The short answer… now.

You do need to start thinking about it because whether or not you know it, most of the time in the presentation of your current projects you are using HD capable products and presentation tools, you are just not using them to present a final vision that is truly High Definition. What you are presenting is a standard definition picture on a high definition display. Think of it as having a colour t.v. but only using it to watch black and white movies. The black and white movies are going to look good enough, but colour is what you want to see isn’t it?

Now, sticking with the colour t.v. analogy, if I’ve got 20 channels to choose from on my new colour t.v., with 19 of them look like nothing I’ve ever seen before with all the colours of the rainbow in their full glory making the pictures come alive right in front of my eyes… and one that looks like (insert yawn here), out of those 20 channels, I’ll give 19 of them my time. One channel will be completely forgotten.

The same will ring true for HD vs SD in the next few years. Right now SD is the way to go, because it is the way everyone is going in the realty industry. Soon enough though, you will see animations being rendered out in HD, more and more will follow, and when they are presented on the same HD capable monitors that you have in your sales centers right now… simply put, you’re not going to want prospective buyers seeing your SD animations in a side by side comparison. I’m not saying that your next project should be a High Definition one, but now is a good time to start thinking about HD and it’s relevance to your projects. I’ll bet your competition is.

Basically, in todays climate, HD is a “nice to” and not a “need to”… but tomorrow is coming.

If you’ve got any questions about HD and it’s relevance in our industry, fire them at me or post a comment below, I’m up for a conversation.

Later,

ajleitch@imagenius.com

Over the years of developing strategies in the field of Digital Marketing solutions, We have had the opportunity to work with many of the nation’s top builders and the most creative marketing minds in the industry. As with all interactive sales center’s the biggest inhibitor is that the technology may get in the way. We quickly came to realize that applying the K.I.S. rule (Keep It Simple) was required. Simplicity in operation and navigation is critical to successfully incorporating technology in a sales center. Guests should not be made to feel intimidated by the technology, but rather invited to explore and enjoy the interactive experience.

Back to my last post … make sure you select a qualified vendor! One who has the expertise and experience to deliver proven results! Everyone knows a friend or family member who creates digital media out of their basements. This is not the time to blindly put your faith in an unproven vendor solution. Having a black screen on a wall is not the desired end result. With a qualified vendor in place, the next goal is to keep the interface navigation simple and intuitive, this has also proved to be invaluable. At the sales center a guest is not judging the creative ability of a builder or the artistic and programming power of their design team. They are judging the builder, community and homes being sold at that development.

The Experience of a well laid out presentation which clearly communicates the brand, the community and all which it has to offer is the most distinguishable memory which the guest will take with them from the sales center. The minute the guest experiences complexities or difficulties in using the display, they will back away in order to not attract attention to the fact that they are stuck. This is not a good use of technology, but rather when planning, developing and designing the display every effort should be made to incorporate technology which assists in providing an invitation to explore.

Oh Yeah… High quality visuals, video, audio should always be mandatory!! Please see www.imagenius.com

… you can implement easily and affordably:

1. Offer some form of Rich Media experience: video, audio, more photographs/renderings. 95% of your competition aren’t … you will be noticed and remembered.
2. Put Video content first and upfront…not hidden…they are looking for it.
3. If you have some form of internet concierge or person assigned to leads generated online…track and monitor their communications. It should be frequent, personalized and offer value in return for their permission.
4. Measure, Measure, Measure…there are enough tools (google analytics, campaign manager) now to see what your response rates are for marketing initiatives and fine tune what you are doing.
5. Show something better than traditional black line floor plans and line elevations…the additional costs are minimal and you will stand out from everyone else.

I just read a great article in Advertising Age by Abbey Klaassen titled “Do Home Pages Have a Place in Web 2.0’s Future” where the results from a survey of 500 consumers to figure out how people arrived and purchased from websites to determine what will be important in web design in the coming year(s). The real surprise to me (because I realized I do the exact same thing) was that more than 54% of people start their online shopping with a search even if they already know the Brand they are looking for…

“The idea that more consumers are coming to brand sites through the side door of search means search engines are starting to circumvent brands when it comes to online shopping. While a consumer looking for a pizza stone offline might drive to her nearest Williams-Sonoma, in the online world she’s more likely to just type the product name into Google and see what comes up.”

This really is an interesting design issue when considering that users will most likely enter your website NOT from the main page so that your designs should provide your key value statements and objectives on all pages.

The other interesting finding was..”More than 85% of people on the panel used “most popular” links on sites to decide what to look at and more than 55% made purchase decisions based on user reviews.” so get those testimonials up there on your site.

If 80% of all people start their new home search online, you have to give them all of the information they are looking for if you want them to come to your sales center. Here are some ways to do that:

1. Directmail a DVD or CD Rom to your interest list or database.

2. Show more content on your website BEFORE sales center launch than your competition.

3. Communicate with your interest lists frequently (minimum every 45 days) and personally via email, mail and phone.

4. Hold a private opening for online registrants only before your public opening and advertise this!

5. Offer insentives for people who to pre-register, visit your sales center or purchase a home to refer others to you.