Your top priority as a home builder is to generate new home builder leads, close those deals, and make sure you are satisfying your customers to build your reputation in the local market. But how can you satisfy them if you don’t really have people that you can call clients? This is why you will need to get new home builder leads to have businesses, and for it, working on your marketing plan is vital.
A marketing plan doesn’t involve one or two strategies to attract customers; it will need to include several ones that can reach them in different channels online and offline.
Marketing can be more difficult than building a house as it can be tough to find new lead generation strategies for home builders. You may have difficulty creating a coherent, effective plan that will reach your target audience without spending a lot.
How can you reach new customers? Digital marketing is a perfect answer. Online marketing strategies are crucial for homebuilders as they reach more people today and have proven to have better ROI.
Clients respond differently to marketing as time passes. Even strategies that were once successful are no longer effective. Marketing methods such as billboards, direct mail, and commercials do not reach consumers the way they used to, but you could invest in some, depending on your area.
Today’s consumers see these advertisements as an interruption to their day. Instead of considering them, they just tune them out and continue their day, and it is mostly because they consider those traditional options when they feel the need for a service.
They then research the options for a particular service or product when they are in dire need. To find the right business, they go online using search engines such as Google most of the time. They will visit multiple sites before choosing one to contact, purchase, or hire a service.
You must be able to reach potential customers and make connections with them if you want to participate in this lead generation process.
Let’s look at several lead generation strategies that new home builders can use to reach more people, communicate with them, and convince them to sign up for your lead program.
These marketing strategies are cheaper than traditional marketing methods, and you can customize them depending on your goals and needs.
Optimize Your Website for Searches
Google uses a variety of algorithms to determine which websites will show up when you enter a phrase or word into its search engine. Search engine optimization (or SEO) is about optimizing this digital property, so it is more visible in search results.
Let’s suppose that you believe your website should rank #1 in a search for “custom home builder.” You will need to use this keyword, and others that are similar to your company will start ranking.
However, it is not enough nor a good option to “stuff” your website with a particular keyword to get high rankings. Instead, you must also provide the information customers need when searching for that keyword and what they are trying to find when searching for builders like you.
Your site’s ability to rank well depends on many “off-page” signals. Links from authoritative websites are the most important as those from trusted websites are a sign of credibility. Sites with many links will have a greater chance of being ranked highly.
This is why, in addition to optimizing the site yourself, a complete SEO strategy for home builders includes earning links from other websites and ensuring you put into practice all you know about SEO and what experts are doing.
These are not the only steps that you must take to rank high, but they can be a great starting point towards getting the rankings you desire.
It is no longer acceptable for a website to be just a website. Google will connect the dots and rank you for certain keywords. The higher your rank, the more customers you will get, so it is definitely worth doing everything possible to secure that top spot.
Your website is among the most powerful lead generation tools you have in your marketing arsenal, especially for new home builders, as you can use it as a portfolio and show more than just the basic information.
Your website is the first place your potential clients will go when deciding whether they want to do business with you.
Your website must be responsive and load quickly as well. It should also be optimized for local search engine optimization (SEO). These are some more tips to help you build a strong website.
- High-quality video and photography (more details below).
- Testimonials from customers.
- Calls-to-action prominently displayed (e.g., schedule an appointment).
- There are many ways to reach you (e.g., Email, phone, chat, and social media are all ways to reach you.
- Interactive map and directions page.
- Blog and other relevant resources for potential clients.
Create Case Studies, Videos, and Photo Galleries for Clients
New homes can be very personal and visually appealing and require a significant investment in time and money. It can be hard to attract a customer’s attention without showing them your work for the very same reason.
This is why you shouldn’t underestimate how crucial it is to showcase studies and a gallery of previous work.
You can use the power of past customers to get new customers by creating a “case study” and “customer stories” section. You can gather testimonials, photos, videos, and quotes from customers who are happy with their custom homes.
Then, put them together on compelling pages that tell the story of your home. Show a before-and-after photo or a gallery of photos with a quote from a customer talking about how happy they are with the result and home-delivered.
Just make sure that visitors can zoom in on the photos to see the fine details.
