Builders: 5 Ways 3D Matterport Tours Can Help Your Brand Grow

Technology has caused the world to become smaller. Builders must constantly deal with a playing field whose boundaries keep expanding by the year. When your clients aren’t limited to the locals, it can be hard to give them a “human touch”, which is an engagement metric that drives conversions.

3D modeling provides builders a means to give their buyers a virtual equivalent of “human touch”.

The first use of virtual tour dates to 1994 where Colin Johnson, an engineer, created a 3D reconstruction of Dudley Castle in its 1550 form. It provided a virtual walkthrough of the castle to Queen Elizabeth II, who was the first user of it.

This popularized the usage of the stitching technique, which is the basis of Matterport- A software that allows you to create 3D equivalent of real home models. It holds the ability to transform still images of space into living scenes, creating a much more impactful sensory stimulating experience.

In this article, we are going to take a look at 5 ways Matterport tours can be used by builders like you :-

1) Storytelling– From real estate agents to property builders, we are all story tellers. We guide the buyers through the space, room to room, aiding them in visualizing the potential of that space if it was theirs.

With 3D Matterport Tours, the buyers can experience the real-life like virtual interpretation of the property from the comfort of their homes. From exploring the dimensions, aesthetics, floor plans and layouts, the buyer can examine every feature of the house as if he or she was actually there.

With the dollhouse view the buyers can get an overview of the layout of the property, along with a top down view of the property. But for a more immersive experience, 3D Matterport stiches 360 degree images in a way that the buyer can literally start a self-directed tour from the front door. The smooth flow as they “walk” from room to room is not lost. Elevator tool allows for an effortless switch between the floors in split-level home plans.

These virtual tours also allow the buyer to experience the space through multiple vantage points. Matterport’s callout tool is a great way to highlight the important features and amenities of the house. This feature can mimic a personalized presentation as they are guided throughout the space of the property.

2) Speed up the sales cycle– Matterport solves two dilemmas that often impedes the speed of the buying cycle by:-

a) Negating the need for in-person contact during initial stage-=, It automates the process of giving several prospects individual tours.

B) Lowering the points of friction that can otherwise kill conversions. It lets your prospect picture themselves right there in the property without having to buy an expensive plane ticket, or making other exhaustive arrangements just to be there physically.

Flat pictures don’t cut it, when our future buyers are constantly spoiled with content that touch the realms of virtual reality. It’s now their new normal.

Improving user experience matters, and in case of builders it means making that experience as close to reality as possible. Most of the buyers interested in your models and communities start their search online. Bringing your creations to where the attention lies is the fastest way to boost engagement.

Back in 2015, Apartments.com, the biggest apartment renting platform, decided to add 30,000 Matterport created spaces to their property listings. With just integrating these 3D tours, they increased user engagement by up to 3 times.

For builders, this is great news because by just scanning your property once, and uploading the 3D model online to whatever medium you choose to showcase your property, you cast a wide net by giving anyone interested in your brand, access to a 3D walkthrough of your space- 24x7x365.

This will ensure that only the ones who are really interested in your model will contact you. No repeated wasting of time or additional effort needed on your part.  It almost makes the sales cycle a bit automatic, where the model sells itself even while you sleep!

3) Same Model with different endings– Every home you build for your buyers become part of your portfolio that any future prospect can access. If you have a base model that you have build several homes with, each different than the previous, your future prospects will be able to view all the variations.

This is also great to assess engagement to learn about where the demands lie in the real estate market, and what flooring, fixtures and finishes brings the most attention.

This will help your prospects visualize their options and assess your capabilities as a builder.

If building custom homes is one of your brand’s focal point, Matterport allows you to create hyper immersive portfolio of your works, especially now that it also allows you to create virtual reality experiences, which is one step above the luxurious 3D models.

These VR content can be shared across multiple platforms, increasing your exposure and bringing in new inquiries, buyers and partnerships.

How you present your home models and communities to the online buyers can strengthen your brand identity. It will add Klout to your legacy, by showing the buyers that the space is much more than walls and floors. A virtual experience is an unbeatable sales tactic that every builder should embrace, especially since the cost of entry is low.

4) Keep the buyers engaged With Design Center Showrooms– Let your buyers actively become part of the buying and building process by letting them explore their choices for personalizing the space to suit their own taste and needs. Rather than listing the available options, Matterport enables them to actually experience the “would be” scenario in the present time. This helps the buyers make choices more confidently, producing happier and satisfied customers. Sometimes “mind’s eye” can cloud the reality of the selection. Seeing their flooring and fixture choices visually in a 3D enviorment gives them an accurate picture of what to expect.

5) Document the journey– The beauty of Matterport goes way beyond showcasing the result. You can use the 3D tours to record your progress during the construction process. This increases transparency by making sure all parties know every element involved in the process.

Capturing the state of the space after each phase will make communication with the stakeholders easier. It helps document everything during the “Roughing-in” phase where things like wiring, heating, plumbing, and other elements that won’t be seen are installed. This can also come in handy for Pre-Dry Wall Inspections. Additionally, it reduces the need for future manual measurements, and cuts down as-built drawings times.

Giving your buyers a compelling reason to engage with your space has never been easier. 3D Matterport tours allows the interested buyers to experience the architecture. It’s a simple tool that can make your brand dominate the market.

As humans, we are always looking for the next best thing. It’s what drove Colin Johnson to trigger the origination of something big like Matterport. Giving our buyers real life like experiences with just a click of a button or swipe of the screen is something all builders should include in their marketing strategy.