How to Engage Customers at an Early Stage of the Homebuying Process
A Homebuilder’s Guide on Using Presales Features to Reduce Fall-throughs and Drive Excitement in the Journey Towards Completion
It is hard to overestimate the importance of engaging customers at an early stage of the homebuying process. ‘Often the highest of the buyer’s emotional altitude is found at the signing of the contract. The possibilities are endless and the hope of a smooth journey is found in this moment,’ advises Jeremiah Gore of Shore Consulting, a new home sales training company.
While the homebuyer is experiencing this emotional high and excited about the prospect of their new home, rather than await an inevitable decline in mood, why not use this as a base point from which to move forward, either maintaining or even, dare we say, exceeding the high of this moment?
In this blog, we will explore three methods for building on this initial excitement and maintaining a sense of momentum throughout the build stage and journey towards completion.
1. Communicating Your Presence and Reducing Fall-Throughs
‘According to the data in 2023, there were an estimated 269,728 fall-throughs in the UK,’ reports Property Industry Eye. This high number of fall-throughs ultimately leads to a high cost for those selling homes, a situation which, according to Property Industry Eye, ‘is costing estate agents more than £60m in lost income.’
The question begging to be asked here is why there are so many fall-throughs. ‘Fall-throughs are often caused by two things above everything else – the late discovery of important information and buyers or sellers getting cold feet – both of which become increasingly likely the longer the transaction drags on,’ says Ruth Beeton, co-founder of Home Sale Pack, for Property Industry Eye.
While the ‘late discovery of important information’ is something home sellers would hope to control, they may feel that ‘getting cold feet’ is out of their remit. However, ‘We know that people are more likely to trust those that they like and usually that decision is made within milliseconds of meeting someone for the first time. Once anyone is “liked” then they just need to add a bit of commonality to begin building trust,’ argues Jeremiah Gore. In the journey to homeownership, finding common ground between sales agents or customer care representatives and their homebuyers works as a great relationship builder.
But there is another common goal that can be used to form a relationship that is long-lasting and trusting. This is the shared goal for the homebuilder to produce the most suitable, comfortable and desirable home for this customer, a home that the customer will live happily in.
To illustrate their level of care and interest in this goal, the most important action for the sales or customer care agent to undertake is open, honest and regular communication. This will include news about the construction of the home, reminders of any actions that need to be taken, and sending exciting updates with accompanying images when building milestones have been met – think, installation of the kitchen units or the laying of a specified flooring – all to illustrate how important the progress of the process is to you, as well as your customer.
2. Early Engagement Fosters Brand Ambassadors
Real estate and insurance marketing agency, Wick, explains that, ‘When your customers are satisfied, they become your best advocates, spreading the word about their positive experiences and driving new business your way.’ This is an idea backed by many property professionals, with Place Changers going as far as to claim: ‘Word of mouth is the cheapest form of new business: The cheapest acquisition channel for any new business is organic... word of mouth brings interested parties to the table.’
So, while making your presence known throughout the build and stages of completion, homebuilders are building a trusting relationship that will hopefully be talked about by their customers and work as a magnet for future homebuyers. Imagine, for instance, a homebuyer out for a coffee with a friend when a build-progress update pops up on their phone screen. Imagine if it was accompanied by an image they can share with their friend… these are the little touches that go a long way to show you care about the homebuying journey for your customers, a factor which works well to sell your brand to others.
3. Building Excitement Through Regular Touchpoints
As we have learned, the ‘highest of the buyer’s emotional altitude’ is found at the signing of contracts. What about this moment brings this strong emotional response? Gore explains that, ‘They have made a major life decision and if sales have done their job properly and thoroughly with the buyers in focus, then we know that the buyers’ life will be better for their decision.’ So, as their homebuilder, you should be excited, too.
Excitement, however, has a tendency to wear off, but to keep momentum and anticipation about their new life in their new home steady, it is time for the homebuilder to transform this excitement into a relationship of trust. Choosing a residential engagement and property management tool allows homebuilders to send regular build progress updates is key, while other features should guide the customer through the entire homebuying journey with reminders of deadlines and calls to action, all of which increase anticipation and help avoid any lengthy delays. In the absence of anything physical to show for their commitment to such a large investment, the interactions and communications work to remind them of the excitement that lays ahead once the sale is complete.
Finally, early engagement with your homebuyers is an essential ingredient when building a strong and long-lasting relationship with your customers. To find out how Spaciable can help you maintain engagement throughout the sales process and beyond, please get in touch to arrange a demonstration, here.