This will show potential customers what quality work you can do and help you achieve your SEO goals. These pages can be optimized for keywords such as “custom home gallery” to attract search engine users searching for ideas and inspiration.
Marketing videos can boost digital marketing for custom home builders. While we discussed the importance of having photos and your process, do not forget these other benefits of digital video that can also be used in many ways.
Virtual tours and video walk-throughs are a great way to make prospects feel more connected to your product. These can be used on your site, social media, and email marketing campaigns.
In addition, take notes of all these factors, so you have an organized plan when building your whole lead gen process.
- Customer testimonials – Recorded video testimonials from satisfied customers. Tell your potential clients how it was like working with you and how satisfied they are with their dream home. These videos can be used on social media or in email lead generation campaigns.
- Brand videos – A strong brand is built on customers’ positive experiences with your product. Videos are a great way to show off who your company is. Interviews with partners and employees who have contributed to the brand experience can build trust and credibility between you and your prospects.
- Drone footage – drone footage capabilities allow us to do more. A 360-degree view of your product can be a powerful way to increase brand value. Aerial footage is a great way to make a lasting impression, especially if you are building a planned development.
Create an Email Newsletter
Sometimes potential customers may be interested in your company and what you have to offer but not ready to buy or hire. It is a smart idea to offer a way to stay in touch with potential customers in this situation. Email marketing is one of the options available.
You can create an email newsletter for potential customers that they can sign up for through your website. This will give you a chance to discuss new homes and innovations in the home building industry and mention trade shows and other local events.
Your subscribers can be reached as often as they wish. You can even address their emails as if they were a personal conversation, which can make them more effective.
The same tactics and strategies you use to deal with consumers are still applicable, but they have been adapted for different audiences.
Knowing your audience is the number one rule in media. Here are some ideas you need while generating leads:
- Realtor’s home builder sales program.
- Available home listings.
- New communities are opening.
- Real estate events.
A special offer can be sent directly to a customer. You can also continue to contact them with future offers, news, and invitations. These messages are highly targeted and personalized and can drive conversions. They also create loyal customers and high-quality leads.
Too many emails or copies that are too sales-oriented can lead to the opposite effect. You can mark emails as spam, and the recipient can opt out of receiving your emails. This type of home builder marketing strategy should be used with caution and with the right strategy.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
Although social media for home builders might sound complicated, it can be one the most effective ways to connect with potential leads and build relationships with customers online.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest can help you reach new audiences, grow closer to your target market in new ways, as well as offer a new level of customer support.
Facebook is a great place for potential buyers to ask questions about homes. Homebuilders who use it often find that it is the best place to do so as it opens more options for your business. It is easy to share photos and engage with your fans on Facebook.
Twitter is great for curating similar content, such as articles about new constructions or businesses located in the same region of your company.
You can also use Pinterest to expand your reach. Create boards for interior design, paint colors, or other details that others will find and then link to your business.
You can use social media to see conversations about your company and then respond to them. For example, you might find people discussing local brands or companies on Twitter. Your business can benefit greatly from being aware of these conversations and their sentiment.
Social media marketing is an important tactic for home builders, but not many owners and even professionals in the area know how to approach it correctly.
It is helpful to consider social media marketing in two main ways: engagers and drivers. Marketing “drivers,” which are often paid advertising opportunities, drive traffic to your site.
While marketing “engagers” is activities that provide valuable and meaningful content that builds the brand’s reputation.
Create Compelling and Informative Content for Buyers
A great online lead generation strategy is to create compelling content.
Part of the content you can create includes the photos and videos we mentioned before, but this also includes blog posts, videos, infographics, or articles. What you must remember in all this is that the ultimate goal of all this content is to educate and inform.
You can educate your potential clients on specific topics through content. If someone is looking for information about how long it takes to build their new home, they may visit your site.
This assumes that you have a detailed page that answers that question and ranks high in search results. If the question is answered well, they may visit your site more often, stay for a while, and then subscribe to your Email. They might choose you later as their home builder as the optimal result.
Content by itself is unlikely to result in a sale or appointment to discuss home building. Instead, it can increase awareness about your company, improve SEO, generate leads, and help with future conversions.
