A woman’s home is her Castle and a savvy, tenacious home builder fighting for market share in tough times caught on.
Past convention had always been that men were allowed the big decisions so why a sudden change to appeal to women?
It is never complicated.
Consumer research consistently reveals a simple fact: Women impact most of the decision to purchase a home—up to 92%.
The modern understanding if you want to compete is “ignore her at your peril.”
That is a quote from Rhode Island home builder H.A. Fisher sounding like he’s serious about selling homes by making it his business to understand his market.
New York advertisers and the National Football League have been ahead of the game with the softer side marketing strategy for a long time now. Just watch the Super Bowl and see what is advertised. It’s mostly for women because there is a huge female audience, and we get up off the couch and buy things.
It was a bit unexpected, though, from the rough and tumble, male dominated home building industry which is not quick to change.
Buying a home is an emotional purchase, our biggest investment and women have long been quiet, behind the scenes influencers. Floor plan design has not really focused on us aside from the kitchen layout. It’s mostly been about the rest of the family and their needs.
What is exciting is the organic change in design and marketing philosophy by smart builders, reading the signals and addressing the fact that women are front and center, often the breadwinner, and have specific needs and desires in a home.
H.A. Fisher is not simply chasing the latest trends out of California or Tuscany to incorporate emotional grabs here or there in his designs to win over women.
He says the “woman-centric” concepts his designers came up with during the depths of the recession revolutionized his company.
Women are society’s dominant consumers so why should home purchases be any exception?
This realization may have saved the company by studying the changes in workforce dynamics and adjusting to more directly target women as primary buyers and no longer back seat drivers.
It wasn’t just a token floorplan adjustment or tweak here or there.
The builder succeeded because he understood what women want, which is not easy. It has been a mysterious subject forever.
What is this deeply hidden secret that women want? FLEXIBILITY.
Oh really? This is a prize we absolutely crave but have to go to the ends of the earth to satisfy.
His designers found that intuitively what women looked for most in a home in 2015 was flexibility in the rooms to adapt to changing uses, a space to de-stress in, and a place to entertain.
The traditional priorities about where to put the TV and the Barcalounger or insistence that kitchens are arranged in a convenient workstation triangle were not at the top of any list.
Working women are constantly juggling jobs and families and they need versatility to make life easier. Read More Here.
In many ways, women are demanding in a home what they can’t get at work: The flexibility to manage their families and their jobs in a sane, calmer lifestyle.
I’m sure that’s why floor plans featuring rooms to de-stress in are a popular innovation.
It’s good that a builder embraced the purchasing power of women by designing around what we want. It’s smart business.
A larger issue, though, is how to gain flexibility at work so working mothers and women, in general, can lead much happier and less stressful lives. That remains largely unresolved.
The corporate world attempted flex time but it’s devolved into mid-level management pettiness and back to tone deafness as regards the needs of working mothers. Again.
There are ways to solve this problem, so don’t stop looking until you find what’s right for you.
More importantly, don’t wait for someone else to design life for you. The levers of power are in your hands to shape life as you want it to be, and the marketplace is well aware of it.
The Princess Tea Party business is fun, flexible, and lucrative. Now, with nearly 20 years of experience, I am helping other women achieve the same joy and satisfaction I have experienced by offering my “Business in a Box.” It is the exact road map I followed to start and operate a successful business made easy for those interested in the business for themselves. No prior business experience is necessary, and no franchise fees. Learn More Here
Lisa Zakar is a wife and mother of 3. She is the owner of Lisa Rose, a popular Princess Tea Party venue. She has a 17-year track record in the Princess Tea Party business. Lisa had a 10-year history in higher end retail with Nordstrom before launching her business. Lisa Rose is an award winning party venue with Best of Honolulu/children’s parties/Honolulu Magazine, and, Winner of Best Children’s Parties/Island Parent Magazine. Lisa has locations in Honolulu.
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