Locatie, locatie,... klantervaring

What homebuyers need from their property (developer)

‍Location, location, location: it’s been real estate’s mantra for years. After all, the location of a house or apartment is still the most decisive factor. For homebuilders and developers, because they look for properties that can sell fast. For homebuyers, because they want to live in the neighborhood of their dreams. However, for this last group, something else has become crucial over the years as well: customer experience.

So for homebuyers, the promise of a great experience during the purchase, building, and delivery process has become an important factor they take into account when deciding on a project or property developer. According to a 2020 Salesforce survey, 8 out of 10 customers say the experience a company provides is as important as the products or services it sells. Of course, these results are not real estate specific, but Ziggu’s own 2017 research already showed signs of this sentiment.

8 out of 10 customers say the experience a company provides is as important as the products or services it sells

Salesforce, State of the Connected Customer 2020

Keeping customers engaged

According to Ziggu’s survey, the majority of homebuyers were very happy with the end result of their new home, whether they had a great experience with the developer or not. However, when it comes to recommending their property developer to others – or maybe working with the company again in the future – only 8% of the homebuyers were willing to do so. The interviewed homebuyers said a poor customer experience was at the root of this disappointing number: lack of contact, not enough information, little or no advice, etcetera.

The same survey also proved that the more homebuyers were involved in the process, the happier they were with their developer. Property developers with an online environment, where they keep customers engaged and informed, saw an increase of 36% in overall customer satisfaction. Implementing some form of customer experience – however basic (at the time of the survey some developers used platforms such as Facebook groups, others had a dedicated custom-made platform), – did pay off.

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Dream home, dream experience

Communication builds trust, trust builds great customer experiences. But homebuyers won’t just take your word for it, they do their own research first. According to an analysis of Google searches by Google’s own consumer insights team, purchase behavior has changed over the years. For example, the team noticed that in recent years, worldwide search interest for the word ‘best’ has surpassed that for the word ‘cheap’, indicating that consumers aren’t looking for the cheapest option anymore. But there’s more: according to Google’s team, consumers pay way more attention to “hearsay” than they used to. They search for other customers’ reviews and what they find greatly influences their decision.

By involving them in the building process, keeping them engaged with information, and helping them make decisions, you’ll give homebuyers not only the home of their dreams but the experience of their dreams too! At the end of the day, it comes down to this: your project’s location will still sell, but your customer team’s efforts will make ambassadors out of your homebuyers, which in turn can boost future sales.

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