This is why content marketing has become an integral part of almost every online marketing strategy.
It is never too late for you to get started with digital marketing and SEO. You can increase traffic to your website and increase leads by applying your knowledge.
Make Sure Your Branding Is Consistent
Homebuyers expect excellence and consistency from the company they choose to build the forever home. Any inconsistency will turn customers away when they are searching for a professional, and that person could be you.
It is important that you make sure that every interaction between your business and your ideal customer accurately reflects the experience they will have with your company.
It is difficult to maintain brand consistency in a wide range of industries. So, we want you to keep a few things in mind:
- Your marketing collateral and logo may be outdated. Make sure you have the time and budget to replace all your collateral with the new design before embarking on a rebranding project.
- Another visual checkpoint is to evaluate how your logo and brand elements match your product and service. Your logo and design should reflect what you actually do, no matter if you are a modern home designer or a farmhouse builder.
- We often find inconsistencies between company websites and social media profiles. Even though you might have a beautiful website and a new logo, potential clients may be turned off if your Facebook page has outdated content and poor-quality photos.
What do prospective clients find when they search for your company name?
Unintentionally, many companies neglect their digital footprint. Yet, this is one of the most common pitfalls of brand inconsistency.
Regularly search for your company name on Google and verify that all information is correct. It is possible that outdated contact information or an old logo could be found in an online directory or review site that you are not aware of.
Participate In Third-Party Real Estate Marketplace Sites
Everything has changed in the world of marketing and sales since the advent of the internet. It is not enough to have a website or social media; you must be everywhere.
Customers can now interact with and transact directly with brands from many places. You do not want your brand to be overlooked.
Sites like Zillow or Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) are two other places where your home builder marketing strategy can be seen and experienced by potential customers and customers.
You are missing a great opportunity to connect with potential customers if you are not on a third-party site.
Billboard Advertising
Billboard advertising has been around for decades and is simple yet reliable. Customers can see Billboards 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they are cost-effective despite traditional strategies not being the best in today’s world overall.
Think of billboard space as local signage. It should be located in an area where there is lots of traffic. This is the best place to put it to generate sales-qualified leads.
Your billboard will be seen primarily by motorists. They cannot keep their eyes off of the road for long. Your billboard should be memorable and catchy to make it stand out from the rest.
However, it should also be short, sweet, and direct so that the reader understands the message quickly.
Everything is a matter of how you design your billboard and how you are able to target it to your actual prospects.
Many make the mistake of going for billboards when they are not as popular in their cities, or local areas or people don’t pay attention to them. Thus, you want to perform a market analysis beforehand.
Partnerships for More Leads
Homebuilders who want to improve their lead generation strategies can use partnerships or collaborations or simply “collabs” as a powerful tool.
Although partnerships are often associated with influencers and sponsorships in their simplest form, partnerships are just establishing relationships with individuals or organizations that connect with a particular market.
For leads and sales, look for partners like:
- Real estate brokerage firms.
- Lenders and financial institutions.
- International brokers.
- Investor groups, both local and international.
Partnerships are a type of “I scratch your head, you scratch mine” relationship. They allow you to establish a relationship that will help you reach people you might not have been able to reach on your own.
Direct Mail or Print Advertising
We talked about how you must be there for your customers wherever they are. Here we go again.
Placements in newspapers and magazines and placements in real-estate or construction publications are all solid ways to get people to notice your brand.
Even though newspaper readership is declining, print ads are still a viable option.
Direct mail works best when it is used in conjunction with a cohesive marketing strategy for home builders and a plan. Prospects may not engage with direct mail for as many as three pieces.
Referrals from both Internal and External Sources
Once again, face-to-face communication is key and can help you make connections.
You can get names and introductions from other decision-makers in the company that you want to sell or someone who is looking to buy a house.
These internal referrals will allow you to find out who the decision-makers in your company are and give you the chance to educate yourself about the buying criteria and the decision-making process.
Referrals from outside harken back a long time ago to social proof. A positive experience with a client can make it easier for someone to refer you to a friend or associate who is looking for a home.
