The Home Builder Marketing Challenge
Marketing for home builders presents a distinct set of challenges and opportunities that demand more than just a one-size-fits-all approach. While many general marketing principles apply across industries, the home building sector—especially in the realm of on-your-lot and custom home construction—requires a deeper level of strategic thinking. Crafting an effective annual marketing plan for this niche involves understanding the unique buyer journey, which often spans a longer cycle, and recognizing the complexities of your sales and marketing funnel. These specialized strategies are essential for navigating the intricate dynamics of on-your-lot building, where customization and customer relationships are paramount.
The Longer Buyer Cycle
One of the key distinctions in marketing for on-your-lot or custom home builders is the longer buyer cycle. Unlike builders who offer quick move-in homes within a community, on-your-lot builders must engage with customers who are making a significant, highly personalized decision. This extended decision-making process requires a sustained marketing effort, where building awareness, trust, and maintaining engagement over time are crucial.
The Challenge of Audience Identification
Builders working within a community have a natural advantage—they can market both the location and the homes, allowing them to create a single set of personas based on factors like price point, community amenities, nearby schools, and the types of homes available. For on-your-lot builders, however, the challenge is greater. You are offering to build just about anything, just about anywhere, which makes the task of finding and targeting the right audience more complex.
10-Step Sales and Marketing Funnel for On-Your-Lot Custom Home Builder Success
At DO&Be Agency, we've spent years working with on-your-lot and custom home builders, and we've refined a sales and marketing funnel that we believe works best for this unique process. Here’s a breakdown of our ten-step marketing strategy:
1. Define Your Core Personas
The foundation of any successful marketing strategy is a deep understanding of your target audience. For on-your-lot builders, this means identifying and understanding the different types of customers who are most likely to be interested in your services. By conducting market research, analyzing past customer data, and developing detailed profiles for each persona, you can tailor your marketing messages and website experience to resonate with each persona. This ensures that your content speaks directly to their needs and desires, making your marketing efforts more effective. We can also use this data to better understand our digital advertising targeting capabilities and audience sizes on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
2. Raise Brand Awareness
Establishing your presence in the market is critical. To build trust within your target audience, you need to utilize a mix of digital marketing, social media campaigns, content marketing (e.g., blogs, videos), and community engagement. Showcase your brand’s expertise in on-your-lot building, highlighting unique selling propositions such as customization options and sustainable building practices.
3. Attract Potential Customers to Your Website
Driving traffic to your website is the next step. Through search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media ads, and email marketing, you can attract visitors to learn more about your services. It’s essential that your website is user-friendly, visually appealing, and informative, with clear calls-to-action (CTAs) guiding visitors to the next steps. In addition, because your website is the “hub” of your marketing traffic, it’s important that you collect and promote your “social proof” throughout the site with customer testimonials, builder credentials, and project photography.
4. Convert Website Visitors into Leads
Once visitors are on your website, the goal is to capture their interest and turn them into qualified leads. Offering valuable resources like downloadable guides, floor plan previews, or interactive home design tools in exchange for contact information can help achieve this. Additionally, using forms, chatbots, or pop-up offers to encourage visitors to sign up for newsletters, request consultations, or attend webinars can increase lead generation. Over time, we recommend testing various pieces of gated content and strategically placing these contact captures across the site in order to optimize your conversion rates.
5. Nurture Leads Until They're Ready to Build
Given the longer buyer cycle for on-your-lot construction, nurturing leads is crucial. A lead nurturing strategy that includes email drip campaigns, personalized follow-ups, and targeted content can help keep potential customers engaged. Sharing success stories, customer testimonials, and insights on building trends helps keep your brand top of mind.
6. Elevate Your Team and Process
In a competitive market, many builders may offer similar products. What sets you apart is often your team and your process. By showcasing the expertise, experience, and passion of your team members through content like team profiles, behind-the-scenes videos, and testimonials, you can differentiate your brand. Highlighting the quality and uniqueness of your products, focusing on materials, craftsmanship, and innovative building techniques, also plays a crucial role in this differentiation.
7. Invite Leads to Meet the Team
Personalizing the experience for potential clients by introducing them to your team builds trust. Whether through in-person meetings, open houses, webinars, or community events, these interactions allow potential clients to get a sense of your company culture and values. Even on-your-lot builders can host open houses to provide a tangible sense of the experience they offer.
8. Educate Prospective Clients on the Building Process
Providing clear information on the building process is vital in helping clients feel confident in their decision. Offering educational resources, such as process guides, video tutorials, and FAQ sections on your website, is an effective way to accomplish this. Additionally, conducting workshops or consultations to explain key aspects of the building process, including site selection, permits, design options, and construction timelines, further aids in building trust and confidence.
9. Guide Qualified Leads Through the Home Design and Selections Process
Helping clients personalize their homes to meet their unique needs is a key part of the process. Working closely with clients during the design phase and offering expert advice on layout, materials, and finishes ensures that the process is collaborative and supportive, keeping clients excited and confident in their decisions.
10. Delight Homeowners with Memorable Experiences
Finally, creating lasting positive impressions across the whole brand experience from the initial marketing interaction through years after move-in is essential in fostering loyalty. Focusing on exceptional customer experience, celebrating milestones with clients, and continuing to engage with homeowners after move-in through customer appreciation events, maintenance tips, or loyalty programs helps maintain strong relationships and encourages referrals.
Achieving Success with Proven On-Your-Lot and Custom Home Builder Marketing Strategies
The marketing funnel we’ve developed at DO&Be Agency is designed to guide potential clients from the initial stage of awareness all the way through to becoming satisfied homeowners. Our goal is to foster loyalty and long-term relationships through a process that is tailored specifically to the unique needs of on-your-lot and custom home builders.
At DO&Be Agency, we pride ourselves on becoming an extension of your team. We take the time to understand the unique needs of each of our builder partners and leverage our years of experience to develop customized marketing strategies that drive results.
As Eric Peterson, the director of marketing for Lexar Homes, recently shared:
“To say we are impressed with Melissa and the DO&Be Agency and the work they do for us is an understatement. They always deliver projects on time, are super creative, and really know their stuff when it comes to marketing an on-your-lot home builder. Their content creation and social media marketing are spot-on and completely tailored to our industry – a service that you don’t always get from your typical agency! It’s been awesome to see how their efforts have driven more engaged conversions on our website.”
Ready to take your marketing to the next level? Let’s build something great together. Reach out to DO&Be Agency today and discover how we can help your on-your-lot or custom home building business thrive.
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