THEIR STORY
I’m the marketing manager for Strata Homes, a regional design-led housebuilder which has been around for over 100 years. We’re based in Yorkshire and most of our sites are here, as well as a few in the Midlands. We prefer to keep them fairly close to home so we have a tight-knight group of staff and it also allows us to move around sites quickly and easily.
We currently do about 600 units per year but we’ll be aiming for the 1,000 mark within the next two to three. We’ve had a fantastic year and we’re probably in our strongest position ever in terms of sales as we’re about 70% forward sold for this financial year. It’s been a whirlwind 2020 – 2021, that’s for sure.
GOALS
What is your goal when it comes the lead-generation process?
Aside from the obvious, we place a lot of value on developing trustworthy and meaningful relationships with our prospective customers. We understand that moving home can be a daunting process and requires a lot of background research, planning and due diligence so we guide our customers every step of the way.
We also want to dedicate our marketing resource towards leads that are actually willing to buy a home from us, rather than shooting in the dark. Once we’ve been made aware of that we can offer them ongoing support and give them a really clear idea of what they need to be doing to secure their dream home. That’s Prospect Generator’s point of difference and we have a great relationship.
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
What are the biggest challenges facing housebuilders at the moment?
The big one will be the end of the stamp duty holiday. Housebuilders will need to learn to adapt and find innovative ways to encourage buyers to stoke up a similar enthusiasm seen over the last year. It’s also worth considering that savings pots ballooned during lockdown so the end of restrictions means people are less likely to save as much.
OUR SOLUTION
How has Prospect Generator supported your objectives?
We use the Budget Calculator and the Home Valuation tool, which are invaluable sources of data collection; the most important aspect of any lead.
The Budget Calculator in particular allows us to paint a really clear picture of the buyer and their financial background, which means our financial advisors can sit down with them, establish a degree of trust and start turning their dream into a reality.
Compared to the portals, for example, the Prospect Generator tools provide far more information up front and you learn a lot about the user in a very short space of time. You overcome an important hurdle straight away and its useful for both us and the buyer.
They’re also helpful from a future planning perspective. We might say to a buyer: look, this development might be slightly out of your reach but we’ve got this coming to market next year and it will be perfect for you. You just need to be saving X amount per month. It helps our future reservation pipeline and we even take them up to 18 months ahead.