The days of the deals-on-wheels style portacabin as a place for negotiations have well and truly vanished. And the property industry is leading the way in developing beautifully designed marketing and sales suites to create a customer experience that reflects a new housing or apartment development. Developers are essentially selling a lifestyle and to do this, they need to make their customers feel special.
Marketing suites play an essential role in communicating the look and feel of a finished site; ensuring all touchpoints are spot-on by creating an immersive and interactive experience. They can also incorporate show apartments, 3D models, private meeting rooms, refreshment areas and closing rooms. An effective marketing suite makes potential buyers feel a connection to the development and its surrounding environment, as well as gaining trust in the developer and their service levels.
We recently conducted our annual customer satisfaction survey; essential to us to ensure our reputation and service levels remain strong. Our customers include nationwide and local property developers, housing associations, construction companies and creative agencies. As part of the survey, we also asked them to share insights into the channels that achieved the most footfall to their marketing suites. Here are the top three results:
Online and signage top the charts
First – Website (29%)
Second – External signage (24%)
Joint Third – Hoarding and Social media (both 17%)
The top spot isn’t entirely surprising, since we’re naturally used to interacting with digital technology for research and other practical purposes. Marketing focus is now, crucially, targeted at digital channels and making sure your website and social media channels are optimised and regularly updated is critical to maximise conversion rates.
It’s also interesting (and of course pleasing to us!) that one of the oldest forms of marketing – signage – is still considered vital in prompting the desired audience action… getting people through the door of your selling space. It shows that offline brand touchpoints are just as important when creating a marketing strategy across multiple channels.
If you’d like to find out more about creating a great customer journey, please visit our marketing suite page, our site signage page or our site hoarding page. If you’d like to discuss a project, please get in touch on 01252 336000 or email enquiry@readesigns.com.