This was the theme of our webinar last month on digitising homebuilding.
Digitisation is a major challenge for homebuilders, who need to meet increasingly digital-savvy consumer expectations, play digital catch-up with other sectors and all the while maximising growth and profitability.
And for a sector that is highly fragmented and characterised by small businesses that often operate in one region or state only, the challenge to digitise is even greater.
Joining our panel of industry experts was:
- Mishu Rahman, Contracts & CRM Manager, Geocon (ACT)
- Andrew Carroll, General Manager, Hamlan Homes (Geelong, Victoria)
- Ben Earl, Marketing Director, MAB (Victoria)
- Mickael Dominguez, Property Practice Lead, Carnac Group
So what did they have to share about their experience?
For starters, everyone agreed that focusing on technology is only part of the answer when digitising homebuilding.
Yes, many other homebuilders are tackling digitisation, but it’s important to tackle it sensibly.
As Managing Director, Andrew Carroll has led the digital transformation of Hamlan Homes in Geelong Victoria over seven years. Technology is a part of a bigger picture of improving his business by focusing on what matters: outstanding results for customers and his business.
“In our industry, we need to get that emotive connection with the home. Face-to-face contact with the customer should never be forgotten. We’re a mid-tier business in a local area… that referral means a lot. If you don’t make that relationship, you’ll never get that referral.”
Andrew Carroll | General Manager | Hamlan Homes
Offering advice to others embarking on their digitisation journey, MAB Marketing Director Ben Earl takes a whole-of-business perspective.
“Rather than looking at what is trending in technology, what can technology do for us that our current approach can’t deliver us today?” Ben Earl, MAB
Mishu Rahman, Contracts & CRM Manager at leading ACT developer Geocon agrees.
“The technology is not necessarily the solution. It’s just a tool. You still need to work on your people and your process.”
And of course, they all put customers at the heart of their digital transformation.
“(Our digitisation agenda at MAB) is themed around accessibility. How can we provide consumers the information they’re after at the time they’re looking for it? It’s not about trying to trick them, but to help them understand and make decisions.”
For Mishu, it’s a similar story at Geocon.
“For us, the concept of digitisation is themed around accessibility. Having access to, dare I say, information rather than data and being able to give consumers the information they’re after in an easy-to-digest form… the right message at the right time.”
Mishu Rahman | Contracts and CRM Manager | Geocon
So is digitisation just for the big players?
Definitely not. Rather, the small players should ignore digitisation at their peril.
“The bigger guys are going digital, and it forces the movement. It’s a warning to our industry: if you don’t step into the digital game and start that journey, you won’t be there in 5-10 years,” according to Andrew Carroll.
But he had a positive take on it, too:
“If you can nurture 100 small builders that go from 5 builds to 50, then you’re going to be dealing with a Metricon pretty quickly!” he added.
Thanks to all our wonderful panellists for sharing their time and valuable experience in digitising homebuilding.
Want to watch the full discussion?
Our panellists had so much more to say! You can still catch up on what else was covered here, including more insights from Mishu, Andrew, Ben and Mickael into how they’re tackling digitisation in their homebuilding businesses.