“When the Ferguson family decided they wanted to live in the Seattle suburb of Black Diamond they weren't in the market for a smart home. But they wound up with one, a house packed with Internet-connected devices,” writes Joshua McNichols in their recent NPR article entitled “A Smart Home Neighborhood: Residents Find It Enjoyably Convenient Or A Bit Creepy.”
According to the article, “Fifteen-year-old Macey Ferguson loves it. ‘I just feel really fancy,’ she says about having Amazon's Alexa there to turn on the lights for her, or to remind her when to go to cheerleading practice. ‘I feel like she's my little servant, or butler.’ Her older brother uses it for math homework, her younger sister for calling grandma. Her three-year-old brother asks Alexa for cake recipes so he can stare longingly at the photos.”
“Kelli Ferguson, the mom in this household, is more ambivalent. On the one hand, it's nice to ask Alexa to heat up the house before crawling out of bed in the winter. On the other, there's all those cameras. ‘If I'm walking on our street, I walk on the other side of the street,’ she said, meaning the side without the smart homes. ‘Just because I don't feel like being on everyone's cameras," McNichols shares.
The NPR piece continues that, “Living in a smart home neighborhood, the Fergusons experience both convenience and surveillance. And that's typical in Black Diamond, where Lennar Homes offers smart homes as part of a 4,800 unit development that includes other builders. This neighborhood isn't a one off. There are smart home developments in suburbs outside of cities such as Miami and San Francisco. Lennar is making Amazon tech standard on each of the 45,000 homes it builds this year.”
According to McNichols, “This partnership between builders and Amazon benefits both sides. Amazon wants to push for wider adoption of its Echo smart speaker. Lennar relies on Amazon to help distinguish it from other home builders in communities like Black Diamond.”
“But do users really need smart home technology?” asks McNichols.
We can’t answer that question for you.
But, we can confidently say “yes” to this question:
Do you need smart ‘property’ technology?
Without a doubt, you do.
But it’s also a part of a more significant way to keep your customers safe while creating lasting memories.
It’s called Proactive Operations – and your customers will find it enjoyably convenient.
PROACTIVE OPERATIONS: THE ENJOYABLY CONVENIENT METHODOLOGY
Over the years, we’ve worked with many experts in various industries to help them improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their operation.
We admit; we’re obsessed in our pursuit to understand what’s needed to help our customers achieve success.
From Corporate to Transportation operations, we’ve always worked to discover ways to contribute to the success of every operational function.
- What are the fundamental needs of the industry?
- What’s important and relevant to the experts in each field?
- What are the collective strengths and weaknesses that they all share?
- What’s missing from the customer experience?
That’s when we had an epiphany.
Operations across every industry must move away from the reactive mindset they’ve had for years.
It’s time for a proactive approach – one that will evolve with the demands of the environment.
We’ve done just that.
And while our long-term relationships with industry experts have shaped Proactive Operations, it’s their participation and contribution that has ignited a movement.
With Proactive Operations and smart ‘property’ technology (AKA operations management software!), you have the advantage of maximizing your performance, creating memories, and keeping your customers coming back to your property.
By making your property enjoyably convenient for customers, you’re doing more than you might even realize:
- Fitting in well with a customer’s needs, activities, and plans
- Involving little trouble or effort
- Situated to allow easy access to
Do any of these resonate with you?
Interestingly, these are merely defining ‘convenient.’
You’ve got this.
Read the resource we created on Proactive Operations here, and then make your property enjoyably convenient for your customers.
OVER TO YOU
Smart home technology looks like the wave of the future with home builders and, of course, Amazon. The Partnership is a push for home builders to get the competitive advantage they need while allowing Amazon to gain even more exposure. But it’s leading to questions for residents: Is it enjoyably convenient or a bit creepy?
We can’t answer that for you, but we can tell you smart ‘property’ technology is enjoyably convenient for your customers. We can guarantee that. Why? It’s a part of a bigger picture for properties. It’s a characteristic of Proactive Operations.
