Online Shopping Cart Makes Homebuying Easier for Taylor Morrison Customers

When one homebuilder noticed that its potential customers would park outside their new communities, wait for its customer-service representatives to leave, and then hop the fence to go check out the digs, it knew it was time to try something different.

About two years ago, Taylor Morrison launched an online, mobile-friendly platform that invited its customers to plan and build their future homes. They were able to choose their lots, their floor plans, their elevations, their structural enhancements, their interiors – all the way to the backsplash — and more.

And yes, there was an online “shopping cart” type of element.

Stephanie McCarty, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Taylor Morrison, spoke about how this process has led to a 40% sales conversion rate during ULI’s annual fall meeting in Dallas this week.

The session was moderated by John Cecilian of Cecilian Partners; and included panelists colleague Heidi Birchall; Michael Miller, Senior Vice President, Signorelli Company; and Ned Moore, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Clutch Holdings.

“No doubt, there’s been a huge dynamic shift for consumers when it comes to shopping on their mobile devices first,” McCarty said. “With every consumer, every demographic, every industry, consumers want to do their research there and seek validation.”

Taylor Morrison decided that could be the better way to go.

“The home-buying process has been one that is purely seduction,” she said. “We show you a few beautiful photos and try to lure you into the community.

“You can’t do this in any other industry. Consumers don’t want to have to leave their couch. As homebuilders, we’re missing mark on the convenience and ease they want and need to instead give them info they want on our website.”

‘Getting Out of Our Own Way’

For the past seven years, Taylor Morrison has been considered “the most trusted home builder,” McCarty said.

She said when this platform launched, “the hardest part was getting out of our own way. We had to understand that this is how consumers went to engage. This works for things like ordering a Starbucks coffee, almost any car from any automobile producer, the items you need on Amazon, and now for homebuying.

“In homebuilding, as an industry, we look at data from a competitive market perspective, but we don’t look at how our customers want to engage, and how we can fit into their lives. A home will be their largest purchase – $600,000 or more. It was hard to imagine that they would buy this and not want to come to see our models. Where is the salesperson?

“They are still there, but their roles have changed. No one likes to be sold to. In any industry. They don’t want to be hunted or chased or trapped.”

Understanding the Price as They Go

She said when Taylor Morrison built this prototype and showed it to consumers, “not one of them said they wouldn’t want the buying process to be like this.

“We’re not trying to bamboozle you. If it doesn’t fit your budget, we don’t want to waste your time or our sales teams’ time.

The site enables prospects to understand the pricing as they go through the selection process.

“The most enjoyable part for them is the personalized selection approach,” McCarty said. “The site helps them to bring their interiors to life. We took all our packages and pretty much gamified the selection for them.”

The platform allows prospects to put down a deposit to reserve the home in the configuration they built from their mobile phone.

“When they do, we’re seeing a 40 percent conversion – it’s our highest converting product on our website,” McCarty said. “People can make their selections faster, and we can start to build their homes faster.”