Selling sustainability to the masses is about presentation. It’s the way you talk to home buyers about the benefits that they will receive, but more importantly, by talking to them about the benefits that are important to them.
C.R. Herro, vice president, Energy Efficiency and Sustainability at Meritage Homes and Jacob Atalla, VP Sustainability at KB Home have elaborate data analytics that share finite details about home energy performance. But their secret has been breaking that down so that it is relevant and important to the buyer.
Herro encourages builders to stop thinking they know what the consumer thinks and instead to get in the mind of the buyer. He also paints the picture of the decision maker being a busy mother. She isn’t making decisions solely based on location, floor plan and price. Herro insists that those factors are what they use to eliminate what doesn’t meet their criteria. After they have eliminated homes that aren’t in the right place, that don’t have the right number of bedrooms or that are too expensive, then they can dig into the factors that tip the scales.
One thing that both KB Home and Meritage are seeing is that energy efficiency is now part of the buyer’s consideration set – consumers understand it and look for it now. Again, the communication comes down to imparting the notion of value to the buyer. They want to save money and feel good about their impact on the environment. Herro talks about how buyers want builders to be experts on helpin them live better, which will offer them ways to have a healthy family.
Herro goes so far to say that the best example of connecting with home buyers on the value proposition is a model that is already working in France. Home buyers there are able to preview all the data that’s important to them and that helps them understand the ongoing cost of the home, including monthly operational costs, price, square footage, description. With this model, buyers can make decisions on total cost, not just on principle, interest, taxes and insurance.
What’s the end goal? Improving buyers lives. Not just from a commerce perspective, but from an emotional, feel-good angle. Herro explains a case study that reduced someone’s energy costs so much that their life was better – instead of spending money on utility bills, they ate better, went on more vacations and had a better quality of life.
They also offer these tips when thinking about selling green homes.
- Don’t get too far ahead. You should not go beyond the consumer’s perception of value. Remember, you are thinking cutting edge, but it doesn’t mean that they are ready for it.
- HERs is critical. It’s numerical and it’s a third party validation.
- Always try to break it down into financial savings.
Green matters now and it will continue to matter into the future. Your challenge is converting energy performance into a palatable format for your buyers.
