Technology Paves the Way for Growth: WIN Home Inspection Sets Itself Apart with New Tools, New Branding
9/05/06
Founded by a real estate broker over 10 years ago, it’s really no wonder that Seattle-based WIN Home Inspection has strong connections to the real estate side of its business. According to WIN’s Vice President of Brand Management, Tracy Adams, this focus on the needs of the real estate professional has been instrumental to WIN’s growth and increasingly loyal client base.
“We look at both the real estate agent and the consumer as our customers,” Adams explains. “The consumer is our client and the real estate agent is our referral customer, therefore the real estate professional is our customer as well.”
With this in mind, WIN—with 240 franchises across the country—recently set out to improve its service and positioning in the real estate industry via an enhanced technology offering and more focused branding. The goal? To meet the needs of today’s more demanding consumer and increase its footprint in the real estate marketplace.
Formerly known as “World Inspection Network," the company decided last year to adopt the brand name “WIN Home Inspection” and introduced an updated logo and a new marketing program, which included an enhanced online component. The rebranding was encapsulated with the tagline, “We see more. Clearly.”
While WIN has repositioned itself in the market, today’s changing real estate climate has managed to start shifting the home inspection as well, says Adams.
“ The industry is changing from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market,” she explains. “WIN franchisees are having sellers differentiate their homes with a home seller’s inspection. Real estate agents can benefit by having a discussion with their sellers as to why they should have a home pre-inspected. It’s an education process.”
At the Center, Information
“The consumer in the real estate industry is demanding more information and more customer service,” says Adams. “We’ve done a lot of things through our technology to adapt to their changing needs. It all has to do with the speed of information.”
As it has with real estate companies, the Internet has impacted the home inspection industry, as well, says Adams. That impact centers around the need for information, and the need to receive it as quickly as possible. WIN’s recently updated Web site was designed with this in mind.
“Home buyers have a more heightened awareness of the real estate process and of the quality of the individuals they want to do business with,” she explains. “Consumers can request an inspection online and the request is immediately text messaged to the home inspector in the field. The information gets to them faster than it ever did before and the inspector can respond more quickly.”
WIN’s Web site also allows consumers to learn more about the home inspection itself, says Adams. Via the WIN site, consumers can utilize the “What’s In an Inspection?” virtual tour and go through the home inspection process in an easy-to-use, systematic way. They can also provide feedback online and receive the information they need quickly and easily. With the "Articles & Advice" section, consumers can access tips for homeowners, buyers and sellers.
The WIN site also has a section specifically for real estate professionals called “Tools You Can Use,” where they can customize articles to pass along to clients, thereby positioning themselves as all-important information sources to home buyers and sellers. Realtors can add their own photos, company name, Web site information and more to these informative pieces on pre-sale or pre-listing inspections.
Technology Ups the Standards
As technology has changed the way consumers interact with the home inspection process, for WIN, it has also changed the way the inspection itself happens. WIN’s inspectors have replaced the traditional clipboard and paper checklist with a handheld tablet computer they use in the field. This enhances the quality of the information garnered in an inspection and also allows WIN inspectors to access information needs that might arise during the inspection. What’s more, inspectors can then print the inspection report onsite in their vans allowing for instant review.
WIN’s "c" portable technology system allows reports to be e-mailed immediately to consumers who may be out of the area or out of state. This shaves time off the closing process as there is no longer the need to wait for a Fed Ex package. Home buyers can communicate immediately with their real estate agent concerning any questions they may have regarding the inspection results.
In addition, WIN inspectors are now equipped with carbon monoxide gas sensing equipment, digital photography, and electronic moisture meters, allowing home inspections to be performed at a new, higher standard.
Bottom line, says Adams, “Technology has changed the quality of what’s happening during the inspection as well as the customer-service side of it.”
WIN’s Main Message
Ultimately, WIN’s goal through it’s branding and technology is to serve its two important customer bases: the home buyers and the home sellers.
“It’s clear to us that many home buyers want more than an inspection with just a few highlights,” says Adams. “They want more information before they buy a home and they want a superior inspection. They’re seeking someone who has more technical skills, better customer service, and more personal interaction. We want to make sure that they know that with WIN, it’s a complete package. We want to make sure they’re armed with the information they need in order to make an informed decision after the inspection.”
Adams also believes that WIN’s professional brand image and consistency give the company an advantage over many independent home inspectors in the marketplace. “We have a goal to set higher standards,” she says. “With us, it’s about the entire package—it’s our consistency, our technology—it’s how we help to make a house a home.”
“We’ve always seen ourselves as a premium brand,” she adds. “People don’t go to us because they want the cheapest price. They come to us because they want the best.”
*As seen in RISmedia's Real Estate Magazine, September 2006, www.rismedia.com*
About WIN Home Inspection
WIN Home Inspection (WIN) is a nationally recognized leader in home inspection services, having performed over 250,000 inspections since 1994. With more than 235 franchised locations in 32 states, the WIN network of professional home inspectors provides a complete array of premium inspection services for home buyers, sellers and owners. For more information, contact WIN at 1-800-309-6753.