"Heard it on the grapevine"

pHc have just completed a major study into home builders' brands in Scotland. And as you might expect, we have unearthed some interesting findings.
Here are some 'top-line' facts -

• 43 developer brands were spontaneously mentioned - and this was only in the central belt of Scotland! What an enormous range of brands for potential homebuyers to choose from, and more importantly to have some knowledge and opinion of before visiting or considering buying from
• when we delved below the level of awareness into familiarity and brand positioning, we found that potential homebuyers had little or no depth of understanding or ability to differentiate between the various brands
• ....and then consider that buying a home is (for most people) the biggest single purchase they will ever make - how do they reach a decision?

Answer - good old 'word-of-mouth'.

Yes, when we asked how they differentiated between the brands and how they formed opinions of them, the resounding responses were - "their reputation" and "whether they were recommended by friends and colleagues". Interstingly, not by the style of homes they build!

So, forget multi-media advertising campaigns and glossy brochures, forget posters, signs and even state-of-the-art websites, what they heard over a pint or whilst sharing a pizza with their friends determined how good or bad a developer was and whose homes were better than the rest.

So, whats the message? - Ignore 'word-of-mouth' and social media at your peril.

And a tip for developers - there is a 'win-win' here - give your existing customers a great home-buying experience and positive reasons to talk about you and they will spread great news on your behalf.

The full report is available from pHc - www.phconsulting.org.uk

5 Ways to encourage word of mouth referrals

The Internet may be fast becoming the most powerful marketing tool available to organisations, but we shouldn’t underestimate the consistent influence of word of mouth referrals. A company lives and dies by its reputation and word of mouth has become increasingly important as the general public become less trusting of what Business and the Media say, and start listening to their family, friends and colleagues. Here’s five great ways to encourage positive word of mouth referrals:

ONE: Get the Customer Experience Right
Positive and Negative Word of Mouth are most often derived from your customer’s experience. Do you care about your customer’s overall experience? If you don’t, you should because there’s never been more choice for consumers, if they don’t like what they find with you, they can always go elsewhere.

If you want to encourage word of mouth referrals, you need to get the entire customer experience right. For organisations that care about encouraging positive word of mouth (PWOM) and diminishing potential negative word of mouth (NWOM), it’s important to reconsider how you deliver the customer experience. Consistently delivering an unforgettable customer experience is the most effective way of getting people talking about you, your brand, products or services. Your job is to make sure it’s unforgettable for all the right reasons.

TWO: The Follow Up
The customer experience doesn’t end at the point of sale. Following up your sales with a quick courtesy call can really make the difference. A follow up communication gives the customer the chance to mention any problems and helps your organisation to demonstrate that you care and customers like to think that you care about more than just their money.

THREE: Fix What You Find
The Follow Up was a great opportunity to measure the customer’s experience. But once you find something that went wrong in the customer’s experience, you can immediately improve positive word of mouth by fixing the problem fast. Demonstrating your efficiency and customer care positively promotes your business.

FOUR: Customer Referral Scheme
It’s possible that you can generate great positive word of mouth from your existing customers by setting up a customer referral scheme. It’s used by all sorts of organisations, the more customers they refer, the greater the rewards for all concerned. This is the perfect low-cost way of getting your existing customer-base to market for you.

FIVE: Catchy Product/Service Names
Develop catchy, memorable product and service names. Apple have been consistently smart about the use of the prefix ‘i-‘ before the name of many of their products, which helps them to become immediately memorable for existing customers and those seeking to find out more about those products. But who’d spread the word about the new XDP-555-DE2-XL/1?

Creating great word of mouth referrals is a lot more than simply creating hype. It’s about encouraging and managing the way that conversation spreads from person to person. To find out more about how Word of Mouth could help your business to grow, visit www.phconsulting.org.uk.

After Armageddon

After the virtual destruction of the UK new homebuilding industry, there are signs of a cautious recovery. I just wonder what might have happened to many of the important issues that were starting to be addressed by many of the major developers? Will customer satisfaction be relegated again? What damage will have been done to their brands after some desperate discounting? And will CSR and sustainability be seen as a 'nice-to-have' at the expense of profitability?I've been in discussions with many home builders recently and there is a real sense of fear and anxiety at what the 'new world' will hold for them?Any views anyone?

we communicate more, but less!

Like most, I have seen the rapid growth of the Internet and social networking sites and how they have affected not just our lives but also business; on the whole I think this has been for the good.


But I have also noticed how, on the face of it, we communicate more, but actually speak to each other less!


I guess it really started with SMS. This phenomenon gripped us all (well most of us) and instead of calling someone to tell them we were running late, we texted them. Why didn't we call? I don't know.... In fact, I have witnessed many instances where a text conversation has lasted hours with multiple to and fro'ing (in trying to agree a time and place to meet), when a simple phone call would have sorted it out in minutes! But if you suggest to the person to actually call and make arrangements they look at you in disgust and contempt!


The same behaviour seems to apply to email. Previously a phone call to someone would have sufficed. Now, it seems strangely either uncool or inappropriate to actually speak to them! Instead you will 'ping' them an email...why? When a phone call would 'sort things out'?

Now we have Blogs, Twitter etc etc...where is taking us?


So, returning to my original thought. Although we now have multiple methods for communicating with each other, we seem to be speak less. Should we be concerned?