Blue Tangerine

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Felicia Berry of Viera Builders Inc. Builders joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how online sales counselors can bridge the gap between home builder sales and marketing teams to ensure no leads are left behind. ➡️The Online Sales Counselor role can complement home builder sales and marketing teams. On the marketing side, an OSC helps understand where spending will be most valuable. Felicia says, “You want your marketing dollars to be going to something that's working. And if you don't know that, then you're just throwing away money. You don't even know you're throwing away the money. But now with the OSC position, where we can track all that data, we know we're not throwing away money because we've gotten rid of the things that aren't working.” On the sales side, an OSC helps funnel significant leads to the sales team. Felicia explains, “I'm going to take all of the people that are, not really a lead, not really a qualified lead off your plate, and I'm going to do all the legwork for you and then hand you, on a silver platter, a qualified lead that you would have gotten anyway. You just didn't have to sift through the sand to find them. That frees up their time to really just concentrate on the leads, the good, qualified leads…” The most significant aspect of having an OSC is that they can help ensure that no lead gets overlooked. Felicia says, “It allows you to shore up that sales process and follow-up and follow-up after their follow-up to make sure that no lead gets left behind. Where before you don't know what's happening. You toss it out there and you hope that somebody picks it up in the wind. There's so much that your marketing team and your sales team can do to work together to have a better customer journey, and the OSC is that person to make that happen.” Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about how an OSC can improve home builder sales and marketing. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/eGrKTyps

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Dennis O'Neil of ONeil Interactive joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how important it is to create a strong and successful home builder website. ➡️A website is essential in home builder digital marketing, but the true success of the website is in the updates and additions. Dennis says, “…with technology, it's not just about building a solution, it's about maintaining a solution. It's about making sure that it works next year, next month, on the next iPhone, that it's compatible with the next watch, the next version of Chrome doesn't blow it up and make it stop working, right? Like, all of those things come into play.” Home builders must consistently revise their websites to better fit the needs of home buyers and to adjust to new technology. Dennis explains, “…the website is never finished. It is not. Customer expectations don't stop getting bigger because you press the launch button on your website. They're constantly looking for something different, and there are better ways to do things. Sometimes there's a better way to do things because we learn something different about consumer behavior, or there's a better way to do things because consumers have been trained by a popular behavior that this is the way things are supposed to happen, and we need to be able to accommodate that workflow. Everything else doesn't stop changing around it.” The progression of a great website happens continually over time. Dennis says, “So, we normally try to encourage them to phase things in, which also involves an acknowledgment that we're going to keep building. We're going to build the site. It's going to launch and then we're going to keep going, and we're going to go into phase two and then phase three and phase four, and we might add in a 3.5 and a 2.7, and then whatever comes along the way. But it's, thankfully, I think getting more and more common to understand it's a forever process. It really is.” Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about home builder website maintenance.  🎧 https://lnkd.in/eZyf2pVW

We're beyond excited to announce that 🎉 REGISTRATION IS OPEN 🎉 for the 2024 Home Builder Digital Marketing Summit! Join us October 23 & 24 in Raleigh to learn from home building industry peers and experts as we take on the latest strategies and business challenges through interactive sessions, learning labs, roundtable discussion groups and more. With a Marketing and OSC education track, there's something for everyone on your team. Don't miss out on early bird savings...register now! https://lnkd.in/g8iaw-Pc

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Mindy Lepp of LEPPDESIGN joins Greg and Kevin to discuss the benefits of outsourcing home builder digital marketing. ➡️Home builders who adapt towards digital marketing advancements will position themselves to capture more homebuyer leads. Mindy says, “There's so many things, not only in the building industry but also in marketing that are just constantly changing. And just a year ago when you think of AI before it came out to now. So, if you are not keeping up, you are going to lose because someone else is going to keep up and they're going to take away those potential customers.” When a home builder gets to a point where they can no longer keep up with digital marketing, they should find resources to assist. Mindy explains, “I would definitely look at outsourcing it because there comes a time in your business where you realize, okay, I've grown enough to a point where I need professional marketing help. It does not make sense for me as either the owner of the company or maybe the admin person or the secretary, whoever it is, adding that to their plate when they don't even have the expertise for it.” It can be overwhelming to make digital marketing strategy changes, but reaching out to agencies and resources can help ease the transition. Mindy says, “Don't be scared to take the leap of faith. I know it's such a hard point when you are in that sort of awkward position that we've been talking about where you're like I need marketing help, I've been doing it myself, I need someone to really take a look at it and I don't know where to turn….but take that leap of faith. You will be happy that you did and that you freed up all of those hours of your time that you have spent for so long trying to do it on your own.” Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about how home builders can take advantage of digital marketing resources. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/eSXtxwjn

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, James Work (Jim) of Silverthorne Homebuilders joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how learning from other home builders’ knowledge and experience can improve business. ➡️Taking advantage of the vast expertise in the home building industry can help home builders accelerate the efficiency and growth of their businesses. Jim explains, “So, you can get there on your own, you're going to get there eventually, it's going to take a little bit longer, or you can pay somebody to help you…And even if that person isn't somebody you're paying, maybe if it's a mentor or an older person that's been through it, somebody that can help you get out of your own way and ask you those questions and go, Hey, why are you doing that yourself?” It’s important to be willing to reach out to and learn from other home builders. Jim says, “…for any guys or girls that are out there building 10 homes, 15 homes, and they want to try to grow, I mean, find some smart people, some consultants, maybe a business coach and just be open to learn.” There is no shortage of experts in the home building industry who are ready and willing to help others learn and progress. Jim says, “So, I would just encourage those people in that part of their career to just keep learning and soak it up. There's so many great people in this industry that you can learn so many things from. And you could just call up a lot of these people, and even though they might have a business charging you for that, they'll talk to you for two hours and give you some free advice. That's the cool part about this industry, in my opinion.” Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about the benefits of learning from others in the home building industry. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/ee4VMHVS

