Reaching Buyers: Construction Marketing Tips for Builders

When you own a construction business you know how important it is to win more customers, especially in a tightening market. Having a powerful marketing strategy can help you reach potential clients and stay profitable.

A great construction marketing strategy isn't just tactics and social media advertising. It's about building trust and positive relationships with new customers so you can keep your pipeline full and your business profitable.

Create your Marketing Plan

Before you start engaging in marketing, take the time to create a strategic marketing plan for your construction company. This will ensure you all of your activities are aligned around a common theme and purpose.

The best way to start building your marketing plan is to identify relevant target audiences and develop key messaging that resonates with those groups. Not every future customer will be your customer. Who is your target buyer and what are their pain points?

All of your messaging including social media marketing, website content, email newsletters, and advertising should be specifically designed for your core demographic.

Once you know who you're talking to and what they care about, identify the marketing tactics you plan to use to reach those audiences, such as social media campaigns, paid ads, video content, referral campaigns, and more.

Focus First

When you're building out your marketing efforts it's easy to assume that more is more. The reality is, you're better off focusing on a few well-thought-out marketing strategies and doing them really well than trying to do everything and getting overwhelmed.

Start with the Buyers You've Already Won

Before spending a lot of time trying to reach new customers, focus on creating strategies to engage existing customers. This can include reaching out to past customers to ask for referrals or offering incentives to current buyers who refer their friends and family.

Additionally, homebuilders can use a portion of their marketing budget to create campaigns that target current homeowners in specific neighborhoods or areas where they have previously built homes. This can help to generate more leads from people who are already familiar with the builder's work. By focusing on their existing customer base, homebuilders can generate more qualified leads and increase the chances of repeat business.

Get Testimonials

Homebuilders should focus on testimonials because they are one of the most powerful, low-cost marketing tools available. Testimonials are a form of social proof that can help to build trust and credibility with potential buyers. They provide an unbiased and honest insight into the experience of working with a homebuilder and can help to overcome any objections a potential buyer may have. Additionally, testimonials can also help to demonstrate the quality of the homebuilder's work and the level of satisfaction of their previous customers.

This can make a big difference when potential buyers are trying to decide between different homebuilders. Furthermore, testimonials can also be used in different forms of marketing, such as on the homebuilder's website, in brochures, on social media, and in email campaigns. By showcasing testimonials from satisfied customers, homebuilders can boost their reputation and increase their chances of getting more business.

Capture Reviews

Creating a plan and process for capturing reviews is crucial for homebuilders looking to leverage the power of testimonials. Not only do reviews add a human element to your marketing and help you build trust early in the process, they also impact your google ranking.

To start, set a goal for the number of reviews you want to collect and set a timeline for achieving that goal. Once that goal has been set, create a process for capturing reviews that is easy and convenient for customers to complete. This can include sending out automated email requests to write a review after the sale or even having a dedicated page on the website to leave a review. Additionally, homebuilders can also ask for reviews in person or by phone, but it's important to make sure the process is not intrusive or uncomfortable for the customer.

Once reviews have been collected, they should be carefully curated and promoted in a way that is consistent with the homebuilder's brand. Homebuilders should also make sure to respond to negative reviews in a professional and constructive manner. By creating a plan and process for capturing reviews, homebuilders can ensure that they are consistently collecting valuable feedback from their customers, which can help to increase credibility, boost reputation, and generate more leads.

Get Buyers to Your Website

A well-designed website is an excellent platform for businesses of all sizes to reach their target audience. It’s essential that builders have an online presence; this allows people who are looking for construction services to find you easily and quickly.

Having a great website isn't enough. You need to get the right people to your site. Generating more web traffic for a homebuilder can be done in a variety of different ways. One effective method is to optimize website content with targeted keywords, which will help it rank higher in search engine results pages. Additionally, hosting informative webinars and creating useful materials such as buyer's guides or FAQs can attract potential clients to your site.

Capture Potential Clients

Two-thirds of homebuyers spend 3 months looking for a home before going under contract and look at 19 homes. Having a plan to stay in front of those buyers throughout the process will set you apart.

A lead capture process can help to collect contact information and other relevant data from potential buyers, which can be used to create targeted and personalized email campaigns. This can increase the chances of reaching the right customer at the right time.

Additionally, email campaigns can be used to educate potential buyers about the homebuilding process, the benefits of buying a new home, and the unique selling points of the homebuilder's business. This can help to build trust and credibility with potential buyers, and increase the chances of them becoming customers.

Email campaigns can also be used to nurture leads by providing valuable content and keeping them engaged with the homebuilder's business. By having a lead capture process and email campaign, homebuilders can increase the chances of reaching and converting potential buyers into customers.

Don't shy away from talking about building science

One way for home builders to differentiate themselves in a tight home-buying market is by emphasizing building science in their marketing and sales efforts. With building codes becoming more and more stringent and new money on the table from the Inflation Reduction Act, you're likely already spending money doing extra things that improve the performance of a home. If you aren't talking about those things in ways that potential customers care about, you're missing opportunities to differentiate yourself.

By highlighting the building science techniques and materials used in the construction of their homes, homebuilders can appeal to buyers who are looking for energy-efficient and sustainable homes. However, it's important to communicate this information in a way that is easy for homebuyers to understand.

By taking the time to explain these concepts in an easy-to-understand way, homebuilders can demonstrate their commitment to quality construction and give peace of mind to buyers. For example, instead of using technical jargon, use simple terms and provide visuals that clearly demonstrate the benefits of building science. Explaining key aspects of building science such as the impact of airtightness on energy bills or how radiant-heat flooring works not only helps reduce confusion for homebuyers but also builds trust between them and the builder. This can help homebuyers understand the value and long-term benefits of investing in a home that is built with building science principles and differentiate your homes from the competition.

Construction marketing is essential to stand out from the competition and win more customers. Start with your existing customers, leverage testimonials and reviews, capture and convert leads and share insights into your building process.