HomeAdvisor Released New True Cost Report Highlighting Home Improvement Trends

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HomeAdvisor has released its True Cost Report focused on generational trends in home improvement, the negligible impact of rising interest rates on homeowner decision making and the growth of home improvement spending. Findings of the report show that 84 percent of homeowners surveyed plan to stay in their existing homes rather than move, and as a result are planning to spend more on home improvement projects this year, with half of all respondents considering a remodel.

The report, authored by HomeAdvisor’s Chief Economist Brad Hunter, provides insight into homeowner spending trends and the primary factors influencing home project decision-making, including age group, region, interest rates and consumer confidence.

The report shows that millennials, for whom homeownership rates are increasing rapidly, are more likely than any other generation to remodel any part of their home and take on the highest number of projects. Millennial homeowners have completed more home projects per household in the last 12 months than homeowners in any other generation, surpassing the silent generation, baby boomers and Gen Xers by 72 percent, 42 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

While millennials have a higher propensity to tackle these improvements, they don’t spend nearly as much as baby boomers to complete them.

“Most millennials have had to compromise on the size and condition of their starter homes — with many purchasing older homes in need of repair just to be able to afford homeownership,” said Hunter. “Many of the millennials who bought a home in the last few years are seeking to upgrade. But a lack of housing inventory, coupled with inflated home prices and rising mortgage rates, has them renovating their existing homes instead of selling and moving.”

Additional Highlights from the 2018 True Cost Report include:

  • Millennials are not only more likely than any other generation to remodel any part of their homes, but they’re twice as likely as baby boomers to complete bathroom and kitchen remodeling projects.
  • Millennials have completed the most home projects in the past 12 months — 72 percent more, 42 percent more and 18 percent more projects than the silent generation, baby boomers and Gen Xers, respectively.
  • Five in six millennials plan to spend as much or more on home improvements in the coming 12 months as they did last year, with more than half of millennials expecting to spend more.
  • Homeowners spent an average of $6,649 on home improvements per household in the last 12 months.
  • The majority of homeowners say they’re planning to spend as much or more on home improvements in the coming year with a heavy focus on cosmetic enhancements such as painting, landscaping and remodeling.

The report is informed by HomeAdvisor’s True Cost Guide, an online guide for homeowners to access real costs as reported by consumers for home projects, as well as results from an annual survey conducted among homeowners. To view the complete report, visit HomeAdvisor’s 2018 True Cost Report page here: https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/true-cost-report/

Article originally published on kbbonline.com

Cabinet Manufacturers: Targeting the Millennial Market

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The generational demographic of consumers calls for cabinet manufacturers to diversify their message to cater to the specific needs of each group. According to Zillow Group, the millennials represent 42% of all homebuyers and 71% of all first-time homebuyers, with almost all of them having made improvements in the last year, in their homes.

The largest group of the Millennial generation, which is the largest generation in U.S. history, are 26 years old. Most of them are on the verge of a life-altering decision that will affect everything in their future: marriage, buying a home or having a child. In order to communicate your message, you have to address their needs, through lifestyle, habits and trends. One way to do this is to use appropriate visual communication that clients can relate to. The image, the message has to reflect millennials’ lifestyle and habits, so that it inspires true engagement.

 

A millennial’s first home is probably going to be small, focused on storage capabilities, thus enhancing living experience by being practical and user-friendly. This is happening while more and more people are renting their homes. For some Americans, owning a home is not a priority, due to rising home prices, rising student debts and the delay of millennials to get married or start their own families. That is why both renters and landlords are likely to look for more affordable cabinet options in their home. Consumers are lately leaning towards shopping for smaller furniture to fit their rental homes or apartments where space may be at a premium.

According to Statista data and an article by Deloitte Insights, single-person households are increasing and are expected to follow this trend over the next 15 years. This also calls for an increase in availability of multifunctional furniture and cabinets for storage.

Furthermore, millennials spend a lot of time online. It’s obvious that they have instant access to catalogs and prices, already having a clear idea of what they want. Online retailing has been preferred by millennials for some time now, and will continue to be so. Being online all the time, millennials are heavily influenced by social media. Even if  the actual purchasing is happening in the physical store, the shopping is happening on social media.

 

So, targeting millennials begins by connecting with them on their preferred channels, using messages and appropriate images that they can relate to, in order to inspire engagement.

Then you also need to help your dealers reach the audiences, to bring your products to the hands of as many customers as possible. A professional use of 3D cabinet images provided to your network of dealers will surely increase the sales of your cabinets.

 

References

bizcommunity.com

cmtc.com

buybkbg.com

 

 

Why visual communication actually works

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In recent years content creators realized that using visual communication is a much more efficient way to get your point across. There are actually a few reasons why visual communication is crucial in order to effectively deliver a meaningful message.

Firstly, visual communication conveys messages faster than written text.

