8 minute read
Changing Our Image... and the Power of Retail
by John Ace Underwood
HHere are some facts that we in the factory-built housing industry simply cannot escape.
First, we have never built a better-looking product. One only has to tour the homes at our trade shows to know this. Second, we literally OWN the words “affordable housing”. No one fills the American Dream of homeownership for less than we do.
The question that begs to be asked is why, then, do we still only represent 10% of all new housing starts? For the moment, setting aside the most common answers, which is the availability of financing and zoning, and all that these entail, let’s look at the impact that our image has on this percentage. Few would argue that our industry suffers greatly from the perception the general public has of us and the homes we offer. All too often we look to manufacturers, or national and state associations to address this problem. In doing so, those who retail manufactured homes, be that on dealerships or in communities, fail to recognize the power they have in forming public perception and general opinion.
Everything the manufacturer builds into their homes in terms of quality and structural integrity must be communicated to the customer by the retailer and its sales team. Otherwise, the consumer will be unable to see the value. All of the options and upgrades a manufacturer offers to make their homes look spectacular can be entirely negated at the retail level.
A highly effective retailer, a great product presentation by one enthusiastic salesperson, can sell homes that may not »
have all of the quality features their higher-priced cousins may include. What about the availability of financing? Financing is a supply and demand issue, pure and simple. There is an endless pool of money chasing higher yields. We can’t control the lender and where they put their money. We can only control the people we market and sell to. In order to sell more homes, we have to attract more ready and able homebuyers, and once we attract them, we have to offer a better customer experience if we expect them to be willing to buy.
Everything our industry does depends entirely on what happens when a prospective buyer comes in contact with our industry in any way. We have to identify, understand, and control each and every one of these touch points.
To identify and control these touch points, we have to look at the journey a prospective buyer takes through the process of engaging with our industry. We have to start where they start.
The Web Lead
According to marketing data, 96% of potential homebuyers begin their shopping experience using the internet. Therefore, your website is quite likely one of the first touch points. How well is your website performing? How would you know? Simply, if your website is not generating more leads than your team can handle, there is something wrong with your website and/or your marketing strategy. You’re losing sales.
The Phone Lead
The second touchpoint of the customer experience is when a lead or an inquiry is generated by your website or any of your other lead sources.
Who responds to that internet lead and what do they say? How long does it take? When are incoming sales calls being answered and by whom? If you don’t really know, meaning you’ve set expectations and measure against those standards, you’re losing sales. I had a client with a significant number of locations who was getting literally thousands of internet leads and just as many inbound sales calls every month.
Fact: A great customer experience can often compensate for a lesser product, but even the best product cannot compensate for a poor customer experience.
My client fully believed that at least 85-90% of the calls were being effectively processed. Upon closer examination, we discovered the salespeople were answering the inbound sales 1-800 number less than 44% of the time on average, less than 29% in the worst cases and only 62% of the time at the best location, with the rest going to voicemail. What impression might remain with the potential homeowner given this scenario?
If the phone isn’t being answered, what do you think happens to internet leads? How likely is it that your salespeople are tuned into voicemail and are returning calls expeditiously? Again, if the performance is akin to the rate a ringing phone is answered, what impression does this make?
The New Lead in Person
Let’s assume the website generated a lead, and the sales professional reached out to the contact and set an appointment to visit your sales center or community. When the customer arrives, does the customer experience pass the test of those customers you’re trying to attract? What impression do they have when they leave?
Chances are, the customer experience you provide appeals to those customers to whom you are selling but it may not appeal to the ones you could be selling.
If you also want to attract, capture, and sell a better-quality homebuyer, assess your marketing strategy, your sales process, your collateral material, the way in which your homes are displayed, your signage, and the appearance of your display center. All of these are part of your image and make a statement as to who you are and how you conduct business. All of these have a monumental impact on whom you sell homes to and how many homes you sell.
Based on my experience, you’re already being contacted by those additional prospects, you’re just not converting them. Understand this fully… you’re likely already being contacted by the people who will buy the additional homes you want to sell or the spaces you want to fill.
I’ve addressed just a few of the issues that could be lowering your corporate image and could be costing you additional sales. Which of these
can be resolved at the factory? How many of these can be eliminated by getting better financing? In contrast, how many of these do YOU control? This is the power you have. You quite literally have the power not only to increase your sales and grow your organization, but in doing so, changing the public perception of our industry as a whole.
The hardest business to measure is the business you lose. People don’t call you and tell you where, when, and how you dropped the ball. They just buy or move somewhere else. The only defense against losing the business you could, and therefore should be closing, is to consider your overall customer experience and never, ever give your prospects a reason not to buy. That’s how you grow your company and that’s how we will change the image of our industry. MHV John Ace Underwood is a 30+ year veteran of the factory-built housing industry, focusing on marketing, sales/
sales management process implementation, and leadership development. He has worked with hundreds of retailers, manufacturers, and communities, and is a frequent presenter at state and national industry associations. For a Business Process Assess ment, contact him at (520) 241-9907 or e-mail: johna ceunderwood@ gmail.com.
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