Sometimes there’s an advantage to being a small scale builder. Small businesses have a nimbleness that larger builders often do not have and change can take much longer. Changing course on a big ship is a lot harder than changing the course on a rowboat. When it comes to adopting new technology and embracing the digital transformation, we’ve seen some of our small scale builders make Herculean moves. If you’re wondering how to make the transition yourself, read on for a few of the ways small builders are doing big things.
With fewer plans overall, many of our small scale builders are adopting virtual walkthroughs. Gone are the days of simple 2D floor plans and black and white renderings. To compete in today’s market, buyers expect to be able to see it. Home prices have also soared so the expectation is a little more today than it was 20 years ago. Consumers want an experience. The best part, Virtual Walkthroughs and Online VR double as a virtual model home. When you are converting 5, 10, or even 20 plans to virtual walkthroughs, your cost per plan is still significantly less expensive than building just one model home and the shelf life is longer. Virtual models can be redesigned and redecorated to match current styles in a few years for less than their physical counterpart. It’s a win-win and the results are astounding. Interactive tours increase engagement, drive leads and help buyers wrap their mind around what their new home will look like before it’s built.
Have you ever thought that an online design center is just for the big guys? If so, you’d be mistaken. We’ve got builders that build 30 homes per year or less that are using the Envision Online Design Center. Envision is the number one recommendation we have for smaller builders. Why? When your money making model isn’t built around volume, it’s important to make the most you can on each home. Buyers who go through the Envision Online Design Center spend on average $10K+ more on options per home. That’s $10K per home that is gained with Envision. If you build 30 homes per year, you can add an additional $300,000 to your bottom line.
Find out what your ROI would be with our ROI calculator. Referrals can often make or break a small scale builder and reputation is everything. Customer satisfaction scores for buyers that use Envision are higher—20% or more. Want to learn more about how Envision and its impact on a small scale builder?
