My Redrow tailoring home buying through technology
Redrow is using “New Homes Week” to highlight how its portal, My Redrow, has changed the home buying experience for its customers. The site guides customers through the entire home buying process and also enables customers to book and manage appointments and make direct contact with recommended new build mortgage specialists. Once a property is reserved customers can monitor the progress of a plot and receive message alerts to prompt next steps, and personalise the property on a room-by-room basis. A "Customer Service Made for You” process has also been added recently, which offers support from the contract exchange stage through to moving in. Since its 2013 launch, 42k members have registered with My Redrow.

As New Homes Week gets underway (May 16-22), Redrow is highlighting how innovation is changing the experience of buying a home for its customers.

Not only is the week celebrating newly built homes, it is also giving developers a platform to underline why opting to buy new can be as enjoyable as it is exciting.

Redrow has honed the customer journey by harnessing the internet and putting buyers in the driving seat. My Redrow, the personal members area of its website, now has more than 42,000 members (since launching in April 2013) and is being used by people at every stage of the home buying process.

Accessed via Redrow.co.uk, My Redrow guides customers through the whole journey from searching for and reserving a property, to confirming choices and purchasing optional extras through to moving in.

Dave Bexon, Group sales and marketing director for Redrow Homes, said: “Since its launch, My Redrow has paved the way in the housebuilding industry, creating an award-winning, streamlined experience for buyers.

“At the start of the process, customers can save favourite developments and properties, book and manage appointments, take a look at what’s included and the choices and optional extras available, and make direct contact with recommended new build mortgage specialists. Once they’ve reserved, they can then keep up to date on the build stage of their home, what they need to do next and are able to order a wide variety of interior extras and upgrades to personalise their new home. It creates a very interactive and exciting experience.”

New message alerts let buyers know what their next essential task is and guides them through the process in easy steps, allowing them to style and personalise the property on a room by room basis.

Where once everything was done in person at the development, two thirds of the extras purchased by Redrow customers are now chosen online, freeing up their time during what can be a very busy period in anyone’s life.

Dave added: “We’re regularly adding new features too. One of the most recent being our ‘Customer Service Made for You’ process which supports our customers from exchange of contracts to moving in. We’ve so much more to include and are already working on a number of new features which will be coming soon.

“Buying a new home is probably the largest purchase anyone will ever make so we want to make the process as smooth as possible. We want to flip on its head the notion that buying a house is stressful, and My Redrow adds that extra element of anticipation as buyers track the progress of their new home.”

The top 10 most popular options chosen by My Redrow members are: Flooring from a stylish choice of vinyl or ceramic tiles Brushed or polished chrome downlights Carpets from a wide choice of colours and luxurious textures Wardrobes, with a choice of either sliding or hinged doors Practical kitchen extras such as appliances or a hot & cold water filter tap Designer tiles from such leading names as Johnsons and Porcelanosa Integrated dishwashers from popular brands such as Smeg or Siemans Beautifully crafted granite worktops Conservatories in a choice of sizes to provide the perfect additional living space Stylish bathroom extras from cabinets to accessories

Sally and Martin Bedwell who bought a property at Castle Fields, Northants, said: “We had great fun using the ‘My Redrow’ feature – it was like shopping online with the advantage of being able to go into the sales office to check the colours. It’s much better than buying an older property as it meant we could walk straight in and everything was what we had chosen from day one.”

Redrow homeowners Rosa and Tony Varey (pictured) who purchased at The Sycamores, West Sussex, said: “We found the My Redrow feature of the website very useful for planning, double-checking all of the options and confirming prices. It’s easy to use and worked well for us, and we’d say using it is an essential part of the buying process.”

For more information visit www.redrow.co.uk/myredrow