The Local Lead Generation Process for Your New Home Builder Services
All right! So, everything is about building properties and generating leads. But how does the process actually take place? Are there other steps I need to know?
The steps I mention below are what students from our local lead generation program follow to generate leads for businesses like yourself. So I’ll help you see what we do. And how if you join our program, you can simply generate leads for your own business (unless you want to start a side hustle and build a laptop lifestyle business).
Essentially, our lead generation can be divided into four steps:
The first is prospecting. You need to take the time to do market research on a niche (industry) and determine how many phone-driven businesses are there.
Keep in mind that this is local research as you need to know how many companies need leads. For example, you may search for “plumbing services Youngstown OH.”
You will find dozens or even hundreds of businesses trying to get themselves in front of the customers by ranking on Map Listings, organic results, and even Ad.
The second step, building. When you find a niche (plumbing, tree services, a software company, real estate…), you will need to start building your digital properties. You don’t need to be an expert in HTML or coding. It can be easy with the right tools.
The third step is now taking time to rank your lead gen website. With the site done, you need to work on SEO strategies and start dominating those Google search results. If you’re new to SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization.
To keep it simple, it consists of the entire process of growing a company’s visibility on search engines like Google and generating organic traffic. And remember this, local lead generation is part of the strategies.
Moving on to step four, once you rank the site, you will start getting your ROI and profits. You only need to rent it out to a local business interested in the leads the site generates. You can offer a couple of free leads to their move on with the actual pay per lead.
To review steps 1-4 above, I described it to a normal student who is building a lead gen business to help local service providers generate more calls. But replace the student with you as the business owner. And replace sending the leads to a business to simply siphoning the leads to your personal business.
By the way, fun fact, about 20% of our students in our local lead gen program are actually business owners who went through the program. And they use the skillsets we teach to generate leads for their own business.
An Example of Lead Generation: Home Advisor
You must be thinking, “if lead generation sounds so good so far, how come I haven’t seen any company?” That’s the thing; there are many out there. You just don’t know they are dedicated to it.
HomeAdvisor is one of the best examples you can find on the Internet as it is a top lead generation company that has spent millions building its brand but also earned even more zeros for this same reason.
They started small as everyone else but invested in building their brand awareness to make people who are looking for home services go to their website and find what they need. They are over 75% of people’s first choice when they need those services.
If you don’t get HomeAdvisor that much or need a refresh, users need to submit their information to request a service and get a professional or expert who can provide it.
HomeAdvisor’s job is to share your information, which makes you a lead, with local companies so they can contact you and offer the service you’re requesting. For sharing this lead information, HomeAdvisor gets paid by the companies. This happens for every single lead they send to multiple businesses.
Business owners who don’t have marketing skills or don’t even know how to have any online presence will always rely on those pages to list their services. They will save time and effort, but companies like HomeAdvisor can make them spend lots of money as leads aren’t exclusive (one lead is sent to multiple companies after all).
Using Facebook Ads aka Paid Ad Platforms: Do They Generate Leads?
They DO generate leads. If not, no one would use them.
However, you need to remember two facts:
- Paid ads or platforms can be expensive.
- They don’t generate “natural” leads.
Whenever someone sees or clicks in one of those ads, over 80% of them did it by accident or are trying to close/report it.
Why? Because they aren’t looking for those services. At least not at the moment.
What those ads do instead is interrupt their time on the platforms. Users aren’t there to find companies or businesses unless they are searching for a specific company’s user, and for that, there’s a search bar. This is why it is hard to convert them to actual customers who will show interest in the companies’ services. Also, you’re limited by a budget.
When using lead generation, everything is organic. You aren’t forcing others to pay attention to your business but rather being there when they need you. This is why Google’s organic traffic will always beat paid ads, and the reason companies continue investing in it, which is a lot cheaper as well.
What Is Local SEO?
Don’t worry… I didn’t get it at first either. Following the short explanation, local SEO focuses on scaling businesses’ visibility on search engines. However, this is only for those who serve their communities face-to-face.
What does this mean?
