When Does the Customer Experience Start?

Asking when the Customer Experience starts is like asking the question, how long do you get to make a first impression? The answer for both is that they start well before initial contact is made with your prospect.

Today’s buyers are more educated because of our connected world than they were just 5-10 years ago. Yet most builders today are marketing and selling like they were 20 years ago and wondering why they are left behind. It isn’t about who has the most money, or who is the biggest. It is about who has the clearest and most consistent message.

Understanding your USP Unique Selling Proposition is more than just WHAT you think you do differently. It is WHY a buyer should buy from you and how that decision will impact them in a meaningful way. Simon Sinek, in his book, Start with Why, shares with us that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.”

Think of brands with incredible loyalty. Loyalty so fierce, that even though their competitors might have superior products, they have developed a cult-like following. I am of course talking about brands like Harley Davidson, Apple (iPhone), Nike. Their customers connect with them on an emotional level, but it goes beyond that, they identify with these products. The products and brand become a part of who they are.

In most cases in the home building world, our buyers “just aren’t that into you.” And the reason for that is we are still telling them what we do and how we do it. Not WHY we do it.

You will know when you have gotten there when your buyers brag to their friends, “we are building a new Bodacious Home,” rather than just saying, “we are building a new home over in Shady Acres.”

As the principal of the company, by defining your “Why” you allow that be the defining genesis of everything your company does. Your WHY tells a prospect, buyer & customer what they gain by living in your home. It isn’t your features. It is emotional, spiritual, cellular even.

Think about Nike’s, “Just Do It!” The WHY for them is our shoes & clothing line will help you conquer the demons that hold you back and keep you from accomplishing great things. When you spell it out like that, it sounds crazy doesn’t it? But when you sum it up with, “Just Do It!” It becomes a rallying cry, a mantra, a way of life.

Once your WHY is defined, it forces you to live up to high standards, set procedures and policies which will empower your team members to take up the charge and have that same pride in their work as you do. They know what they do is important because they understand WHY.

When you have taken the time to really understand your unique WHY, then you can go about the process of defining who benefits.

Everything, from your logo, web site, social media presence, signage, your community locations, pricing, and appearance must support the WHY. If it doesn’t, your buyers will know. They know when something is wrong or off. Your sales team, their appearance, their sales practices and customer satisfaction levels all must be congruent to the WHY.

Then, and here is the part that is understandably the hardest to support, the Start to Close process. You see, it isn’t about being perfect, but it is about setting the proper expectation and having a plan for when things go wrong rather than managing everything as an “exception.” When customers know the WHY, they forgive mistakes and mishaps because those are far less important than the relationship and expectations we set with them well before they even knew they were a customer.

Do buyers seek you out?

Do you have an almost cult-like following of general real estate agents?

Do you receive lots of unsolicited, positive testimonials?

These are not unrealistic goals. Buyers and outside RE agents are our lifeline. They are WHY we do WHAT we do.

If you answered these questions in a way that was less than what you wanted them to be. I encourage you to start with WHY.

Kimberly Mackey is the founder of New Homes Solutions, and has the reputation as someone with real-world SOLUTIONS in a competitive and rapidly changing sales environment–SOLUTIONS like “50 Sales per Year before Any Walk-in Traffic”. She is a keynote speaker and published author of many Sales and Leadership articles with 20 years of experience as an executive in the residential home building and real estate industry. She has a proven track record working with Builders and Developers of all sizes –from the local/regional companies to the publicly traded nationals. She also works with Brokers from across the country and is the architect and director of the highly successful Preferred Builder Partnership with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Properties Group where she works with 32 builders, 22 offices and over 650 agents.

For more information, or to book Kimberly for your next event, visit www.NewHomesSolutions.com, or visit Mackey at LinkedIn,www.dhirubhai.net/in/kimberlymackey; Twitter,www.twitter.com/KimberlyDMackey; and Facebook,www.facebook.com/NewHomesSolutions or on YouTube, www.youtube.com/c/NewHomesSolutions