Customer experience in master planned communities
Across industries, customer experience (CX) is dominating the conversation.
Retail, software, consumer goods, even B2B businesses – every company is trying to deliver a compelling experience that wraps their product in a set of services, sales, and marketing behaviors that make it more than a transaction.
And it’s not fluff – customer experience is tied to real financial results. Harvard Business Review found that an exceptional experience increases annual spend by 2.4×1; Watermark Consulting showed that over an 11 year period from 2007-2017, CX leaders generated 3x more stock return than CX laggards, and 30% more than the general market2.
So it would stand to reason that the developers and home builders that construct master planned communities (MPCs) would be laser focused on the customer experience. After all, it’s the biggest purchase most people will make in their lifetimes, a new house is a highly personal decision, and the communities are ostensibly designed around residents’ needs.
But for many reasons, developers and builders have spent far more time focusing on Operations (O), and a lot less time focusing on the Experience (X). Bringing those two together (the X+O) is where the opportunity is.
We’ve identified 4 major experience (X) areas where MPC developers and home builders should concentrate. Over the next 8 weeks we’ll describe each of these in detail, followed by a quick series on how you bring X+O together.
So what should the future customer experience look like?
Digital customer discovery
Shift from today’s brand-fragmented, inconsistent, opaque process to a unified, customer-centric modern digital experience that redefines how to discover and find houses & communities, schedule showings, and get information.
In-person sales experience
Make people feel special, comfortable, and welcome through people focused on customer needs (not just selling) and a physical environment that removes friction, welcomes prospects and residents, and promotes the best aspects of the community.
Buying process
Make the purchase process as frictionless, transparent, and stress-free as possible, while removing artificial barriers that slow the process.
Living & engaging in the community
Nurture the relationship with customers “beyond the buy,” create a long-term loyalty relationship, and use digital technology to create a community that truly feels like an integrated, “magical” experience.
