A few years ago, in the heyday of home equity and a booming remodeling business, remodelers could be more lax about their marketing. Now these owners are reviewing the value of every promotional dollar they spend. “Today, if I’m going to invest $50,000 in a certain item, I want to know my return. How many appointments am I setting from that investment?” says remodeler Todd Jackson, principal of Jackson Design & Remodeling, in San Diego.
Many remodelers reacted to the recession by slashing their marketing budgets, something that consultant Beverly Koehn of Beverly Koehn & Associates, in San Antonio, advises against. Due to social media, homeowners are even more brand-conscious than before. “They want to know you are healthy and have market presence,” Koehn says. “[Companies] that are cutting back on [their] marketing and advertising budget are stabbing themselves in the back.”
Credit: Dan Page
Koehn suggests that remodelers research their buyers and track leads so they can optimize their marketing spending. Jackson hired marketing director Coco Harper to help him focus Jackson Design & Remodeling’s message. “We started fine-tuning by asking who are our clients, who is making decisions, what attracts them, what detracts from our message,” he says. Jackson hired a research company to interview Jackson Design & Remodeling’s strongest clients about why they hired the remodeler.
Steve Gray, president of Steve Gray Renovations, in Indianapolis, knows that his clients have changed and is conducting a survey of Steve Gray Renovations’ 6,500 newsletter recipients to find out how best to reach them. He has already updated his website based on preliminary data from the survey.
Show Me the Value
Today’s recession-weary homeowners are more fearful and skeptical and are taking longer to make decisions. They are researching to find reliable companies that will closely monitor design and selections so that the client gets the best value for their investment. They are also being more conservative about product selections and want more control of their budgets.
“They want to know the resale value of a renovation,” says Art Donnelly, owner of Legacy Builders & Remodelers, in Holbrook, N.Y. “They are not choosing the cheapest guy because the investment means more to their pocket than it used to.”
Darius Baker, CEO of D&J Kitchens & Baths, in Sacramento, Calif., says that his company’s longevity is attractive to potential clients. “They want to play it safe and pick a known entity,” he points out. The company’s advertisements, trucks, and home show presence all contribute to its market presence. Matt Wright, owner of The HomeWright, in Carmel, Ind., finds that consumers who use online consumer rating site Angie’s List to research companies are strong leads. “People who review those reports are doing due diligence,” he says.
Buyers are becoming increasingly skeptical of bargains and believe that companies trying to buy their business with discounts are unstable, Koehn says. Consumers today are more likely to check homeowner references and to even ask to speak with trade contractors and vendors to verify a company’s financial stability.
Baker provides homeowners with a seven-page reference list arranged by ZIP code. It used to be rare for homeowners to call even one reference, he says. But after a recent meeting with the remodeler, one potential client called every reference in her ZIP code. Last year, 40% of Gray’s leads came from the company’s preferred partners, so when he updated his website last December, he dedicated a page to them and he encourages homeowners to use the subs, vendors, and suppliers on the list.
Baker created a list of 10 ways his company differs from its competitors, including such items as experience (in business 29 years) and reliability (proven systems allow the company to be efficient so it can deliver the best value). He then used the same items to create a list of 10 reasons why the company offers the best value.
He used the lists in a print advertisement, National Association of the Remodeling Industry directory ads, in direct-mail postcards, and on posters in his home show booth. He also created Chief Architect renderings for his booth to compare good (oak cabinets, vinyl floor, laminate countertops), better (maple cabinets, laminate floor, tile countertops), and best (cherry cabinets, tile floor, granite countertops) designs. “People can see the difference in price from $38,000 to $60,000. I’m getting the information to them before they know what they want,” Baker says.
Hitting the Mark
Gray’s goal is to create a lifetime client. “They become part of our salesforce,” he says. “But it’s a fast-paced life, so out of sight is out of mind.” His monthly electronic newsletter is his main contact vehicle. He also tries to call or e-mail clients once a month. If they’re doing a project in a past client’s neighborhood, he’ll call them to chat about their house. A few times a year he might bring or send them flowers.
