In these undoubtedly tough times for the housebuilding industry there is a new focus on minimising overheads, achieving operational efficiency, maximising sales and making sure every decision is the right one.  Your choice of IT systems will affect how well you can perform in a difficult market and here are five key reasons why now may be a good time for you to invest in a modern integrated system;

1. To increase the accessibility of key business information.

Few would disagree that having accurate and timely information is at the heart of good decision making. If your information is held in a range of disparate IT systems then it is difficult to gather the timely and accurate information needed to make and substantiate the right decisions in an ever changing housing market. Furthermore the trusty spreadsheets which may hold much of the critical data you need on a daily basis are highly likely to contain discrepancies and errors as well creating duplicated effort. Spreadsheets remain one of the great personal productivity tools yet are poor for accessing corporate data derived from many different sources. A well designed dedicated software solution will place all the data you need at your fingertips. A well designed system will alert management to any operational events that require immediate attention. A common view of company data provides the management team with the data they need to coordinate their actions and meet business goals.

2. To drive better business efficiency.

With slimmed down resources and more multi-tasking required the efficient sharing of data has never been more vital. An integrated financial, operational and customer relationship management system will provide timely information across all departments of a housebuilding business. Adopting the principle of entering each piece of data once, and adding value to it at each stage of the development process, will considerably enhance your operational efficiency. An integrated system will facilitate the tracking and controlling of project costs while providing better business forecasts. A well implemented system will also allow you to grow your business with the minimum increase in overheads as the market recovers.

3. To maximise sales

This is clearly one of the big issues of the moment and while many of the factors affecting sales may be out of your control every housebuilder needs to be sure they are maximising their market share in a difficult market. Good visibility of campaign effectiveness, sales prospects, lead conversions, customer profiles and competitors will enable you to take faster and more effective actions to secure the maximum number of new home sales. It is also critical that this information is available where it is needed be that at Head Office, a region, a showhome, via your website or for an agent. Customer profiles held in a central database are more easily analysed for better targeting of promotional activity and to identify current customer demands. With longer sales cycles you need the very best lead tracking system to ensure that no sales opportunity is lost. Web technology has ensured that a high proportion of customers now commence their new home searches on-line where they expect up-to-date information and a fast response to any enquiry. Only by providing your sales staff with similar tools and technology in the showhome can you offer an appropriate and timely follow up to these enquiries; and if you can’t one of your competitors may be able to.

4. To increase customer satisfaction

To ensure that each customer has the best experience it is vital to have the relevant information available whenever they contact your company. Traditionally customer relationship management systems (CRM) have often been separate from the operational and financial systems leading to limited benefits from using such systems. Yet it is in the area of customer care where accessible information is essential to provide the level of customer recognition and service expected by today’s sophisticated homebuyer.

5. To maximise profit and achieve business goals.

In order to work effectively the Finance Director needs a single unified view of data from multiple sources together with the key performance indicators for your business all available within the context of your strategic goals and financial plans.

Ongoing business activity needs to be aligned and compared with budgets, forecasts, corporate strategies and target KPIs. As well as assisting with greater company success and profitability in the current market an integrated system will help to build better financial forecasts and control systems for the future.

Instant access to the key performance indicators for your business is critical to guide all your departmental Directors and Managers towards optimum performance. Experience of the last major housing recession in the early nineties showed that those companies that had invested in good software systems were able to assess, respond and prosper from new development opportunities much more quickly as the market recovered.

Summary

It is your IT systems that contain the operating data and processes you need to deliver the right information at the right time to support better, faster decisions, and thus ensure the long-term success of your company.

In these tough times for the housebuilding industry it is important to focus not only on making sure that your business is well prepared for a sustained downturn but also well placed to take advantage of the eventual recovery in new home sales. The ability to cope with a market recovery is equally as important as surviving the current downturn. Past periods of recession have shown that good overhead control and operational efficiency are often most important during the recovery phase. This is a critical time when many businesses have failed in the past because of difficulties in managing growth and increased workloads with restricted resources.

It may be contrary to your natural instincts but now may be a good time to invest in IT solutions that drive better efficiency through your business and maintain it for when housing demand increases again.

 

This is the first in an occasional series of white papers designed to highlight how modern IT systems can support housebuilding businesses in a challenging market. The papers will particularly focus on areas where a well chosen system can enhance business opportunities and efficiency both during the downturn and in readiness for market recovery.

Malcolm Freeman has been involved in the development and supply of housebuilding software solutions for over 23 years. During this time he has seen many changes in the requirements of housebuilders for IT systems; from increasingly sophisticated budgeting and forecasting requirements through to the impact of the internet on homebuyer’s property search and increased expectations for customer care.