Experts and professionals like painters, plumbers, and dentists (but not only them) offer their services to their local customers. Why? Because they can’t deliver them unless they are located in the same area of their customers.
To make sure those businesses get more leads, you need to rank them locally by claiming the business listing on Google to place them on Map Listings. Local SEO also involves online reviews, citation management, and how you manage your entire online presence in the local area.
If you are going to bet on lead gen, you need to adapt yourself to today’s world: The Internet.
Keep in mind that although traditional channels and methods like billboards, warm calls, and pamphlets still work, they aren’t part of your tools. Whenever someone needs a service, they go to Google and search for it.
“Dentist in Miami” or “plumbing services in Orlando,” etc. And you can keep coming up with services or professionals people need and look for. Thus, you need to make sure you’re using Google to get the companies in front of their clients.
Users will always click on the first search results (those near the top), and many of them will be either Ad links (people paid to place their websites there), Map Listing, and then you get websites. Almost all of them are your goal and where you should always aim to place yourself.
Can My New Home Builder Services Utilize a Local Lead Generation Strategy?
If you want customers, you better know you need it. Following the previous explanation, lead gen is all about placing businesses in front of their customers, choosing them over their competitors.
Put it simply – it’s all about closing deals and having clients for those companies to make money. The main difference with the usual methods companies use for this is how lead generation approaches different channels to get them in the right place of the market to get customers.
Those channels are all focused on the Internet as most people are searching for products but also services across the net. The issue is that the Internet is way too broad, and businesses don’t know how to place themselves. They usually try, but they get one common result: losing money and time.
How Powerful Are Organic New Home Builder Leads from Google?
For companies looking for customers, it’s everything. For you? Pretty much the same. When you build a business with digital properties, you get to make thousands of dollars a month.
This isn’t a “get started today and get rich tomorrow” thing, but it is HIGHLY scalable, and ROI + positive results are guaranteed. Learning a fairly decent and very needed set of skills to create your digital properties and start ranking them on Google is required.
I have invested in several online businesses over the years, and if there’s something uncertain, whether you will get your ROI or not, even more than the actual profit.
However, this business moved my earnings from five figures a year to a month in ONLY passive income while sitting comfortably at home.
On my laptop. Anywhere. Anytime.
You can look at one of the first sites I built back in 2016, and it continues making me over $1.000+ every month. The best part is that I don’t need to touch it or the rest I’ve built over the years, just like this digital property.
What Makes Lead Generation SO Alluring?
Here it goes: you can work from home.
The main issue with regular business opportunities is how much you need to invest in staff, equipment, or rent to have a place to sell your products or offer your services.
We all know the hassles of traditional businesses that involve regular expenses, which are extremely high. Can you afford it? I don’t think so, and even if you can, is it worth it? Now, it isn’t only about the money. You also need to put in a lot of work, and it isn’t only during the first couple of months or years. Usually, it is as long as you continue running it.
You can save yourself those headaches and bone-breaking tasks and expenses with lead gen since it is more about generating leads with digital channels—mainly websites.
Websites can be VERY cheap to build, and with many tools online, you get to do it in a couple of hours instead of days. Any virtual or digital business is scalable and won’t need constant maintenance.
So, let’s summarize this:
- You save money in regular expenses with traditional and most online businesses as what you need is yourself and digital properties (websites).
- You can bet on passive income.
- There’s no need to hire more people to get started.
- You can generate leads in multiple industries, which allows you to work on any niche you want.
How Can I Get Started in the Local Lead Generation Program?
Anyone can start and learn. That’s the beauty of this business model. I knew nothing about SEO, Map Listing, and everything I’ve mentioned so far. It is all about learning the skills, gaining experience, and deciding to take the step.
Remember that this business model will never get old as business owners are always looking for leads. They need to do business and scale their companies. Why not do the same while helping others and still making money?
You can start with this local lead generation course highly recommended for anyone wanting to grow in the business. It is a close training that will take you through each step and make sure you are able to get your ROI, profits and take control of your life.
You will be added to an incredible lead generation family ready to help you 24/7 when asking questions on the group. Anyone is welcome who’s willing to put in the work. Click here to watch the lead gen webinar.