Marketing

By Eleanor Bowman, Director of Marketing, BDX

BDX recently completed a study of over 1,000 potential home buyers and one of the most surprising data points was the timeframe for home purchase. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed were unsure about when they would purchase or expect to take at least 9 months to make a decision.

Now compare this to the conversations we are having with many of our builders who work leads for 30 days and then consider them to be cold. Think about the impact this can have on your marketing campaigns? It means that if you’re throwing out leads because they haven’t converted in 30 days, you’re probably missing out on sales.

Putting these leads into a nurturing campaign can pay off months down the road when the buyer is ready to make a buying decision.

What is lead nurturing and how can home builders run successful campaigns?

Lead nurturing simply means creating a series of communications to stay in touch with those prospective buyers. These may not be the leads that your sales team is working aggressively, but it is important to keep your brand and your selling points top of mind. According to a recent report from Forrester Research, companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads, at 33% lower cost per lead.

Some ways builders can nurture leads through the sales cycle:

  • Create a weekly or monthly email newsletter.
  • Use marketing automation software that will automatically trigger communications at specific points in the process.
  • Use advertising retargeting programs to reach out to people who have visited your website.
  • Create social media campaigns to encourage people to engage with your brand.

Taking a few simple steps to keep these leads in your sales pipeline will pay off in the long run. Research has shown that 75% of companies basically drop leads who aren’t ready to purchase immediately. Make sure that your business is part of the 25% that will stay in touch and be top of mind when the consumer is ready to buy.

 

The Builder Vertical Ad Network is a new program developed by the BDX. Much like a builder can maximize their reach by listing on the BDX’s distribution sites the Builder Vertical Ad Network is a way for builders to maximize their exposure for display advertising by utilizing one point of contact for multiple targeted and tested websites. Contact us to get started.

Through our relationship with key distribution partners we have secured premium positions for display advertising on real estate websites that feature New Home listings. This represents a great opportunity for builders to enhance their listings and drive additional traffic back to their website. From the analysis we’ve conducted on NewHomeSource.com, we have identified a lift in leads from builders who also run display advertising we believe the same holds true for other sites.

The BDX advertising team does all of the work, managing placements, optimizing performance and providing reporting. This means that a builder can advertise with the BDX and have banners on multiple websites but only work with 1 point of contact and contract under one insertion order. Advertising across the Internet has never been easier for builders.

Current websites within the BDX Ad Network include Movoto.com, Blockshopper.com, HomeFinder.com, HotPads.com and BDX consumer retargeting.

Because we test and vet performance for each of our partners before inclusion into the network the BDX can offer a performance guarantee of .12CTR and can help with creative services utilizing the best practices from top performing builder campaigns. Download our one pager on the Builder Vertical Ad Network to learn more.

To get started listing on the first advertising network designed to help home builders contact Thane Tennison, Manager of Advertising for the BDX or your local sales rep.

Success in 2011For the past few weeks I’ve seen many campaigns offering a sneak peak to their Black Friday specials. Black Friday is traditionally the start of the holiday shopping season signaling when retail stores profits for the year are in the black. Many families make shopping on this day an annual tradition and hit the stores early – sometimes too early for my taste after a long holiday weekend. It seems like the buzz, crowds and holiday sales create a virtuous circle of holiday spending. It made me think, ‘What’s the Black Friday for Home Building?’

Someone told me it was the day after the Super Bowl when wives can drag their husbands off the couch to visit communities. But from the trends I’ve seen, I’d think Black Friday for builders would be Dec. 26th, the day after Christmas.

It’s no surprise that home sales and home shopping dip in the fall, but I don’t think most builders take full advantage of the inevitable rebound that follows. On NewHomeSource.com, year after year, we see a resounding bounce in traffic immediately following the holiday craze. It’s as if people say, ‘The Holidays are over! Now, we can shop for that home we’ve been dreaming of in 2011.’

Now is a great time for builders to get in front of these early-bird home shoppers as they jump-start their buying process. However, some builders don’t begin aggressively marketing until into the spring when traffic and interest is at its highest. To me, that’s like buying a stock after you’ve seen the rally, instead of when it’s poised for growth. The key to a great 2011? Start in 2010!

For more information about Display Marketing Strategies contact Thane Tennison, Advertising Manager for the BDX.

Email marketing has emerged in recent years as one of the cheapest and most effective methods for businesses to reach their clients.

Nearly everyone has an email address, and for many it is their preferred method of communication. Getting a client (or potential client) to share their address with you is as simple as asking. So now you have an email list and a message to send, but then comes the dreaded question: How do I know if I am sending spam? Luckily the US Government has laws that clearly state what is and is not spam, and the good news is that they are not difficult to follow. In our latest whitepaper, we will outline what to consider when starting a commercial email campaign and make suggestions for not only following the law, but going above and beyond to assure your contacts that the email you have sent is an important communication and definitely not spam. Click here to read the entire whitepaper to learn more.

Display Advertising is a great medium for enhancing listings, driving traffic or raising awareness of upcoming promotions and special incentives. We’ve seen builders utilize all of these tactics with Display Advertising on NewHomeSource.

One strategy which seems obvious but is often overlooked is to advertise actual builder’s communities, similar to the way billboards along the highway are used. NewHomeSource shoppers are active home buyers looking for information about new home communities and new home plans. Display Ads that focus on a community or range of communities often outperform other types of campaigns. Considering consumers search homes by price and location, it’s critical to include that information in your display creative. A relevant landing page and tracking code is also critical to measure consumer action and generate leads.

When developing a campaign consider the following:

  • What message do I want to convey?
  • Where will I send my consumers?
  • What action should they take once they are on my landing page?

With a clear strategy in place it’s easy to tweak and refine a display campaign. You may find the campaign is delivering excellent traffic but converting poorly. The issue may be with the the landing page, not the ad. Or, you may find few clicks but very relevant action from those consumers who do respond. This insight will provide you the information necessary to optimize your campaign and drive more value from your online marketing.