What Staging and Selling a House Can Teach You About Customer Experience

Buying a house is tied to emotion. So it a client experience.
Steps to create a stonger emotional connection and affect the way others feel.

photo courtesy of VSI/Danielle Atkinson

Several years ago, I was renting a townhouse in Atlanta and the owners decided it was time to sell. I was ready to move anyway, so it was win.

One day, I happened to be at home working when the agent needed to stop by wwith a prospective buyer. After saying hello, I tucked myself away in my office so that they could wander about on their own. (I know - agents can’t stand it when the homeowner is home, but I was on a deadline and this was a last-minute request.) Anyway,  I overheard (sort of eavesdropped) the prospective buyer say,

"I feel something in this place that I didn't at any of the other houses. It just makes me feel different. I feel so peaceful and calm." 

As someone who teaches how to create better cleint expereinces, this was music to my ears!

When the owners decided they wanted to sell, they brought over their real estate agent to check out the place.

Their real estate agent liked what I had done with the place, but wanted to bring in a stager to make sure it would appeal to the ideal buyer.  Note: a stager is completely worth it! I was able to do much of it myself due to my background, but you will see the return by hiring a professional!

So the two of them came by and decided that with just a couple of changes (remove the personal photos, reduce things on the floor such as baskets, etc.), my furniture and decor would work; the stager wasn’t really needed. Question to self: does that mean that I am current and cool, or instead that my stuff appeals to the masses? I cannot overthink this one.

But, I know how people work, so I offered to do some things on my own and agreed to be the one to get it ready. The first question I asked myself (with my marketing hat on) was, what about this townhouse would make it stand out from all the others on the market? What made it different - special? 

• It flowed well, but so did the others in the area - heck, they were mostly built by the same builder.

• I like to come home to a respite - to peace and quiet, so the decor of course already reflected this. and, it was the number one thing friends said when they came to my house.

• The deck during late spring was beautiful, and you could see so much green, which was rare for this complex.

• I had a home office which could be argued as helpful or not, depending on how many bedrooms one wanted, but it was CUTE and encouraged creativity.

photo courtesy of VSI/Danielle Atkinson

So I focused on the calm, serene and peaceful points of the house.

I gave it a deep clean and then decided to walk through the entire house as if I were a potential buyer - would things look any different?

“I decided to walk through as if I were the buyer. Would things look different through their lens?”

Absolutely they did!

• A tray at the front door that I used to look at as useful and necessary, now, with this buyer perspective, became cluttered and in the way - easy to knock over - no purpose.

• My vision boards that are obviously all about me, seemed cluttered and confusing to someone else. Not only did I not like being so vulnerable with random people wandering through the house, I wanted to show that ideal buyer that this was a place where she could see herself.

• I usually had acoustic music playing in the mornings - piano or Joshua Bell, etc. So, I created playlists that would play during different times of the day depending on the time of the showings.

• Prior to every showing I walked through the house as if I were seeing it for the first time and made adjustments. I moved this vase an inch to the left, made sure the throw on the couch was folded so you wouldn't see the seams, made sure all of the lights were on, the toilet lids down, the curtains open to the right place for that time of day, and the music playing.

• Later, when selling another house, I realized there were several wonderful things about it that a person doing a basic walkthrough would never see or experience. So, we created a sheet, framed it, and set it on the kitchen island.

The end of the story is that several offers were made.

And that person from the beginning of the story? They are now living in the townhouse (hopefully feeling peaceful and calm). 

I'm not saying this was all because of what I did, but I am certain it was part of it. 

So, what did this teach/remind me about customer experience?

1. We must understand our customer and their values - what matters to them.

2. We most certainly can affect the way our customers or guests feel.

3. The tiniest details ARE important, even in a quick , perhaps never-to-be-repeated interaction.

4. It is worth it to take the time to make it special.

“This place somehow just makes me feel different. ”

— potential buyer to her agent

So, remember to

Think about what your guests value
Become the guest
Pay attention to the details. 

ps (perspective shift)

make sure that you take the time to become your guest and think about things from their perspective. What do they need and really want? What are they worried about? Even things as simple as, is it easy to park here? What is it like when you first walk through the door? Can he read the menu in the candlelight? Look at your business (or your home when entertaining!) from the eyes and value perspective of your customers and guests.