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Online Marketing Tools for Homebuilders //Derek Pillie

Online Marketing Tools for Homebuidlers // Derek Pillie

HomebuidlerSuite.comtwitter.com/dpilliefacebook.com/dpillielinkedin.com/in/dpilliejust search for “derek pillie” or “dpillie”Director, Vertical Market Program Development

Marketing Tools // Why are You Here?

• You know that the success of your business means attracting new leads and providing excellent customer service

• You know attracting new customers means going where they are

• You know that you know these customers are online• Tremendous growth in use of Internet,

social media, etc.• You want to know if your website has

what it takes to win leads!

• Your want to know if you are getting a solid return on investing in your marketing program

Marketing Tools // What Will You Learn?

• What critical elements need to be on any builder’s website

• What information you need on your website to assist lead conversion

• What steps you need to take to figure out how your company will achieve these critical objectives

• How to engage visitors to your site to maximize your opportunity to convert leads

• How to determine if what your doing is having the desired result

Marketing Tools // About Cirrus ABS

• Over 15 Years Experience in Online Marketing and Website Development

• Hybrid company that offers the best of marketing and technology firms

• 25+ employees

• Full staff of technical & creative personnel

• Clients ranging from Fortune 500 to small local businesses

Marketing Tools // About Cirrus ABS

Cirrus ABS Core Competencies• Corporate Marketing Solutions - Strategic

Consulting, Website Development, Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Platform Solution Development• Vertical Market Solutions• Homebuilders, Economic

Development, Education, Insurance…

• Corporate Solutions for Distributor/Dealer Networks

• Franchise Solutions

Marketing Tools // Other Clients

Marketing Tools // Why Websites?

What makes websites so darn special?

There are lots of ways you can spend your marketing budget…

There are reasons why homebuilders are flocking to the web!

Marketing Tools // Where is the Intent?

• Television• Direct Mail• Radio• Newspaper• Print• Email Marketing• Social Media• SEO• Search Marketing• Trade Shows• Sponsorships• Yellow Pages

Marketing Tools // From Intent to Lead

Cirrus advocates a Net-Centered Marketing Plan

NetCentered Marketing is our proprietary strategy for tying all your marketing efforts together – Internet-based and traditional – to best achieve your business goals.

With NetCentered Marketing, you can target ideal prospects and measure prospect-to-customer conversions with unprecedented accuracy.

Failing to plan is planning to fail!

Marketing Tools // Website as the Hub

Your website needs to be the “home base” for your marketing activities because…

1. It’s easy to find2. You have the most content

flexibility3. It’s your design/brand4. It’s safe5. They have to choose to visit

Marketing Tools// Not JUST Your Website!

Your website can’t do it alone… every element of your plan is a tool you use for a specific purpose

1. Social media channels2. Email3. Print media4. Broadcast media5. Direct mail

Website Leads // What Makes it Work?

Customer Testimonials

Easy to Find Contact Info

Newsletter Signup

Calls to Action

News/Events

Info For Targeted Markets

Interaction with Social Media

Easy Navigation and Well Defined Site Paths

Homepage Welcome Message

Marketing Tools // Other Website FeaturesYour Floor Plans & Communities / On-site or

Off-site Pros and Cons• Off-site Pros – you compete at state/national level• Off-site Cons - you compete at state/national level

o No onsite Search Engine indexing, IF the search engines even see the data the state/national site gets the “Google Juice”

o No Google Analytics for tracking

• On-site Pros – it’s yourso You get Search Engine value for Your properties (“Google

Juice”)o Add related content to complete your “value proposition”o Google Analytics tracking of property visits

• On-site Cons o Can you push/pull data or are you static? (Multiple data

entry)o Can be expensive (depending on vendor)

Marketing Tools // Other Website Features

Mobile Website Access• Can a website user view your website on a

mobile device?• Does the design effectively convey your value

proposition?• Does your mobile site have the information a

mobile user is looking for?• Can the mobile user easily and effectively

reach you from the website?

Widgets• Related content (documents, images, videos,

maps, links, more)• Social Media content

Marketing Tools // How Does it Translate?Some statistics about this mobile website design

since its launch this summer:

Bounce rate on the standard website increased 12%Bounce rate on the mobile optimized website DECREASED 15%

Mobile traffic on the site significantly increased since

launching the mobile-optimized design (up 63%) and

visitors continued to visit additional pages on the site!

Marketing Tools // Intent Matters After All!

• Television• Direct Mail• Radio• Newspaper• Print• Email Marketing• Social Media• SEO• Search Marketing• Trade Shows• Sponsorships• Yellow Pages

Marketing Tools// So Who Is Visiting You?

What do these terms mean?Why should I be worried

about my bounce rate?Is it good or bad that I have

lots of new visitors?Why is there such a big gap

between my page views and the number of visitors?

Marketing Tools // What are They Viewing?

Website Leads // How Do I Use This Data?To Better Respond to Leads!• When you know what people are looking at

you can be better prepared to respond to requests from potential investors

• You’ll get a good sense for the kinds of investors considering your community

• Your most up-to-date information is available with a few keystrokes!

To Make Adjustments to Your Integrated Marketing Plan!

• Are website visitors behaving as you anticipated?

• Are members of your community engaging you through your channels?

• Are you hitting the benchmarks you established for your plan?

Website Leads // Now What?!?!

It wouldn’t be much use to go through all this information and not give you a roadmap of sorts to follow!

Next steps1. Plan2. Evaluate3. Implement4. Assess

Marketing Tools // Now What?!?!

1. Plana) Remember: Failing to plan is planning to

fail!b) Use tools like Mind Mapping to help you

prioritize what you NEED to do.c) Don’t lose sight of the overall goal!

2. Evaluatea) What are you trying to say about your

business?b) Do you have the tools you need to

effectively share your story?c) If I tell the story well, do I have the tools I

need to convert a lead?

Marketing Tools // Now What?!?!

3. Implementa) Can you do everything you want to do?b) What do you need to cut back to make

your plan work?c) Can you enlist help to get the work done?

4. Evaluated) What kind of results did you see?e) Do you need to make significant

adjustments to your strategy?f) This is not a one-time exercise… it is an

ongoing process!

We'll Help You Master Internet Marketing!

These days it’s more important than ever for you to reach new customers, satisfy existing customers, find new efficiencies, and improve your bottom line. The Web is the way to do it. We can help!

Call Cirrus ABS at 1.877.817.4442 to find out how we can improve your online visibility.

If you’d like to see more features of the Homebuilder Suite, please stay on the webinar and we’ll answer any of your questions!