We have all seen modular home factories introduce a line of
homes, promote it and before long, the homes seem to be just another dud for
the factory. If a factory has added an option
for a better widget but no one is buying it, whose fault is that? Is it the
builder’s fault; their customer’s fault or is the fault inherent with the
factory?
Let’s look at why a modular home factory would introduce a new
line of homes or a new widget. Designing a new line of homes doesn’t just start
with someone in management saying that a new home is needed. No, it starts as a
seed of an idea usually generated from one of the factory’s builders. One of
their prospective new home buyers came to them with a house that didn’t fit
anything currently built by the factory. Then another builder asked for a
similar home and the seed germinates. A CAD person is tasked with designing
something that fits the need and others look at it and say that maybe a new
line of homes might be the way to go.
In the case of the widget, it’s usually a supplier bringing
a new product to the factory’s attention that gets it added to the lineup.
Nobody really gets excited about a new faucet or vinyl flooring but the factory
really wants everyone excited if the widget is a new insulation system that
they’ve just invested $20,000 for the machinery to install it.
So what goes wrong between the conception and abandonment? There
are three important parties for a new product launch and they all have to be in sync for it
to work properly. Here is the triad needed to do that; the sales rep, the
customer and the builder. If any one of them is missing from the launch, get
prepared to shuffle it back to the dud closet.
Sales Reps don’t care about your new stuff.
After the factory has the idea for a new line of homes or a
new widget, one of the last people to know about it is the sales rep. They’re
usually not aware anything new is being added until the weekly sales meeting
where they get the new brochures and pricing.
In general, people don’t like change. That is especially
true of sales reps and if they can’t see an immediate benefit for themselves,
they will file the brochures in their desk drawers along with the pricing. No
good can come from telling their builders about a new widget.
But suppose a couple of sales reps think it is a good idea
and want to run with it, there is little or no training supplied by the Sales
Manager other than handing them the brochure and saying “here’s something new
to offer your builders.” No spiffs or gifts are offered to get them excited
about selling these new homes or widgets so they take the path of least
resistance and just continue doing what they’ve always done…sell what they
know.
For a new product line to have any success, the sales staff
has to be brought in early and kept in the loop. They have to feel they have an
investment in its success. Training is required. If a new line of “Near Net
Zero” homes is being developed, the Sales Manager and everyone working on the
project must develop training and marketing programs to launch it. Get the
sales reps on board early and with an incentive to offer the new product line
and success has a much better chance. Then when something else is added to your
product line, you will have a map to follow to insure a successful launch.
Potential New Home Buyers never hear about it.
Now that you’ve developed your new product line or added a
new and improved widget, you have to get the word out, not to the builders but
to the people that will actually be purchasing new homes….the new home buyer.
For a factory to get the word out about something new used
to be like putting a gallon of water in a thimble. Only a little actually gets
captured. Today however, the factory has a variety of ways to launch new
product lines.
Have you ever heard of “Social Media?” Yes, Facebook, YouTube,
Pinterest, Google +, Instagram and many other sites are followed almost
religiously be the end consumer and none of these cost a single dime to be on.
Signature Homes, Nationwide Homes and Homeway Homes are on them quite a bit and
their sales numbers are showing the success of their social interaction.
Your factory should have a blog linked directly from your
social media efforts. How will any prospective new home buyer learn more about
what’s happening at your factory if you don’t have one? You can expand the
details of that new line of homes or the new widget that is costing you money
just setting there gathering dust.
If you don’t have a blog for your factory
and I know that a blog takes a lot of time, then at least get published in
someone’s blog like Modular Home Builder or MBI’s blog. Don’t kid yourself, if you don’t get the word out to the
public about what you’re doing, nobody else will because it’s not their
responsibility, it’s yours.
Customers buy based on wants and needs. If the don’t know
what new products you have to offer, how will they ever know if they want or
need it in their new home.
Builders don’t see the benefits
Now we arrive at the forgotten part of the triad, the
builder. You’ve got your sales reps fired up with a marketing program, training
and maybe a spiff program; the customer is excited to learn more about that new
insulation or “Near Net Zero” home you introduced but now your builder has
become the bump in the road.
Have you presented anything to the builder other than the
brochure and pricing? Did your sales rep offer to spend one on one time going
over the new product line? Did you share your media marketing program with the
builder? The answer to all these questions is a resounding NO!
So why should the builder will be anxious to see the
new products? They just have to learn something new and if it includes a
pricing increase over the standard product, how are they going to present it.
Unless a builder was the one to actually bring the germ of an idea to the factory, most builders will simple find a way to deflect a customer’s inquiry about it and
continue to sell homes in the usual way. They follow the path of least resistance.
When should a factory get the builder base involved? The
answer to that depends. If you have a strong and loyal builder base, bring them
on board after the decision to add the product or home has been made but before
preparing the marketing plan. Get a few builders together in person or by
conference call and let them contribute to its success. This way the builder is
part of the launch. If you have enough confidence in the new item, give the
builders an incentive to upgrade their new home buyers.
If you have a builder base acquired by offering the lowest
price, you might not want to get them involved early in the process as they
will tell the other factories they buy from and maybe one of them will jump on
the idea quicker and at a lower price point. Being a lowball price factory
means that your builders have little loyalty and even that stops when you they find
a factory with an even lower price.
You now have a way to successfully launch a new product
line. The sales department is on board, the end consumer is aware of it and the
builder wants to offer it. What more could you want?
