Executive Summary
‘Healthy Home Solutions’ is a not for profit online service brand concept focused on facilitating New Zealand home owners with making their homes warmer, healthier and more energy efficient. The service will be funded by strategic alliances with industry partners. The concept is an online information service/tool integrated with a smartphone application, offering homeowners the ability to enter in the details of their home and living situation. The tool then generates a comprehensive report offering non-biased information regarding healthy home solutions specific to the consumer’s home.
Key research findings were:
- There is a unified awareness of the unhealthy state of many homes in New Zealand, with the most common sited reason being a lack of sufficient insulation.
- There is a general understanding of the importance of ensuring that homes are warm, dry and healthy to live in.
- Seeking online information is common, however more so as a guide due to the generic nature of the information provided.
- Value could be seen in a non‐biased online tool that offered information and advice specific to consumer’s homes, with no product installer affiliation or selling component.
- Participants would consider an online tool to have more credibility and be a trusted source of information if it was endorsed by a trusted and recognised organisation or institution.
It was established that further research would be required in answering two key questions:
- How relevant is this service offering when consumers still value the in‐home experience of having industry professionals offer on the spot information and advice?
- Will consumers trust a free-to-use service that is endorsed or sponsored by product brands? These strategic alliances are financially crucial to the operational success of the service, and the brand.
Key strategic recommendations offered to ‘Healthy Home Solutions’ brand strategy team are:
- Strategic alliances must be made with non‐industry related, respected and trusted organisations that are willing to endorse the ‘Healthy Home Solutions’ service brand e.g. ‘Plunket’ and the ‘District Health Boards’.
- Offerings and strategies must be developed in order to differentiate from the already cluttered online information space.
- The service must be kept up to date with the latest in industry advancements and regulation changes, keeping relevant and current.
The smartphone app must be a powerful and comprehensive tool, able to exceed expectations in offering home solutions for every situation.