COVID-19 Drives Digital Transformation For Home Builders
Our Industry has been hit hard by COVID-19. If there is a sliver lining, it’s two things; construction mostly continued and the market is remaining strong, and home builders had to pivot and implement digital transformation initiatives as quickly as possible.
With in-home viewings and open houses closed, many home builders weren’t prepared digitally to showcase their homes as they should. In light of that, it’s been exciting to see companies quickly adapt and innovate to ensure they are reaching consumers and providing unique visual experiences.
Let’s take a look at a few of my favorite examples.
M/I Homes Offers Free Virtual Reality Headsets
M/I Homes was one of the first companies to quickly adapt and build a marketing campaign around their visualization solution. It was an ideal solution, because they had already done the heavy lifting. Most of their show homes already have Matterport Virtual Tours online. The beauty of these solutions is they automatically convert to “Google Cardboard” phone-based virtual reality experience.
These experiences are fun, but they aren’t the “wow” factor that you would desire from Virtual Reality. They are lower-resolution, because they are phone based and can’t compare to a true virtual reality experience. That’s perfectly OK as long as the solution and communication solves the pain point. In the case of M/I Homes, it did exactly that.
M/I Homes was looking for a unique and fun way to engage with their customers. Demo homes were closed, and stay-at-home orders were in place. Sending a free branded VR cardboard headset is the perfect “gift” to a bored consumer stuck at home. Plus, it’s a more unique and memorable way to virtually view their homes.
Hats off to M/I Homes on a quick launch and great solution for unexpected times.
To get your free VR cardboard headset, request one online.
CBH Homes Launches “Buy Online” Capability
CBH Homes recently launched a “buy online” solution in response to COVID-19 restrictions. CBH Homes was already ahead of the curve with “self tours” for their model homes. In 2019, they launched Tour Now which used Rently locks to allows potential homebuyers to tour the home after closing hours and at their own convenience. I love this, because this is how I would want to shop for a new home.
In response to COVID-19 restrictions, they took their experience to the next level with “buy online.” This allows homebuyers to place a deposit online to reserve their home, and then setup a follow-up meeting. It’s convenient and simple. They launched the service on a Friday and sold their first home online on Monday!
These are just a couple of the unique solutions I’ve seen in the last few weeks. If you are a home builder and you don’t offer virtual tours online, you are behind. It’s a must-have solution. Be sure to check out Matterport and test their NEW iPhone App. If you don’t know where to start with virtual tours - download the Matterport iPhone App and scan your model home.
What other unique solutions are you seeing out there for virtual tours? Have any home builders tested augmented reality solutions? Let us know!