We can interpret a visual scene in less than 1/10 of a second. Studies show that our brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Delivering your message quickly is a huge benefit for obvious reasons.

Images mixed with videos transmit a richer experience than text-heavy content alone. In the media world it is hard to acquire the reader’s attention, and even harder to retain it. That’s why readers often prefer to scan content rather than reading word for word. Keeping your content filled with visual material is a sure way to convey your message in a shorter period of time.

Secondly, visual communication guarantees that a clear, concise message is delivered.

When reading for pleasure, letting your creative mind wander and your imagination roam, is often what you actually want. This is part of the reading literature experience.

In the business zone the opposite idea is true. Here it’s important that all the readers are interpreting a similar meaning, or risk a result of wasted time and confusion. When you are sending a message for a professional purpose you should have in mind that less room for interpretation is what you want. Images, or short, simple videos might be the right thing to do in order to make certain that everyone involved is on the same page.

Next, one should understand that an important part of delivering a consistent experience with visuals is branding.

In addition to a logo, many organizations have defined brand colors that should be in all their marketing endeavours. All visual elements (logos, colors, fonts, graphics, icons, imagery) involved in branding, paired with the tone and voice of your company, make your brand recognizable. Notoriety and brand awareness is often acquired by making sure that everyone is using the same defined brand elements, including consistent images.

Another reason for using visual communication is that it results in better retention of the information.

Scientists have found that using visuals help audience remember the information more effectively. Images are stored into the long-term memory, whereas words only stay in short-term memory. Only 10-20% of text (spoken or written) is recalled after 2 weeks, whereas visual information rises at 50%. That’s why retention of content is always something to aim for.

Using visual communication is crucial to your strategic communication plan. Inspire your clients, create beautiful spaces, and show that no matter the preferences you have the right option.

Are cabinet images part of your communication strategy?

Get in touch with us to discuss your upcoming projects!

References

Inc.com

Forbes

Techsmith

Successful Marketing Tactic for 2018 – Visual Content for Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers

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Being mostly visual creatures, humans first scribed pictures on the walls of caves in hope of sharing stories and information. Today little has changed as we still visualize the words we write. In the past 10 years the technological advance has people consuming bite – sized chunks of data across various devices and social channels.

Mentally, we are tuned to store and process information in visual formats. That’s why when brands fish for attention the brain is more receptive to images more then texts. We interpret images 60.000 times faster than texts and when marketers look for the best method of sharing their messages, they also need to speak visually.

Many marketers treat this with least interest. They use stock images and bombard their social media campaigns. This does not do anyone any good. We shouldn’t just follow the trends and instead we should understand the need that powers the trends. We all recognize overused images photos that are fake or cheap in design. Also we are able to realize when we deal with high quality custom content. If given the choice, none will choose generic images over custom original personalized images. Different studies back up this wish results. 85% of marketers consider that their success in 2017 is based on shifting their focus to developing quality custom visual content and that they are set on continuing down this path.

Let us know how we can help!

 

References

ContentMarketingInstitute.com

 

Why Visual Communication is Changing Marketing

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Brands are struggling to keep up with the need for visual content of the market. People spend up to a billion hours on Youtube every day, but that’s not the only visual media that customers are demanding: 95% of B2B buyers prefer shorter and highly visual formats over traditional text-based media.

With the rise of social media, increase in visual content and internet video traffic, visual communication has become essential in interacting with today’s audiences.

Visual communication creates forms which elicit emotional responses and which clarify, educate, motivate, and inspire.

In 2016 the “Content Marketing Institute” stated that there had been an increased usage of illustration and photos in marketing, from 69% up to 76%, in the previous year, and continued with an year-after-year increase since then. But still many marketers are still reluctantly trailing behind when it comes to having an efficient visual communication strategy.

By January 2017, according to AdWeek, 53% of marketers said that 91-100% of  their published content was visual material. While 35% often used lower quality images or stock images, fewer than 8% said those images inspired high engagement. Customers today won’t settle for any visual, they are looking for a mixture of quality and authenticity that shows why your brand is worth paying attention to. 

The key is producing quality custom visual content. Mentally, we are tuned to store and comprehend visual information as our primary form of communication, and we all have discerning eyes. We recognize overused images, cheap design and photography lacking authenticity. And it’s equally true that we also recognize high quality original content. Multiple studies back this up: a study of websites by researchers at Northumbria and Sheffield Universities suggests that 94% of first impressions are based entirely on the design of the first message someone sees. Only 6% of the feedback was about the actual content. In addition, a study from PWC reveals that custom visual content converts seven times better than stock images.

Visual communication is key in this day and age, it connects audiences to businesses. Buyers have raised their expectations and you need to meet them in order to ensure your success in 2018.

 

 

References

Forbes.com

DemandGenReport.com

Inc.com

AdWeek.com