Repositioning Your 55+ Community For Today's Market

International Builders ShowFriday, January 14, 2011

Orlando, Florida

Cathie Daly, President -- Design East Inc.Dottie Fawcett, MIRM -- Constellation Web Solutions

Douglas Fenichel, APR – Pulse CommunicationsRandy Hix, MBA, CMP, CSP – Randy Hix & Associates

• Welcome and Introductions—Cathie Daly• Marketing and Sales Trends—Randy Hix• Merchandising Best Practices—Cathie Daly• Public Relations- Reputation Power—Doug Fenichel• Social Media—Dottie Fawcett• Social Networking—Doug Fenichel• Sales Performance Management—Randy Hix• Q & A—Cathie Daly

Marketing and Sales Trends

Baby Boomers Next ActGeneration Bold

As boomers get older, they get bolder. Boomers are the generation that announced early their

intention to change the world.

"At a certain life stage people have always asked themselves, 'What should I do next?' But where the last generation primarily answered that by planning for retirement, increasingly people want to do something with meaning. " --Marci Alboher, Vice-President, Civic Ventures

50+ Homebuyer Trends

• Baby boomers will continue to work in jobs that provide high personal satisfaction.

• Choosing not to move to seniors-only retirement communities.

• Joining co-housing neighborhood where community’s socialization occurs.

• Stay active by demanding more time for hobbies and volunteering from their employers.

50+ Homebuyer Trends

• Encore careers

• By 2030, the number of adults 65 or older will skyrocket to 72 million, from 40 million this year

• Boomers are less likely to have pensions

• Boomers' desire to continue working dovetails with an expected shortage of younger workers.

• Fewer snowbirds

50+ Homebuyer Trends

• Retirement is now viewed as a step along the life continuum.

• Major goal for many in

“Generation Bold” is leaving a financial legacy

• Planning to age in place.

Demands of the 50+ Homebuyer for their new home

• Looking for safe urbanism.

• Locations with affordable cost of living and quality healthcare, trumping warm climate.

• Look for continuing education, culture, and active-lifestyle.

• Golf course communities are out; conservation communities with passive green space and trails are in.

Demands of the 50+ Homebuyer for their new home

• More sophisticated style

• Experiential environments

Merchandising Best Practices

50+ Market Yesterday

50+ Market Today

The profile of the 50+ Market has changed dramatically

Today – Home sizes and options

purchased have decreased!

100% increase

in average square feet per home

Decrease in

average number of household members

Year 1950 to 2000

Demand for Size: 2000 US Census Bureau

2004- 2330 Square Feet2007- 2495 Square Feet2008- 2320 Square Feet 7% smaller

TrendSize

Condo market has disappeared

Housing starts have decreased

Sales of available specs have increased

New 50+ communities have diminished.

Competition still exists

Courtesy of: NAHB Market ResearchIf you were buying a new house, how much importance would

you put on these factors?

9% of builders weighted it as important

Builder Audience

Courtesy of: NAHB Market Research83% of consumers as important!

Consumer Audience

2011 Merchandising Best Practices

for Existing Communities

Furnished Floor Plans Ideal for Web and Brochures

Create the Vision!

Furnished Color Rendered Floor Plan

Be future focused -

Utilize a merchandiser for all product evaluation

BEFORE

AFTER

EXAMPLE OF PRODUCT ANALYSIS

½ WALL

½ WALL

BEFORE AFTER

EXAMPLE OF PRODUCT ANALYSIS

LOOK THRU A NEW LENS!

HOW DOES YOUR ENVIRONMENT

INFLUENCE YOUR SALES?

• Model• Sales Center• Design Center

Experience

Consider the flexibility of today’s clubhouse

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Schedule team site visits

SELL THAT HOUSE!

“THE BIG PAYOFF”

We can improve and increase business potential with design

solutions that empower and meet budget guidelines

Remember: Think outside the box!

Celebrating Over 20 Years of Interior Design and Merchandising Excellence

Public Relations:The Missing Sales Link

Fair Question: Who’s Doug Fenichel & Why Is He Saying These Things To You?

