Differentiate the property user journey
Statistically, a Melbourne home or apartment buyer will register their interest in up to three different projects at once. This is why your Display Suite experience matters.
There’s potential for your buyers, at a pivotal point in their consideration process, to engage with three display suites and sales agents.
With effective price parity across the busy property category (defined by market forces, price per square metre, extras like parking, location benchmarks) there is seemingly less room for manoeuvre when it comes to competing on price.
This means that, through your customer journey from online to offline marketing channels, you have to compete on value and consumer experience. Here we’re talking about sharing the vision of the building, the lifestyle extenders and residential logistics like concierge services, gyms, pools, communal areas, retail, technology and seamless property management, all of which we’re seeing more and more of. Some are authentically driven by vision, some are merely token marketing gestures.
But still, these are mere promises conveyed through renders of amenities yet to be built. Before that comes the real experience at a crucial point along the customer journey – the Display Suite.
Display suite design
With such a high proportion of the customer journey taking place online through search, property portals, online galleries and renders the creation of a unique, physical sales experience is vital for differentiation.
Winning Display Suite experiences are those that are memorable, transporting potential buyers emotionally to a higher level of living. Sounds a little grand, but that’s what most Display Suite design is striving for – a unique experience.
Quite simply, if your competitor has a more immersive, sophisticated and relevant Display Suite experience, they are more likely to convert that customer.
Make a display suite statement
As we’re seeing across the broad property market, from iconic residential towers to boutique townhouses, a similar marketing experience can be created online by most developers. Likewise, the acquisition strategy can be similar from different brands, with similar customer acquisition or lead costs. Yet the subsequent experience on the ground might be wildly different and result in varying conversion rates.
So, create a sense of wonder. Define your vision through the experience. Create an engaging and immersive piece of architectural ambition. Whatever your approach, dare to be bold and create an experience potential buyers will remember, talk about and share. Elevate their aspirations for a better life within the project you’re planning to build.
Remember – most buyers have done much of their research before they even decide to visit your physical Display Suite. They have all the key numbers and product information, have compared it to your competitors. They’re coming to see physical displays, get a sense of the quality and reassure themselves of the trustworthiness of your brand, your people. This is a big purchase, they want to know you’re investing in the process as much as they are… and that you’re prepared to take the time to impress them.
Brand consistency, whatever the budget
The consumer journey should always be consistent and faithful to your brand. Once a customer enters your Display Suite, any disparity will be felt immediately. It’s at this point that faith can be lost. What does your sales suite environment and experience say about your project? How does it accurately convey or conflict with the value and quality of your residential project? A disjointed customer journey can effectively jolt them out of the mental shopping cart.
During our regular field research, we see many Display Suites that simply do not live up to the standard a residential project has set via their online presence and digital marketing. With the quality of renders now reaching incredible levels, both in still and motion content, the expectation is that the eventual physical engagement with that development, via the sales suite, will be of equal or greater quality.
Importantly, budget needn’t necessarily have any bearing on the quality and engagement level of the experience. We’ve seen plenty of memorable display suites that achieved success through strategic planning and elegant design on a relatively average budget.
As a final point, consider this grocery analogy: entering a Display Suite is the equivalent of squeezing an avocado in the fresh produce aisle. The customer has already decided to purchase an avocado. They’ve already decided yours is amongst those they’re willing to consider. It’s up to you to make sure that, when they squeeze it, it’s not just perfect, it’s ripe and the best-looking avocado they’ve ever seen.