15 Home Builder Marketing Tips You Should Be Using!
With the economy being on track for the last couple years and housing starts in most of the country picking up steam, many a contractor who was “slumming it” by doing remodels have moved back to their bread and butter…custom home building. Well, if that’s you, or even if you just want to steal a bit from their playbook, here are 15 tips that you can use to build buzz while you are building someone’s dream!
Create a Brand
Though contractors are often dependent on referrals, they do not always excel at making their company name memorable. Your recognizable logo must be on your business cards, the side of your business vehicles, on your website, and on every piece of printed material that leaves your office. Establish your reputation with a solid brand that clients can remember.
Networking
Create connections with others in the home building, renovating, and real estate businesses and encourage them to send clients your way. Real estate agents, home inspectors, suppliers, and subcontractors are all people that you should be developing relationships with.
Sales Training
Make the most of the prospective clients that have shown interest in your work. You and your staff should be trained to handle the standard “cold feet” objections to signing a deal. If they are hesitating, dig to discover the real fear behind the excuse that they use.
Direct Mailings
Every Door Direct Mail is a tool that the US Post Office offers. If you visit their website, you can select a delivery route to receive your mailing. Since the material goes to every door, they offer a shockingly low rate.
Yard Signs
Ask customers for permission to place a sign in their yard with your company’s name on it as soon as they sign a contract. If they are willing to leave it up, do not worry about taking it with you when the work is done. These inexpensive signs can also be placed at public intersections.
Polo Shirts
Custom designed polo shirts with your company name and logo are surprisingly affordable. Provide them to your employees and subcontractors. Not only will they look more professional on the job, but your company name will be in front of people all day, every day.
Sales Packets
When you deliver a quote, include it in a custom folder that is emblazoned with your logo. Include testimonials, insurance information, your photos, and professional certifications. This professional presentation will compete well against other contractors’ handwritten, one-page estimate.
Professional Website
Your online marketing efforts should revolve around your website and direct traffic toward it. Any email campaign or social media activity must link back to your website. It is not enough simply to have a home page. To stand above the competition online, your website must be professionally designed, include quality content, and encourage prospective clients to contact you.
YouTube
Create quality videos of your work. Link to them on your website and social media platforms. You can post weekly progress reports both on YouTube and other social media outlets.
LinkedIn is a professional social network that allows you to connect with others in the home renovation and building business. It is also a platform for displaying your work to prospective new clients among those in professional organizations.
Facebook has become the favored social network for a billion and a half people, surely some of them live in your area! This is an ideal platform for sharing pictures, linking to new content on your website, and giving followers a chance to share your information with their friends.
Creating a twitter feed for your business gives you the opportunity to quickly make hundreds of connections. With short, rapid-fire entries, it helps to “tweet” several times a day with links to your website for more information.
This is a social network that is all about pictures, so it is an ideal opportunity to post several of your best work. Have your company logo and website address digitally added to all of your photos, so that they are connected to you no matter where they are shared or forwarded.
Email Campaigns
Using customer data and email information that you collect through your website, create email campaigns that will build your business by providing clients with useful information. Send regular email newsletters that include tips that are helpful to homeowners along with special offers or sale notifications.
SEO
If you’ve seen these three little letters and weren’t sure what they are, now is the time to change that. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it relates to your rankings in search engine results. Few people go further than the first page of Google results when searching, so you need to make sure that is where your name shows up. By creating high-quality content on your website, linking back to it whenever you post on social media, and encouraging others to share your content, your SEO soars, leading more prospective clients your way.