Low Cost Tip: The Easy Technology Demo in Existing Homes
by David Rodarte

Builders are looking for additional ways to move current housing inventory and provide added value at low cost. Easy options are available and taking a second look at the consumer experience in the model home is a starting point.

Demonstrating technology, particularly architectural consumer electronics like multi-room audio (MRA), has long been a thorny issue for home builders. A prominent objection is the expense, especially in these challenging economic times. Yet multi-room audio has strong consumer appeal. Research shows that the demand for home technologies like multi-room audio continues to grow among home buyers. *

As consumers’ digital music libraries expand, they want to be able to distribute and access those files in more rooms. Interest in multi-room audio among home buyers clearly exists, and it is increasing.

Builders are taking advantage of opportunities and making revenue in this product category. According to CEA’s 6^th Annual State of the Builder Study, supplement to the NAHB Annual Builder Practices Survey, 57 percent of builders surveyed stated that installing multi-room audio systems helped boost their profit potential in 2007, a 17 percent increase from 2006.

Builders can maximize revenue and tap in to this consumer trend by making the multi-room audio experience available in their model home and as a choice in their sales packages. A key for positively influencing the residential buying decision is providing the ability for potential customers to feel the benefits of hearing and controlling sound in different rooms. Builders can easily do this at low cost and without hassle.

Increase Housing Differentiation for Little Cost

So consider this inexpensive opportunity to introduce the multi-room audio concept into your model home at a fraction of the cost of installing a full-fledged multi-room audio system. Utilize the iPod: the consumer’s own music with an appliance they know and understand. 

Here’s how: Simply install an amplified source input and connect it to an iPod dock and in-wall or in-

ceiling speakers. Set up a location in the room where an on-wall audio control pad would go; you don’t need to install a live control pad, just a blank plate covered with a transparent graphic that shows what a control interface would look like. Install this demo in the most public of spots in the home—the kitchen.

During a tour of the model home, allow the home buyer to plug his or her iPod into the dock and hear the music instantly over the speakers. The demo will show the home buyer that he or she can enjoy a docked iPod by selecting songs on a conveniently located control pad and easily hear “My Music” over the home’s audio system. It effectively communicates what a clean, architectural lifestyle solution multi-room audio is. It will make an immediate “I want that” impact on the home buyer: “Here’s something that will make life in this house simpler and richer.”

This unique selling approach is really affordable. Roughly speaking, a pair of speakers runs $200, an iPod dock runs $49, and an amplified in-wall local source runs $125. Add a nominal cost for speaker wire and installation, and you’ve got a slick solution that doesn’t break the bank.

Once the home buyer gets that sense of excitement and expresses interest, your Electronic Systems Contractor (ESC) partner can take over and explain all of the possibilities of multi-room audio—the variety of sources that can be integrated, the number of rooms that can be served, the level of personalization that can be achieved, and much more.

Home Buyers and “My Music”

Multi-room audio today is a more compelling new-home option than ever because it ties directly into the exploding concept of “My Music” among consumers. Music today is more casual, yet deeply personal; it’s moved beyond the realm of “the listening room” and into the realm of omnipresent “lifestyle enhancement.”

The advent of portable music players like the wildly popular iPod has enabled music collections to go virtually anywhere their happy owners go. On the move, they listen with earbuds or headphones. In the car, they simply plug in their players and the music is rocking over the car audio system. And of course, everyone has “their” radio station, be it AM or FM, XM or Sirius; in the grand scheme of things, radio stations are becoming almost indistinguishable from the consumer’s iPod collection. The common thread is that the consumer feels ownership of the music.

Because of these highly personal and enjoyable experiences, many home buyers would welcome the extension of the “My Music” to an entire home. That’s where your inexpensive model home demo comes into play.

By providing a simple music demonstration, you can entice home buyers by showing them how uncomplicated, powerful and fun a multi-room audio system can be. Differentiation is key, and providing an added experience in the home that is lacking in competitors’ homes may make the difference in selling a house.   

Generate Buzz

Unlike flat panel TVs, multi-room audio isn’t a commodity. It’s not a retail product. There is a strong profit margin to share. These systems will enhance the value and profit of your homes and help you sell over your competition. You’ll generate some excitement in a down market.

Multi-room audio is a win-win for both homeowners and builders. So what are you waiting for? It all starts with an effective (and cheap) demo!

David Rodarte is president and chief operating officer of NuVo Technologies LLC, a manufacturer of multi-room audio systems. Rodarte has earned a reputation for rapidly accelerating businesses through market analysis, organizational effectiveness and strategic planning. A dedicated industry volunteer and winner of the 2008 Mark of Excellence Leadership Award, he serves as Chairperson of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) Builder Initiative and a Board member of CEA TechHome. Rodarte also is a member of NAHB’s Home Technology Alliance (HTA), and is an active participant in the group’s mission to assist builders in understanding consumer electronics trends and applications as they apply to new home construction. For additional information call 866.796.4904, email info@nuvotechnologies.com or visit www.nuvotechnologies.com.

*Source: Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)

 

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