How to Have a Successful Community Launch
By Lita Dirks, MIRM, CMP, CAASH
Sales & Marketing Ideas Magazine, Issued Nov/Dec 2007

There are teams throughout history whose successes are legendary. For example, the 1992 USA Olympic basketball “Dream Team” winning the Gold medal at the summer games while setting Olympic records. Or the team at Apple Computer that recently successfully launched the new iPhone. Consumers anxiously awaited is arrival and formed lines that wrapped around buildings. Just what is it that makes people so successful or their products so enticing? And more importantly, how can you achieve that same greatness with your upcoming community launch?

As a merchandiser, we’ve been privileged to be a part of many teams that created successful community. The following approach is based on our experience utilizing the “Ready, Set, Go!” process in bringing a community to market successfully.

Step 1: “Ready…” Bring on the Team and Share the Community Vision
If the 1992 USA Olympic basketball team was unable to recruit talented guards, would Clyde Drexler have been able to score from inside, helping the team win? It’s all about the team! Determine your internal team: president, marketing researcher, marketing director, sales manager and counselors, construction manager, and project manager.

Also determine your external team: land planner and architect, product architect, interior merchandiser, and advertising and public relations company. These are just a few of the team members you should gather and bring on board early to discuss the genesis and future of the community.

Considerations when determine who to put on your team should include evaluating their talent and experience. It is also important to understand each team member’s value system or to ask questions such as:

• Will they understand and buy into the vision of the community?
• What value will they bring not only to the planning stages, but throughout the life of the community?
• What is their character, and is it right for the team’s success?

The bonding or connection of your team will help bring the community dream to fruition. One talented mind is great, but 10 to 12 talented professionals all seated together at one time is “Totally awesome, Baby!” as ESPN’s Dick Vitale likes to say. By engaging so many talents together at one time, and with their combined energy, you’ll be able to move otherwise “good” product into “great” product.

Step 2: “Set…” Research, Analyze, and Adjust
Once the team is in place, share the community vision. What is the flavor of the community, and what do you hope to attain? Ideally the community vision is a written statement, compiled by a marketing person, as well as a strategic-level manager who knows the tangible business goals. It should include descriptive copy addressing everything from meandering walking paths to company absorption goals and a timeline from pre-marketing to community launch through desired community closeout. For the team, hearing the story provides a baseline for the “dream” and their buy-in. For example, at this stage the merchandiser can help you capitalize on the positives and help refine, hide, or even eliminate the negatives. If you can re-work your product on paper, it saves money in the field, and it builds a respect between construction, sales, and marketing.
The “Set” stage should also unveil research related to the community, product, and buyer, and enable refinements to the unique selling proposition of the community.

Take a look at your community and the nearby vicinity. What are the regional, city, and town amenities, and what are the amenities within the community?

Define and share the community facts with the team. What is the acreage, number of homes, distinctions between neighborhoods, planned amenity package, schools within and around the community, nearby shopping, restaurants, major highways, resorts, and airport accessibility?

Share the positives and challenges of the community such as views, parks, golf course, or town center.

What will the marketing plan and selling experience look like? How do you envision pulling prospective homebuyers into the community in order to give them the ultimate buying experience? What will the sales office(s) look like?

These all-encompassing details about the community will help the advertising and merchandising professionals target the buyer, and help the sales team develop the appropriate sales approach. This information also provides a start for logo and brochure designs, potential names for the community, theming opportunities, and the layout, design, display, and placement within the sales office. The sales environment is the model itself, but it all begins and ends in the sales office. The team needs to understand how you plan to approach sales.

Advertising will be able to demonstrate who this buyer is through pictures, graphics, and copy. Merchandising will demonstrate who this buyer is through third layer lifestyle merchandising. It’s the third layer that captures the intimate person – who they are and what they do, enjoy, and count on in life, and the accessories that link to personal joys or activities. For example, you could demonstrate their love for tennis. Their healthy habits, a refined tasted, or even the musical dreams of their kids.

Conceptuals of architectural styles and floor plans are reviewed by the team, a mini-planning charrette. Does the architecture meet the expectations of the community vision? Do the floor plans flow, and will they appeal to the potential target market? Will the merchandiser be able to layout furniture so that it moves the buyer, enticing them from room to room? Are there any fatal flaws in the concepts or designs?

Construction is an integral part of the team, as they have to continually interface between the team and buyers, and ultimately build the homes. When everyone understands the goals and the players, they can do their part to help the team reach the common goal of the community vision. Remember, the 1992 USA Olympic “Dream Team” made it happen using their guards, forwards, and their centers.

Share the anticipated schedule and proposed pre-community launch marketing strategy with your team, addressing how it relates to a successful community launch and how you intend to generate early interest and momentum.

Some experts suggest utilizing a “grass-roots” effort, achieving positive P.R. Other experts suggest utilizing more traditional marketing methods, such as creating an advertising calendar to include “coming soon” message through various advertising vehicles such as signage, radio, direct mail, print, and Web site. Either way could be right for your community; however, combining both strategies may provide an ideal scenario best for what your community launch needs, and what your budget may dictate. Your team can help guide you in these decisions, and help you make adjustments along the way in order to achieve grand opening success.

You’ll often find yourself surprised by what you learn when having the various team members review your product, positioning, and messaging, through the sharing of their own expertise and findings. Typically you will thank the team later for catching and then making adjustments, especially with the community vision in mind.

A sample community start-up meeting’s itinerary may include the following agenda items and schedule:

8-9am – Breakfast & Introductions
9-10am – Community Vision by the Builder/Developer
10-11am – Community Information (regional, local, & community specific)
11am-12pm – Lunch
12-1pm – Competitive & Buyer Research Unveiled
1-3pm – Amenity & Product Overview
3-5pm – Community and Competitive On-Site Tour

Step 3: “Go!” – Time to Generate Sales and Create Momentum!

Launch day is within sight. By now you have worked with your individual team members to analyze and refine your community and product offerings. Your message to the marketplace is in play, and through the various tracking methods, you’ve been able to reach, capture, and entice an interested group of potential homebuyers. Now you need to ask: How does the overall presentation of your community and models appear? Are you staffed correctly for the scheduled grand opening event or events? What marketing and selling events or tactics are in place to continue once the grand opening occurs in order to stay ahead of the competition? Following is a mini-check list that will help keep your models looking fresh from the opening of the community through its completion.

• Lights – all on one switch
• Cleaning Weekly, or even daily
• Carpets age a model – be sure to use your best pad and try to use carpets that don’t show tracking
• Have your merchandiser re-set models before the grand opening even or special parties
• Have merchandiser check our models at least once a year (every six months if you are seeing a lot of traffic)
• Replace merchandise due to theft
• Rework merchandise due to trend
• Adjust due to who is walking through the models – for example, are the kids’ rooms too young or too old?

Keep an continuation of checks and balances in place and continue to work with your team as it relates to continually improving your offerings and appeal. What is the market or local economy doing? How are the actual buyers differing from what you anticipated? What types of events should you continue to organize in order to build continued interest and to keep all contracts solid so they close? And don’t forget to occasionally let your team members know how sales are going. They’ll want to keep informed, and because of the team’s buy-in from the beginning, they’ll most likely be asking you for updates.

By following the “Ready, Set, Go!” method, you can create dynamics for reaching your community vision and goals and build a strong and effective team for the future. But best of all, you will sell from a community sales office ad model that surpasses your competition and captures a “happy customer.”