The old ways of marketing are obsolete, and Garland Griffin Homes prides itself on keeping up with the most current technology and cost/benefit ratios as it relates to all aspects of our business from our home building technology to our methods of marketing. In keeping with that theme, we have launched a new robust website design with powerful back-end tools generating solid leads. We track ROI by campaign and work what is working and lose what is not, maximizing our efforts and working smart. We have partnered with two lead-generating websites— www.Cleveland.com and www.newhomesource.com—that feed us leads as well. Partnering with larger firms increases our exposure tenfold, generating all the benefits but without the cost. We can keep our marketing budget under control and continue to offer outstanding quality homes at an affordable price. We have also started to focus on mailing campaigns for word-of-mouth exposure.
We’ve implemented several new low-cost, high-impact marketing strategies for 2011. Social media, educational sales seminars, getting started/process collateral, sales department bio sheets, and search engine optimization are all crucial to helping us to clearly and cleverly extend our company’s mission and reach. Our building seminars are reaching out specifically to prospective customers with a process-oriented presentation. We’ve added a social media page (Facebook) and regularly update our followers. Many of our customers allow us to post photos of their homes’ construction progress. The synergy is contagious as our clients share their excitement with their friends, family, and prospective buyers. This new level of transparency is the ultimate confidence builder for current and new clients alike. We use the photos taken along the way to create a customized coffee table booklet showcasing their building journey.
After we carefully research our home buying audience for one of our developments, we may continue with traditional advertising (depending on the demographic) or branch out into social media. In 2011, we will be creating a Facebook page for our new developments but only for audiences that are social-media savvy. The challenging aspect of building a Twitter feed or Facebook page is finding your audience online and creating a buzz. We also promote our properties by partnering with other events that take place in our neighborhoods. Brandywine execs are involved in regional real estate associations/conferences. In addition, we recently hired a public relations firm that reaches out to traditional print media [and] targets real estate home bloggers and online-only press.
Learn more about markets featured in this article: San Antonio, TX.
