning for the grand opening of a new community. Over the past 25 years we have assisted numerous home builders with strategic solutions when marketing new homes. Working with experienced builders like Toll Brothers, M/I Homes, Lennar and K. Hovnanian Companies, these tips are personal observations made over the development of hundreds of successful grand openings over the past 25 years.
- Branding for Memory – Remain true to your brand. Your customers have likely been to your website and have a sense for the brand of your community or your home building firm. Utilize your digital ads, signage, display graphics and model homes to reinforce your brand. Keep things memorable and hire professionals who can tailor the customers experience to your target audience. Home buyers will be going to many projects to shop for a new home. Think about what you are prepared to do to keep your community, model home, brochure, advertising and sales experience memorable.
- On Site Emotional Experience – When customers come and visit your site, give customers a “Wow” around every corner. From the main entry signage, the landscaping and the initial entry into the sales center are all important. The right sales team with extra warm smiles and a caring helpful demeanor are a top priority. A well appointed sales center display area, and an organized selections area will help buyers orientate and evaluate your offerings while building rapport with customers.
- Experienced Sales Team – We love the flexibility to treat each customer and personalize tours based on needs, priorities or concerns. The best sales trainers often talk about being a good listener. If you listen to your customers, eventually they will tell you “where” they are in the buying process and what is most important to them. Negotiating from a position of strength is the key to getting the sale. Having great talking points and overcoming objections are all areas that need to be detailed in advance of the first customers arrival. Registration for each customer and review of weekly reports are critical to a communities success.
- Strategies for Pricing at Opening – Getting the word out 6-8 months before opening is key to building a list of interested customers. When you open, there will be a demand of highly interested parties who have been following the progress of the project. Price the first few homes so you can get sales in the beginning. Gaining momentum with a few sales is the key to success of any community.
- Digital and Social– When the first shovel hits the ground, create a brand for your community that will blend product, lifestyle, artwork, renderings and features. A library of digital assets for each community including exterior and interior photography, videos and lifestyle moments is the starting point. Hiring the right team that can bring it all together! Anyone can build a house…or can they? The perception of your community and home is based on many factors and marketing will play an important role as to how the world sees you….and that dictates the price you get for your homes.
John Rod & Co. Specializes in marketing and branding for home builders. Marketing residential communities for over 25 years.…it is what we do best, visit www.johnrodandco.com or call 732.462.2748.
