Consistent marketing is critical for new and custom home builders to gain a competitive edge.
Building homes for families is meaningful work, but the industry is competitive. That’s why home-builder marketing needs to be strategic and consistent. With the right plan, you can reach target audiences and attract new customers.
Home ownership is a goal for many Canadians. Sixty-one per cent of Canadians agree that real estate is the best long-term investment.
How do you convince people who are eager to invest in real estate that you’re a trusted home builder? You’ll definitely need a sturdy toolkit of marketing strategies to help you stand out from the competition.
How marketing benefits home builders
Every business needs to market to its customers, but it’s even more imperative when there’s a lot of competition for your audience’s attention. You’ll need to get your brand in front of people multiple times to build the trust and credibility required for them to make such a significant purchase with you.
As you know, buying a house is one of the biggest investments people will ever make, and their choice of builder is key to unlocking that dream.
Benefits of marketing:
- Generate leads
- Raise visibility in key communities
- Build relationships with future clients
- Reinforce loyalty with past clients
- Encourage referrals from happy clients
- Increase sales of properties
- Grow your business credibility and market share
It’s best to explore several strategies when trying to target your ideal clients. Ensure your brand becomes the easy choice when it’s time to hire a builder.
6 new home builder marketing strategies for growth
Marketing is essential to your business growth, and it’s not something you can simply ramp up every time you experience a sales slump. By that time, it could be too late. Instead, create a strategy that allows you to reach potential homebuyers effectively and affordably, creating a consistent pipeline of prospects.
Here are a few strategies to keep you top of mind with clients and help you win in your market.
1. Create impact with memorable branding
Branding is everything that differentiates you from others in your industry. Investing in your branding can help you create a positive, memorable impression of your company for every customer who encounters it.
Branding includes your logo, the colours used throughout your design, the story you tell about your company and the voice used in your messaging. You need a consistent feel across all your platforms, everything from your website and social media pages to all written content and printed materials.
2. Make your website a showcase for your designs
Your website will often be the first impression you give to your potential customers. If it’s not a good one, it might be the last.
Here are a few elements to consider for your home-builder website:
- Be visually appealing with photo galleries, floor plans, and concise information about your home designs.
- Be easy to navigate with contact information on each page.
- Invest in compelling photography and videos. Explore 3D tools to allow a full experience of your home designs.
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
- Add links to your social media accounts and increase your followers.
- Include testimonials from satisfied clients to illustrate your commitment to clients.
3. Build relationships on social media
Your social media accounts should be more than just pretty pictures. Gorgeous visuals are just one part of the formula. Remember, your written messages need to share valuable information. Compel people to learn more about you.
Be sure to show personality. Engage with your followers in an authentic way. These conversations are how people will get to know you online, so create memorable interactions.
4. Nurture connections with an email newsletter
What can you do to stay top of mind with those customers who are starting to consider building a home but are not ready to decide? Create a newsletter and let people subscribe from your website or anywhere they experience your brand.
Map out a plan of what types of information and content your audiences might find helpful at different times of the year. Send out an email with valuable tips, links to new articles on your website and exclusive updates they’ll see first as subscribers.
5. Add value with content marketing
Creating valuable, informative content increases your chances of audiences engaging with your brand. That messaging will live on your website, your social media, your newsletter—all of it linking back to one another to optimize engagement and improve your visibility.
High-quality content also boosts your search engine optimization (SEO), meaning you’ll rank higher on Google. Numbers show the first five organic results on the first page of Google account for 67.60% of all clicks. The more valuable you make your site, the higher you’ll rank in search results, increasing the chance people will click on you. See how you can grow your business with SEO.
6. Manage your online reviews
Word of mouth marketing can be a fantastic way to attract new clients or the quickest way to lose them. Most people research companies before committing. A survey by Google showed 53 per cent of shoppers do online research to make sure they make the best possible choice.
Regularly check your Google or social media reviews. You should also monitor comments for customers who need more information, who misunderstood a communication, or for some reason, are unhappy with your company. Make sure you respond to all reviews, good or bad. This builds loyalty and trust.
With a comprehensive marketing strategy that blends online and offline experiences for your customers, you can generate more leads and close more sales. A consistent approach to home-builder marketing will keep new clients coming into your business, so you can focus on delighting your customers.
