Home Builder Marketing Plan: How to Build One in Five Steps

4 min 30 sec read 

Learn the steps to build a successful campaign to grow your business.

Every home builder business has a marketing plan, but how successful is it? Building one is a time-consuming process. It will require your marketing team to conduct research, define your brand’s goals, build relationships with your clients, while staying true to the market.

The keys to a great plan are research, implementation of analysis, and continual optimization. Here are the solution steps to make sure you are successful. 

Every home builder should plan out their marketing plan by using these steps:

Determine your target audience(s) 

How can you create a marketing plan if you don’t know who your target audience is? The more specific you are about the home building market, the better. Determine your audience’s marketing demographics such as gender, age, income, occupation or even educational status. For instance, a young couple will be looking for a different home than an established family of five. It’s key to understand what their needs are.

Identifying the target market requires a great deal of research. Demographic information is helpful, but those are simply numbers, not an understanding of their lifestyle. Study what personality traits your average client has, what their interests are, and what they are passionate about. Direct targeted marketing is the best way to capture your ideal clients.

Determine the most effective ways to communicate with your audience 

Once you have determined who your target audience is, you then need to analyze the best marketing channels to communicate with them. 

You’ll need to do research to locate the best avenues where your potential new and existing clients like to use to obtain information. In other words, you need to fish where the fish are.

With so many forms online and traditional media, it’s important to know which one will generate the best ROI for your business goals. Based on your client’s profiles you can determine whether it’s best to use online, traditional or a combination of marketing tactics for positive results. 

Define your mission statement for your home builder marketing plan 

A mission statement is what the brand lives by, a precise explanation of what exactly you can do for your clients. Before you start drafting a mission statement, ask yourself these questions: What is the purpose of the business? What are the goals of the business? What can the business do for its employees, owners, and stakeholders?

A good mission statement will be original, have action verbs and can clearly be understood by all stakeholders. The most powerful mission statements are concise and to the point. Microsoft, for example, is:

“Our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

While some companies have an entire page on their website devoted to defining the mission statement, Microsoft’s statement is short, captivating and easy to remember. No potential client will take 15 minutes of their day to analyze the organization’s mission statement, so make their, and your life easier by making it brief and to the point. 

Stay loyal to your customer’s values

The number one goal of any business is to put the customer first. Put yourself in the client’s shoes and make their priority, your priority. For instance, brush up on the current home building marketing trends to demonstrate your knowledge in the field. Once you demonstrate your expertise, your clients will trust your strategic methods and be more likely to be persuaded to purchase.

When Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, conducts team meetings, he always sets out an empty chair - a chair to represent the customer. No matter the size of the meeting, there is always an empty chair to remind Amazon’s employees to put the customer first. Every company needs to live by this rule.

Home builders who stay true to their client’s values and needs are more likely to receive powerful testimonials or reviews from them. Or even better – recommend your firm to their family and friends. Now, not only do you have your original client but also the opportunity to obtain leads from their circle of influence. That leads me to my next point…

Maintain relationships with your customer

One of the most valued practices for any business is to gain referrals from a past client. This means the experience your client had with your company could translate into new ones. Repeat customers are the result of strong client-company relationships. All businesses, not just home builders, want this.

Simple ways to strengthen the home builder client-company relationship are to remember their name, send write handwritten thank-you notes and to recognize the clients’ longevity with your business. It’s human nature that people love to make personal connections. Therefore, relationship building can increase consumer interest while simultaneously building loyalty.

Other examples include one-on-one interactions. For example, during open house tours bake homemade treats or provide lemonade to all of your visitors. Or, consider providing a list of ‘Things to do Today’ and pass it out after the tour. Other customers will notice these personal touches and want to experience it themselves.

Remember where you started

Your core consumers are the foundation of your business and anything without a solid foundation can come crumbling down. Your business is an integral part of your life and you should treat it as such. Not only does every business need satisfied customers, but it also needs happy employees. 

A recent study revealed that humble leaders have a more engaged team and less employee turnover. These leaders take time to learn the strengths of their team and help to improve their weaknesses. Employers appreciate a respectable leader and will try harder in everyday tasks to show their appreciation. Staying humble is the essence of maintaining employee retention.

After taking these steps into consideration with your marketing plan, it’s only a matter of time until you start recognizing improvements. Even if you incorporate only a few of these five steps, it is bound to make a positive difference in the way your home builder business is run. 

For additional marketing tips related to home builders, read my articles:

• Artificial Intelligence: The Basics for Marketing as Home Builders
• Marketing Event Hacks for Home Builders: Pre, During, and Post Event
• Younger Audience: Cheat Sheet for How Home Builders Can Reach Them