How Digital Tools Open Up Opportunities to Sell Green

By Glenn Renner
HomeSphere President & COO

 

The housing recovery is in full swing, with new home sales running 23 percent over 2012, and single-family permits expected to continue to grow to 805,000 in 2014. (John Burns Real Estate Consulting, A Mid-Year Checkpoint on the Housing Industry, August 2013). This boom represents an obvious opportunity for builders and developers, but the market isn’t coming back in the same old way. It returns in the digital age, in an online marketplace that allows home buyers to interrupt the normal sales process, finding new products, techniques or providers on their own. To compete, building sales professionals need to change their ways. The secret is to become savvy marketers and develop a strong value proposition for current and potential customers.

To stay on top of the cresting wave, builders, developers and product manufacturers will need to retool their practices with digital marketing strategies that meet customers where they are – on the Internet, smartphones and tablets.

The term “digital marketing” is broad, encompassing a rash of techniques and tactics. The easiest way to describe the shift in thinking? Have dinner with a teenager. You’ll quickly see that digital interaction has far surpassed personal interaction, and savvy marketers need to respond in kind. When some of us started in the industry, potential buyers went to our church, shopped at our grocery store or lived down the street. In today’s market, potential customers could be across town, in a different state, even across the country – but they are all on the Web.

Just as our potential customers come from a much broader geographical base, they also have a much broader knowledge base. Blame it on Google Search, but potential customers can learn a great deal about your products before they have ever spoken to a sales person. They arrive in your sales funnel well-informed about your product – and your competitor’s.

According the National Association of Realtors, 90% of homebuyers used the Internet as a source of information during their home search in 2012. 76% of those who viewed a home online drove past it and 62% toured the home. Having a detailed website with floor plans, photos, available options, development information and more is critical in today’s market.

This is much different than the sales process of the past, which began with a “cold lead,” usually found through static advertisements or cold-calling, with all information controlled by the sales team. Because today’s buyers access information prior to expressing interest to an internal source, sales teams must work in conjunction with their marketing departments to educate potential customers using digital tools such as social media, display, paid and organic search, targeted email and other types of behavior-based digital advertising.

The new environment requires a change in thinking, but digital marketing programs actually give sales pros more time to build relationships with customers – as they spend less time generating prospects and chasing cold leads. An added bonus: no more cold calling.

Another advantage provided by digital marketing is the opportunity for a more consultative sale. Now that potential buyers can learn the basics on your company’s website, through online reviews or via social media, sales people can become teachers and treasure troves of knowledge, with sage advice on new products, market research and buyer preferences that lead to a lasting relationship with the customer.

Take sustainable building, for example. If a potential buyer has accessed preliminary information about your product on the web, a sales call or a meeting offers your sales team an opportunity to talk about more detailed features – such as your company’s commitment to green or sustainable building.  In a recent report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) entitled “What Home Buyers Really Want,” 91 percent of buyers said Energy Star rating is a top priority. Moreover, 9 out of 10 consumers are more likely to buy from companies that are sustainable, and will switch brands to greener products. The consultative sales call gives you the chance to shine (energy efficiently, of course) and deliver information that will close the sale.

Many resources – including your own suppliers and distributors – are available to help pros stay ahead of the customer curve. Suppliers like Boral, Ply Gem, Lennox and Icynene have a wealth of information about product usage, customer preferences and products that can help sales pros close the deal. Imagine anticipating the needs of energy-conscious buyers with such innovative products as low-energy windows, smog-eating roof tiles and solar-powered HVAC.

The bottom line is this: today’s new homebuilders need a broader mix of marketing tactics that combine (among others) personal interactions, online advertisements, social media and referral generation, and traditional tactics. The good news is that digital marketing campaigns and their results are generated in real time – allowing for less expensive trial and error. As long as your team gets started, is willing to learn, and remains open and flexible, digital marketing can deliver those prospects to your virtual doorstep and, eventually, to the doorstep of their newest home.