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Hayley Selden, EIT of Valiant Spaces, LLC joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how home builders and remodelers can foster trust with homebuyers. ➡️An important aspect of new home construction and remodeling is building trust with clients even when challenges arise. Hayley explains, “It's a lot of people relations and I think that's an art that gets lost sometimes in construction…we're building your house…come walk around and come look at things, and if you see something you don't like, then let's fix that before we have to tear it out and redo it…Again, it's just having some understanding and some empathy. It is very nerve-wracking to give somebody a lot of money to do something that you are unfamiliar with and have, obviously, high expectations because it's so near and dear to you, you're going to live in this place.” Consistent and clear communication is key to encouraging confidence between home builders and homebuyers. Hayley says, “But just keeping those lines of communication open and being transparent with what's going on really goes a long way.” Another fundamental part of developing trust with customers is education. Homebuyers need to know that builders have knowledge and expertise about new home builder products and methods. Hayley says, “But I think always looking to learn and improve, and especially for your clients, knowing that you have the most up-to-date information and knowledge on all the systems and processes for them goes a long way as well.” Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about how home builders and remodelers can promote trust with homebuyers. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/eP-XEDJV

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Bridget Cramer of Lindus Construction joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how home builders and remodelers can use social media to expand marketing efforts. ➡️Social media might feel overwhelming to some home builders or remodelers, but it’s not necessary to start everywhere all at once. Bridget says, “…it's better to do a few things well than to feel like you have to be on every single platform every single day.” Attitude is everything when it comes to social media marketing because there will be successes and failures along the way. Bridget explains, “So, I think pretty much having that attitude of having a short trial, but a long enough trial to be able to see if it actually did work. I think that's the biggest, most important thing. And again, if you can preface this by saying, I've done my research, I've talked to XYZ company or XYZ person that's used this successfully. Here's what they did. Let's at least give it a shot.” In the home building and remodeling industries, it is vital to keep marketing campaigns progressing. If not, you will get left behind. Bridget says, “I think in this industry, if you are just remaining in place and not growing and not moving forward, you're not being stagnant, you're actually falling behind. especially if your competitors are continuing to grow and evolve. So, it's really important just to keep educating yourself and stay on top of current trends.” Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about using social media to increase marketing presence. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/eqvccpvH

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Jessica Fritz of J.Cor Architecture joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how home builders can connect with homebuyers by creating unique home buying experiences. ➡️Buying a home is an emotional decision and telling a story helps builders relate to customers on that level. Jessica says, “…buyers make their decision off of their emotions and their feelings. There are a lot of builders out there that have 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath product, but what's really going to separate them is the feeling the buyer gets when they are in the space. So, that gets into storytelling.” It can be easy to forget the emotional aspect of buying a home, but builders must consider more than just the physical construction of a home. Jessica explains, “A lot of times they'll come to me with we need three bedrooms and this many bathrooms and I try to take everybody a step back and ask them those questions. Who's your target buyer? What's the history of the place where we're designing in? Because all of that starts to roll into the storytelling aspect of the design. If we can get that story put together upfront during the design phase, by the time they get down to their marketing team, marketing really has something to go with when they go out for sale.” Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about how home builders can differentiate their homes through storytelling. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/e_WsNgWr

One highlight from a recent Digital Velocity Podcast: Leveraging Amazon is no longer just about selling; it's about using the platform to fuel your brand's overall growth and visibility. Tim M. Curtis, DCMP and Erik Martinez spoke with Michael Begg, CEO of AMZ Advisors, who shares invaluable insights on making Amazon work for you, not just as a sales channel but as a powerful tool in your multi-channel strategy. Mike says that “…they've launched Amazon Posts, which is their [Amazon’s] attempt at like a social media feature within Amazon. They've launched Amazon Live, Amazon Influencer, all of these different ways for brands to try to connect in other sales techniques that you would see off of Amazon, so other E-commerce channels. That's the direction it's continuing to move into." Dive into Episode 63 of the Digital Velocity Podcast https://lnkd.in/gUEk4CCQ for strategies on using Amazon to enhance your brand's ecommerce footprint.

This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Derek Schairer and Luke Groesbeck of Foundation join Greg and Kevin to discuss how to provide an excellent homebuyer experience that creates happier homeowners and more efficient and profitable home builder teams. ➡️ Customers expect more throughout the homebuyer journey than they are currently getting, and home builders need to change their perception on what that means for their brand. Derek explains, “So, I think the ideal homebuyer experience from the customer's perspective, is one where they feel informed, educated, and empowered throughout the experience. Not only does this mean during the construction process, but also into home ownership while they own their home. That's one thing that the industry has left behind a little bit is that these aren't just buyers, but they ultimately become homeowners…the industry has tended to look at these homeowners as a warranty liability and really not the asset for their brand and business that they should be.” Establishing a more successful home builder business starts with happier homebuyers, and happier homebuyers are created by having better customer experiences. Luke says, “So, yes, you've been running your business this way for a long time, and your business is doing fine, but happier customers are better customers. And so, if you want a better business, think about customer experience. It's not just a cost center. It's not just a line item. It's not superfluous. Again, if you want a better business, a way to get there is with happier customers.” Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about how to improve the homebuyer experience. 🎧 https://lnkd.in/ew_Yvxd9