Developers Focus on Customer Experience. Aedas Homes Creates a ‘Flagship’ to Cater to Their Needs

Author: Luzmelia Torres

Source: El Economista

Buying a new home is becoming a comprehensive experience for the customer, who wants to fully enjoy what is, without a doubt, one of the most important decisions of their life, both financially and personally. And developers are aware of this: today, simply selling a home and delivering it on time is no longer enough. These companies aim to provide the customer with a complete experience during the pre-sale, sale, and post-sale phases, with the goal of achieving maximum satisfaction and ultimately turning them into the best brand ambassadors.

A clear example of this experience is the flagship store created by Aedas Homes. It is a two-story street-level space totaling 1,300 square meters in the Salamanca district of Madrid (Padilla Street with Velázquez Street), designed to meet the well-being needs of clients.

This space is unprecedented in the Spanish real estate market, presenting a new concept of customer experience with personalization as its core, combined with technology and design. “We need to stop focusing on the product, on ourselves, and on the developer, and start focusing on the customer from start to finish—not just on what they will receive, but on their needs. This is how we approach the customer experience,” says Pablo Rodríguez-Losada, Commercial and Marketing Director at Aedas Homes, who emphasizes that “the added value today is that developers allow the customer to personalize their home. During the waiting period until the home is delivered, they can adapt our model home to their needs, and this is the big bet we are making at Aedas Homes with this personalization store.”

Empathizing with the Buyer

In line with this, Pablo Bruguier, Commercial Director of ASG Homes, points out that “we need to put ourselves in the buyer’s shoes and understand what they want and what we can offer them. From there, we develop the product.”

Today’s buyers are very different from those of the past. According to Nuria Serranos, Commercial Director of Grupo Pryconsa, “the customer has shifted from being a passive one, who was provided with all project documentation, to an active customer who demands and has infinite means to contact us, so we need to meet their needs in a timely manner.”

All developers agree that “today, we need to accompany the customer and provide responses at every stage of the buying process, not just during the sale, because the process starts before. Therefore, we need to think not about the product but about the customer, the person who will live in that house,” says Carmen Román, Commercial Director of Habitat Inmobiliaria.

Enhancing the Experience

“At Aedas Homes, what we aim to achieve with the flagship is a concrete improvement in the customer experience during the waiting period until the home delivery. We have detected that when customers come to the store, we interact very well, offer them the product, and they buy. However, during the waiting period, which can last 2 years for off-plan sales, the customer can get tired, anxious, and uncertain about what is happening. The flagship allows them to personalize their home during this waiting period and tailor it to their needs. What is clear is that we need to put ourselves in the customer’s shoes,” says Rodríguez-Losada.

ASG Homes focuses on the presentation. “As Commercial Director, I try to convey to my team that every day is like opening a new play, where we need to give our all. Training is crucial for attending to a customer, answering their questions, and keeping them informed about the progress of the construction and when licenses are obtained. We need to involve them in the entire buying process,” says Bruguier.

“In Pryconsa, we want to implement a company-wide strategy where all departments are aligned with the same goal. We have developed a customer website where the customer is attended by specialized teams,” says Serranos.

Carmen Román explains that Habitat Inmobiliaria is involved before the buying process. “We analyze the land purchase and the buyers of these homes, adapting to the new demands of the customer, such as sustainability with our Spatium seal, which guarantees the well-being of your home. We also provide full support through our customer area on our website, offering all necessary information, and finally, the delivery phase with informative sessions.”

The Emotional Component

Nuria Serranos emphasizes that “in home buying, a fundamental aspect is the location, which is where the customer initially focuses their search and the budget they have available. Adding tools like a showroom, sales offices, and a well-prepared sales team completes the circle. I believe that it is a combination of factors that ultimately makes the customer decide to buy from us.”

In this regard, Carmen Román notes that “although location and affordability are primary, customers are now more demanding and there are many tools that help us show our homes through virtual tours, immersive experiences, and real-time entry into the home. The emotional component is very important in the buying decision.”

For Pablo Rodríguez-Losada, “the emotional aspect is far more important than the rational one and increasingly influences the buying decision. In a flagship store like ours, we aim not only to expand the range of products for personalization but also to ensure that customers feel cared for and appreciate that the company is concerned with their needs. We want to evoke an emotion never before experienced by the customer in residential settings, following three concepts: journey, experience, and excitement.”

Technology: A Key Element for Future Home Sales

Ultimately, buying a home off-plan is an act of faith, and the customer will receive all the information about their home but will likely forget most of it and remember only the experience it provided. “We are all looking for that emotional component so that the customer leaves with a good memory. Just as when you enter a car dealership and it smells new, when you enter a home, it should smell like freshly brewed coffee, freshly cut grass, cookies, etc. The customer needs to receive perceptions not only of how their home will be but also of who is behind it, as they are the ones making it possible,” says Bruguier.

The evolution of the customer buying experience for new homes is advancing rapidly, and in 10 years, a higher degree of expectation is anticipated, which will not end with the delivery of the home. There will be much more personalization.

Technology will also be a key element in the future of home sales, although all developers agree that contact with the point of sale should not be lost. We have seen that after the pandemic, customers returned to physical points of sale. After a period of online-only interactions during the lockdown, customers needed social contact. Therefore, it is expected that both physical and online methods will coexist in home buying in the future, with technology providing immediacy, which will be a crucial characteristic for this sector.