Taking the ASHI Web Site to Higher Levels

Building a successful brand takes time, commitment and a clear understanding of the value you provide to the marketplace.

Over the last decade, the Internet has emerged as the most important communication medium for most organizations. ASHI is no exception. ASHI.org receives 9 million hits each month and has helped hundreds of thousands of consumers find a home inspector. The redesigned site serves as the face of our new branding campaign, sending specific messages to our four primary groups of visitors: homebuyers and sellers, real estate professionals, prospective home inspectors and ASHI inspectors.

Creating the right messages and functions for the new site was no easy task, so we put together a large team with members from the Technical and  Standards of Practice Committees, as well as programmers and designers from two of our three consulting companies – Bonfire Communications and Publicis Dialog.

Messaging

While some members of the team focused on technical areas of the site such as the Virtual Home Inspector Tour, our consultants helped fashion Web site wording to ensure it was user-friendly and appealing to all our target groups.

Here’s how the process worked:

Homebuyers, Home Sellers
Identify audience: Consumers who are actively in the process of buying or selling a home use this section.

Establish main objectives for the section:

• Educate and empower the consumer to make smart decisions
• Communicate that a trusted ASHI home inspector brings peace of mind and security

Resulting text:
“We understand that your home is the biggest investment you’ll make in your lifetime. But before you make your final buying or selling decision, we encourage you to get a professional home inspection performed by an ASHI Inspector. We call this “The ASHI Experience.”

Real Estate Professionals
Identify audience: Based on research done by ASHI, we know 60 percent of ASHI inspectors say that 41percent or more of their business comes from real estate professionals, but only 31 percent of real estate professionals making referrals said it was important that an inspector be an ASHI inspector.

Establish main objective for the section:

• Increase a real estate agent’s comfort level by communicating that ASHI inspectors are professionals who make a positive contribution to the homebuying process

Resulting text:
“If you’re a real estate agent or broker, whose reputation are you staking your reputation on? Only ASHI inspectors can provide your clients with “The ASHI Experience.”

If you’ve seen the new ASHI print advertisements or heard the radio commercials, you’re aware this text reinforces the advertising message that ASHI is a trusted source for home inspection information and for finding the best home inspectors.

Home Inspectors
Identify audience: Home inspectors who are not currently ASHI members visit this section.

Establish main objectives for the section:

• Drive the desire to become an ASHI inspector
• Convey the benefits of being an ASHI inspector

Results: Provide all necessary information on how to join ASHI or become an ASHI inspector, in a user-friendly manner, while branding ASHI as the gold standard of home inspection.

ASHI Membership
Identify audience: Home inspectors who belong to the Society visit here
Establish main objectives for the section:

• Provide all ASHI inspectors with the products and services that help them excel in their careers
• Provide ASHI inspectors with tools to generate and manage leads for their home inspection business
• Provide ASHI inspectors with better access to local chapter resources and programs
• Provide ASHI inspectors with an improved “find an inspector tool” that will display search results in an equally fair manner for all members
• Provide Candidates and Candidates with logo use with a membership journey line – a graphical interface that displays and assists them with the ASHI membership process

Results: See the following description of new Web site functionality, paying special attention to what is offered via the Membership Extranet, the upgrade of the previous
Members Only section.

Functionality

OK. Now that we’ve covered our objectives for putting the site together, let’s go over some of the new features you’ll find on the redesigned ASHI.org.

Virtual Home Inspection Tour

The Virtual Home Inspection Tour is an interactive area that focuses on the major structural systems of a home in accordance with the ASHI inspection and as defined in the ASHI Standards of Practice.

Find an Inspector Tool

The Find An Inspector Tool generates leads for ASHI inspectors who are eligible to provide The ASHI Experience and stores the leads in the Contact Management Tool on the Membership Extranet.

ASHI inspectors now are more likely to be found by the public through the “Find An Inspector Tool” because it allows searches by zip code/Canadian postal code, United States metropolitan area, company name, last name or area code. Real estate professionals also can search for a local ASHI Chapter.

Through the ASHI site, consumers can contact an inspector immediately via e-mail or a text message sent to a cellular phone or pager. They can also call the inspector or click through to the inspector’s Web site (if available).

Local Chapter Calendars

Every ASHI inspector now can view the calendar of events for his or her and other ASHI chapters. The calendar will include detailed descriptions of upcoming events, as well as links to other chapter information.
Membership “Journey Line”

ASHI inspectors now can check their membership status online and view the steps (if any) that remain for them to become a Full Member. For example, Candidates can see when their report verification process has been completed or what examinations they still need to take. This area is designed to help Candidates through their membership process, and it will include links to chapter and national support programs.

ASHI Experience

ASHI inspectors who are eligible to provide The ASHI Experience can access this area to manage their leads generated through the ASHI Web site, view the results of

The ASHI Experience surveys submitted by their clients, and download the advertising and marketing materials made available through the program.

We encourage you to browse the site thoroughly and to subscribe to our Web tips monthly newsletter, which gives detailed information on how to better use the ASHI
Web site.

You can subscribe by going to www.ashi.org/subscribe, and don’t forget to pay your branding fee as you won’t be able to download the full versions of the print ads and radio spots without doing so.