• Accredited public relations practitioner

• 25 years of helping companies reinforce their reputation during times of change

• 10 years as public relations director for K. Hovnanian Homes

• Handled Coldwell Banker as main acct at public relations agency

• Expertise in using traditional and social media channels to tell your story

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Scan for Doug’s bio

Today’s Lessons at a Glance:

• Your most powerful sales tool is your good reputation

• Without good communications, the best reputationlanguishes under a basket.

• Tell your story yourself…to the right people at the right time through the right channels

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Let’s define terms:

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What is public relations?

• Free publicity• Spin

• News releases• Advertorials

• Making things look good• Schmoozing

Let’s define terms:

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What is public relations?

• A strategic part of an organization’s business plan

• Protecting and building an organization’s reputation

• Communicating with people and groups impacting success.

Let’s define terms:

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What is public relations?

Bi-i-ig Toolbox

• Surveys and research

• Help businesses define and tell their story

• Determine who to engage and how to do it

• Traditional and online media

• Social networking tools

• Special events

• Advertising (controlled message)

• Lots more

Anything ethical that helps build a relationship!

Let’s define terms:

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What is public relations?

Relationship with who?

• Current & Future Customers• Host community residents

• Influencers• Trade Partners

• Vendors• Local government officials

• State & Fed rule makers/regulators• Media (traditional, online, bloggers)

• Advocacy groups, good & bad• Employees

• Others

Anyone who can impact your success

A “Personal Question”

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Hyundai Genesis Mercedes-Benz CLS

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

The Hyundai is a demonstrably better car for half the price…

A “Personal Question”

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Hyundai Genesis Mercedes-Benz CLS

Most people pick the Mercedes because it has the reputation…

A “Personal Question”

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

You can’t sell anything without a good

reputation.

A “Personal Question”

You can’t sell anything without a good reputation

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

2010 U.S. Reputation Pulse Study:Comparing Top 10 to Bottom 10 companies measured in study, general pubic is:

• 300 percent more likely to verbally support or give the benefit of the doubt

• 200 percent more likely to consider products

• 350 percent more likely to purchase products of highly regarded companies

http://bit.ly/repreport2010

You can’t sell anything without a good reputation

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What makes up your reputation?• Products/Services

• Innovation

• Governance

• Workplace

• Citizenship

• Leadership

• Performance

You can’t sell anything without a good reputation

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What makes up your reputation?• Are you known for providing the features

your customers want (have you been listening to the customers)?

• Are you known by town officials for adhering to rules, keeping a safe and clean site and being a good citizen (changing from

age-restricted to age-targeted)?

• Are you known by townspeople as bringing somethingpositive to the town and being a good citizen (the diner scenario)?

You can’t sell anything without a good reputation

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

They can’t know too much when it comes to your reputation.

Tell your story yourself…

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

If you don’t tell your story,someone else will.

Without communications, your reputation languishes

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What should you communicate about?• What makes your company tick?

• USPs

• What makes your host community tick?

• Sustainability and other Issues

• Causes important to the community

• Problems

Without communications, your reputation languishes

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What shouldn’t you communicate about?Transparency doesn’t mean you can’t have secrets…

but you need to be able to justify them.

• “We don’t discuss individual customers, but I can tell youthat we stand behind our customers.”

• “We don’t discuss active litigation, but our company adheresto the letter and the spirit of the law.”

• “We’ve just become aware of the issue. We arecooperating with authorities and conducting our own investigation.”

• “As a publicly held company, we do not release that information. What I can tell you is…”

Tell your story yourself…

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Where do you tell your story?

Go fishing where thefish are.

Rememberto listen.

