Over the last few years, three buyer personas have evolved, propelling the huge expansion that the home renovation and remodeling industry has seen. These purchasers took advantage of the extra time they had during the epidemic and the transition to remote work to dive headfirst into home remodeling projects.
Aside from their desire to renovate and beautify the house spaces in which they spend so much time — the kitchen, living room, bathroom, home office, and so on – they also discuss their approach to the planning stage, before any demolition or repainting begins. Home renovators are expected to be able to work online to research their alternatives, try out new furniture, and see how different items look in the area they’re restoring or building.
While some have kept simple web tools, what truly distinguishes businesses, retailers, and designers is the availability of 3D visualization tools. These gadgets can do more than just show home remodelers how a piece of furniture will look in different hues. These tools let a remodeler virtually take a room in their home and add or subtract objects to see what the result of a project will look like.
Understanding the Purchaser
While all home remodeling and restoration audiences have come to appreciate the utility of 3D visualization tools, some features resonate more with different buyer profiles. It pays to understand each audience so that your 3D visualization tools can suit the specific needs of the personas most likely to purchase from you.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY), Do-It-With-Me (MIWM), and Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) are the three emerging buyer personas (DIFM). Variations on those themes will always exist, but for the time being, let’s stick to these three.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY)
This persona is defined by the fact that the consumer does all of the preparation, planning, and purchasing on their own. These purchasers are educated and either has the knowledge to do a restoration or refurbishment project themselves, or are eager to learn on the job. Once they have completed the initial project, these buyers are frequently recurring clients or will soon become them. Furthermore, many shoppers like to accomplish things on their own, without too much assistance from a retailer, brand, or designer. The potential here is to provide them with the seamless experience they seek, which will inspire their commitment to your brand.
Do-It-For-Me (DIFM)
All preparation and planning for our third type of consumer is initiated and completed wholly by a designer, specialist, craftsperson, or salesperson. This buyer does not believe they have the abilities or the time to plan, construct, and build, remodel, or redesign their properties. They are the type of buyer who seeks out reliable specialists at every stage of the purchasing process. They have a basic notion of what they want but want to entrust a professional in the industry to handle the project from start to finish, just asking them to approve portions of it rather than design it or purchase items. The opportunity here is to acquire a DIFM’s confidence and create a relationship that will persist through any and all home pr campaigns.
Do-It-With-Me (DIWM)
The consumer completes preparation and planning with the assistance of a designer, expert, or salesperson in this persona. Many of these buyers wish to undertake their own work but are aware of their limits. They are eager to learn from and collaborate with a subject matter expert. There is a good potential to work closely with these types of buyers and develop a long-term connection in which they seek out and trust your team’s knowledge.
Color, position, size – you name it, 3D tools can help. By implementing 3D modeling software into your site, you allow purchasers of all personas to see what an idea looks like and then either start from that idea or share it with specialists in order to collaborate, improve, refine, and create a finished product. The bottom line is that 3D technology is becoming more of a necessity than a luxury, and with the ability to be sticky and land you a qualified consumer eager to go through the purchasing path with you, you best invest in it, or your competitors will.