Builders are dying to know- when does the home buying journey really start? Spoiler- it’s not when prospects fill out a contact form on your website or enter your sales centre, although that may have been the case 15 years ago. The modern home buying journey has become much more self-sufficient, as virtually every aspect of our lives has shifted online. Home buyers are only involving a salesperson when they’re most of the way through the home buying journey, and approximately 90% of the leads that come into your sales centre have already visited your website and looked through your catalogue of homes. Home buyers are well equipped with information and insight into what community they want to live in, the model they prefer and the options and upgrades they want.

So, the home buying journey doesn’t begin at your sales centre, but rather the moment a home buyer arrives on your website. It’s clear the way people buy homes has changed, and so should your home builder marketing strategy. To construct a strategy that works today, home builders need to optimize their virtual sales centre, AKA their website. The time is now to create a customer-centric website experience for each unique home buyer. The best way of doing that is- website personalization. In this blog, we are going to break down website personalization, its benefits and how home builders like you can start integrating this technology today! Let’s dive in.

‍WEBSITE PERSONALIZATION – WHAT IS IT REALLY?

‍Although the concept sounds self-explanatory, this technology is actually quite sophisticated. Essentially, it’s the real-time individualization of a website to suit each visitor’s unique needs and guide them through a custom conversion funnel. Let’s break that down. Website technology works behind the scenes to analyze user behavior in real-time to personalize the website experience, ultimately understanding each visitor’s needs and creating an individualized user experience that will increase the likelihood of conversion. You may be wondering, so what? Why do I need this technology? As home buyers begin their journey online, shoppers are drowning in information and options. Personalization reduces the amount of information and options that are not relevant to the visitor to help guide them through a funnel that is designed just for them and their individual needs.

When your website is optimized for personalization, home buyers will arrive on your site and see a different view of your product offering than the person next to them based on each visitor’s unique demographic information and previous behavior. Therefore, personalization technology can make predictions and automatically alter the user experience based on data. With powerful data and machine learning, each home buyer will have a website experience that is unique to them.

WHY IS PERSONALIZATION IMPORTANT

A whopping 98% of marketers believe that personalization advances customer relationships, which is especially critical for home builders. As the purchase of a new home is likely the biggest financial decision most people will ever make, builders must foster a strong relationship with customers, and instill a feeling of trust from the moment buyers arrive on their website. It was once the responsibility of your salesperson to make a positive first impression of your brand, but now it’s up to your website. Personalization is an excellent place to start. This technology is on the rise as more and more organizations plan to maintain or increase their personalization budget. Other than increasing popularity among marketers, personalization has also increased conversion rates, visitor engagement and ultimately improved the customer experience. By providing the most relevant recommendations, home buyers are able to find the right home for them, faster. Home builders can leverage the data collected to ensure the product recommendations are fresh and relevant. By focusing on your website and using personalization, home builders can offer an advanced virtual sales centre, and begin the buying journey the right way.

To establish yourself as a modern home builder and continue winning in your market, the digital shift must be customer-focused, meaning a website designed to make it easier for buyers to buy, in their unique way. Unfortunately, the myth that home buyers are not starting the purchase process online remains. But that’s what we’re here for. At OpenHouse.ai we are busting this myth and shifting perspectives to empower home builders to use personalization on their website and help buyers find the right home, faster.

A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC WEBSITE EXPERIENCE FOR HOME BUYERS

‍Across different industries, there are many tactics to implement personalization on your website, but integrating these technologies can be intimidating and overwhelming. That’s where OpenHouse.ai is introducing website personalization to the home building industry simply and seamlessly. We offer a solution that easily connects to existing home builder’s websites and provides a superior personalized shopping experience. When buyers are searching your website, our platform makes it feel as if one of your sales agents is sitting right there next to them, recommending floorplans and communities, personalized to their unique needs.

A common problem for a home builder’s website includes search functionality, relevancy and deciding how to best arrange and recommend products across their website. Using AI technology and behavioral data, the OpenHouse.ai platform learns about each unique website visitor to deliver recommendations and search results that are catered to their needs and preferences. This platform provides a personalized experience as each visitor’s conscious decisions and clicks influence their website experience, while also predicting and remembering previous behavior, to ensure a seamless online experience from the moment a buyer arrives on your website.

SUMMARY

‍Gone are the days of home buyers travelling to your sales centre or show home to ask a question or get more information. With mounds of information available at their fingertips, the power is in the hands of the home buyer. So, a buyer-centric marketing strategy involves a personalized website experience. With the home buying journey beginning the moment a buyer arrives on your website, personalization is critical to begin the buying journey, the right way. Here at OpenHouse.ai, we are passionate about making the digital home shopping experience personal.

- The OpenHouse.ai Team