Houzz Co-founder Alon Cohen on Why We Built Houzz Pro Software
Houzz Pro offers renovating and design pros business management software and marketing features in a single solution
Last year, Houzz announced the launch of Houzz Pro, a suite of software tools that renovating and design pros can use to manage their businesses. We sat down with Houzz co-founder Alon Cohen and asked him why he decided to build this product and which pain points he’s excited about helping pros to solve. Read on to see what he said.
How can Houzz Pro help home professionals during this challenging time?
Houzz Pro has tools to help pros manage profitability, get paid faster and work remotely during this uncertain time. To support all our loyal and valued pro customers, we’re providing the software to them as part of their existing subscriptions.
With Houzz Pro, pros can stay connected with their clients and teams through online messaging and photo and file sharing. Pros can send payment requests and, for designers, make it easier for clients to pay online
The new marketing features – including professional website building and hosting services, a company highlight video and the ability to feature your best review – help pros stand out and communicate their expertise, both of which are critical for staying top of mind with homeowners.
Houzz Pro has tools to help pros manage profitability, get paid faster and work remotely during this uncertain time. To support all our loyal and valued pro customers, we’re providing the software to them as part of their existing subscriptions.
With Houzz Pro, pros can stay connected with their clients and teams through online messaging and photo and file sharing. Pros can send payment requests and, for designers, make it easier for clients to pay online
The new marketing features – including professional website building and hosting services, a company highlight video and the ability to feature your best review – help pros stand out and communicate their expertise, both of which are critical for staying top of mind with homeowners.
How did you involve the pro community in the development of Houzz Pro?
Speaking with our professional community and listening to their input has always been core to Houzz, from meeting them at major industry events to hosting roundtables.
We’ve been working with our community to make sure Houzz Pro solves the pain points they had been facing. For example, we heard from pros that they wanted early versions of the software to run faster, so we’ve invested time and resources on our infrastructure to solve this. We’re continuing to listen to feedback and make updates daily.
Speaking with our professional community and listening to their input has always been core to Houzz, from meeting them at major industry events to hosting roundtables.
We’ve been working with our community to make sure Houzz Pro solves the pain points they had been facing. For example, we heard from pros that they wanted early versions of the software to run faster, so we’ve invested time and resources on our infrastructure to solve this. We’re continuing to listen to feedback and make updates daily.
What sets Houzz Pro apart from other tools available to home professionals?
Houzz Pro is the only all-in-one solution for everything from marketing to project management, and it’s by far the best value out there. It’s also incredibly easy to use. Whether you’re a one-person show or have a team, everyone will be able to start using the tool on day one, because it’s so intuitive.
It’s not just that we have tools for the entire project and client life cycle, but that these tools are completely integrated. For example, new business enquiries flow automatically into your lead management tool, and all the communication history and files you share with prospective clients move effortlessly over when you convert that lead to a project. We really focused on making it simple and powerful.
From the consumer standpoint, what excites you about working on your own projects with pros who are using Houzz Pro?
I’m looking forward to using the Houzz Pro client dashboard to track the status of my projects. When working on our house renovation, there was sometimes an element of surprise. Oh, we need to have the appliances here by Wednesday when the team is here. Or, we need to select the type of sink we want by tomorrow, so that everything fits into the schedule.
With the schedule and all the communication, photos and plans available online in the client dashboard, it avoids slowing things down and incurring additional expenses. As a homeowner and client, it’s so much easier to be able to track communication with pros, approvals and all of the documents related to my project in one place.
What’s next for Houzz Pro?
We’re committed to the success of home professionals in the Houzz community, and we are investing in building software to help them grow and manage their businesses. This is just the beginning, so stay tuned for more to come!
Learn more about Houzz Pro.
Houzz Pro is the only all-in-one solution for everything from marketing to project management, and it’s by far the best value out there. It’s also incredibly easy to use. Whether you’re a one-person show or have a team, everyone will be able to start using the tool on day one, because it’s so intuitive.
It’s not just that we have tools for the entire project and client life cycle, but that these tools are completely integrated. For example, new business enquiries flow automatically into your lead management tool, and all the communication history and files you share with prospective clients move effortlessly over when you convert that lead to a project. We really focused on making it simple and powerful.
From the consumer standpoint, what excites you about working on your own projects with pros who are using Houzz Pro?
I’m looking forward to using the Houzz Pro client dashboard to track the status of my projects. When working on our house renovation, there was sometimes an element of surprise. Oh, we need to have the appliances here by Wednesday when the team is here. Or, we need to select the type of sink we want by tomorrow, so that everything fits into the schedule.
With the schedule and all the communication, photos and plans available online in the client dashboard, it avoids slowing things down and incurring additional expenses. As a homeowner and client, it’s so much easier to be able to track communication with pros, approvals and all of the documents related to my project in one place.
What’s next for Houzz Pro?
We’re committed to the success of home professionals in the Houzz community, and we are investing in building software to help them grow and manage their businesses. This is just the beginning, so stay tuned for more to come!
Learn more about Houzz Pro.
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Where did the inspiration for Houzz Pro come from?
Our community inspired us to develop Houzz Pro. We heard from pros that they were looking for a product to help them run their businesses more efficiently and profitably; one that’s also easy to use and affordable. They said they wanted tools built specifically for their unique needs – such as tracking change orders and staying on top of payments.
Seeing how busy pros are made it clear that we needed to create a one-stop shop, where they can access everything from marketing to business management tools. We developed Houzz Pro as an online hub where they can manage their entire project and client life cycle in one place, with special tools tailored to designers and others geared to building and renovating professionals. We applied our experience creating successful consumer technology to make Houzz Pro intuitive and easy to use.
Knowing that pros aren’t always in the office, it was also important to us to develop a dedicated app, so they can manage their business from anywhere: at the office, in the field or, as has become so critical today, at home.