Tell your story yourself…

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

How do you tell your story?Traditional Channels

• Events• News media

• Direct traditional mail• Political involvement

• Advertisements/Advertorials

• Demonstrations• Support local charities

Social Networking Channels

• Tweets • Facebook Posts

• Blogs• Optimized news releases• Search Engine Marketing

• Web sites• PPC Campaigns

• Webinars• Videos

• Geo-tagging

Tell your story yourself…

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

How do you tell your story?Integrated Tactics

• Consistent message points

• Direct to various Web pages from many sources

• Offer printed materials (paper and PDF)

• Use QRs on printed material

• Ask for fans

Tell your story yourself…

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Your PR counsel will pull it together

• Listen and learn about your business objectives

• Test your assumptions with objective research

• Create a strategy based on your business strategy

• Suggest tactics, then execute the plan

• Counsel you on your role in engaging those people

• Measure the results

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Summation

Public Relations counselis an important arrow in your quiverif you’re going to hit your numbers.

• You can’t sell anything without a good reputation.

• Without good communications, the best reputation languishes.

• Tell your story yourself…they’re talking about you anyway.

• Public relations and good reputations does not sell homes.Failure to engage, bad reputations prevents the sale of homes

Social Media

• Collection of more than 100 million video footage• 70 million Unique Users a month in the US – 6th largest

audience on the web

Social Networking:Engaging Your Customer

Social Networking 101

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Nothing New Here

Social Networking 101

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

A new business philosophy

• Not about Facebook, Twitter and blogs

• A philosophy of doing business that embraces today’s ideals and challenges of transparency, inclusion and advocacy

• No longer about control, it’s about engagement

Social Networking 101

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

A new business philosophy• Groups vs. Individuals

• Control vs. engagement

• What you want them to know vs. What they can find out

• A few experts vs. Everybody’s opinion (informed or not)

• Short-term engagement vs. Forever

• Targeted vs. Everyone

• Private vs. Public

• Push vs. Pull

Social Networking 101

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What are they saying about yourbrand?

Social Networking 101

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

Wish you could speakwith himabout yourbrand?

Social Networking 101

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

• Facebook Post: “I gotta get my parents out of that old house.”

• Tweet: My furnace isn’t working and the homebuilder hasn’t answered my call.

• Blog: We’re thinking about adding smaller homes to the mix. What do you think?

• Google: Two-bedroom homes in Timbuktu

• News Report: Ace Builders plans new community in Kalamazoo (with video and pix)

• Four-Square: I’m at the new clubhouse at Tall Pines on the Lake

• I know you’re at the community in Timbuktu, but why can’t you tell me about Kalamazoo?

What Do We Get From It?

Social Networking 101

Public Relations – The Missing Sales Link

What Should You Do About It?

• Take a deep breath and swallow hard

• Do what you do when you enter a room: Listen, look around, learn

• Engage

• Engage more

• Ask for help

Sales Performance Management

What Is Your Community Brand? How Do You Discover It?

• Surveyo Del Webb Lifestyle Advisor

launched July 2010.o Private dinners and gatheringso Focus groups

• Competitor Intelligenceo Who in your market is

competing well?o How do you compare to

others?o Identify individual USP’s for

each of your communities.o What is your competition

saying about you?

It’s Time To Change

• Develop community ambassadors and advisors.

• Involve trade partners and stakeholders.

• Refresh your marketing path

• Develop new models based upon the needs and price points of your community.

• Are you going Green?

Sales Management• Team events and motivational

meeting.

• Train, Train, Train.

• Hire a trainer-coach.

• Mystery-shop your sales team.

• Re-educate your sales team with new messages and new understanding of buyer’s desires.

• Develop new USP’s for the community and coach and train on objections.

Randy Hix, MBA, CMP, CSPRandy Hix & Associates

Long Valley, NJ 07853973-670-9024

www.RandyHix.netRandyHix@comcast.net

Cathie Daly, CAASHDesign East, Inc.Medford, NJ  08055Office:  609-654-9675Email:  Cathie@DesignEastInc.comWebsite:  www.DesignEastInc.comCelebrating over 20 years of Interior Design & Merchandising Excellence

Dottie Fawcett, MIRMConstellation Web Solutionswww.constellationws.com610-364-0989dfawcett@constellationws.com

Doug Fenichel, APR(973) 769-0688

doug.fenichel@gmail.comBlog: www.inhousepr.wordpress.com

Twitter: @dougtheprguy#revivemy55