Even in tough times, Baker guarded his 13-year advertising streak in a neighborhood newspaper. He feared that he would lose his strong brand recognition with the 45,000 readers or that they would assume he had gone out of business. In addition, 60% of Baker’s business in 2009 came from a January home show. “Those were the best results I’ve had from a home show in 29 years in business,” he says. He thinks it is due to the quality of the leads, even though attendance was down, with about 32,000 people attending the three-day show, compared to 55,000 in 2008. “The people that showed up had the money and were absolutely going to do something,” Baker says.
Social Outreach
Having a professional website and connecting to clients through social media are good ways to create buzz about your company. Some remodelers can tie leads directly to their websites. However, leads from social media are more difficult to measure. Some say it’s necessary to have a presence in both places to reassure homeowners who are researching online.
Gray’s business plan includes updating his website every three to five years. “Things change, society changes, and we want to use new technology,” he says. To that end, he launched a new site last month that is more clearly organized and is easier to navigate. “We are a highly visual industry,” he points out. “Tell a story about what you do and why you do it.”
He says that not only do potential clients want fresh content, but search engines pick up on updated content when ranking results. He periodically adds videos where he speaks about the company. The videos drive traffic to the site and they allow potential clients to get to know him. “Instead of interviewing people at their home, they are doing that by Internet now. They want to get a feel for us. Personality sells,” Gray says.
Jackson recently spent $50,000 to update his website, improving navigation and restructuring the site to use landing pages for specific subjects, thus optimizing the company’s rating and accuracy on search engines. He says that if someone is searching for aging-in-place information, he wants to link them directly to that section of his website, not route them through his home page. The site also features a blog, which has highlighted words that link to relevant sections on the company’s site.
Baker wants to expand the portfolio part of his website to include more before-and-after photos of midrange kitchen remodels so that prospects can see the full scope of work his company provides. One potential client who attended a home show where D&J Kitchens & Baths had a booth told Baker that, in looking at the company’s work, she felt as if she was shopping for a Volkswagen in a Rolls Royce showroom. She contacted him because she had seen modest kitchens on the digital picture frame in his booth.
Remodelers are still trying to figure out where social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs, and Twitter fit with their marketing plans. Koehn says that remodelers who assume that their website and social media reach a younger market are wrong: “It’s very much becoming universal. Anyone who has the wherewithal to make a purchasing decision of any magnitude uses the Internet.”
Harper says that Jackson Design & Remodeling’s Facebook page is just another avenue through which to define the company’s brand. “If someone is searching, Jackson is there,” she says.For Donnelly, word of mouth is more important today than in the past, and social media is a quick and easy way for people to share information and make referrals. Social media also provides a cost-effective method for marketing, he says, which is especially helpful during this recession. He has both a personal page and a company page on Facebook. “I needed to have both. I use my personal page to connect with friends and relatives — you never know what will come from that,” he says.
Donnelly uses a softer approach with the company’s Facebook page than with other marketing methods, adding personal information, photos, and tips for homeowners. He is encouraging past clients to “fan” the company’s Facebook page. “It has information that might make them more confident and [feel] safer in making the initial phone call,” he says. Wright cross-promotes his company’s website and Facebook page: “That stuff spreads like wildfire. I decided it will be part of my next marketing campaign.”Social media can be effective, Koehn says, if remodelers understand it and are using it appropriately. She hired a consultant to help her prepare a blog. She first sent him a few samples of her blogs, which he reviewed. His advice: reduce the amount of content and make the tone more casual and conversational.
Every marketing avenue should carry a consistent message. “Most make that brutal mistake of mixed signals,” Gray says. “Over here, they are talking about value and budgeting, and over there talking about high quality and craftsmanship.”
Baker says that National Association of the Remodeling Industry marketing staff encouraged him to create a Facebook page for his company, telling him that it provides yet another “impression” for potential clients. They also told him that updating his Facebook page contributes to his company’s position in Internet searches. He plans to add a note about Facebook to his print advertisements and says that remodelers should assign a specific employee to make updates on the site.
D&J Kitchens & Baths is remodeling a kitchen for a client who enthusiastically posts pictures of the project’s progress on her Facebook page and links them to D&J’s Facebook page. “A client can look at something posted by another client and, without contacting either one of us, follow the job and read the notes her friends have posted about how excited they are for her,” Baker says. “They get to look at the entire experience in a nonthreatening environment.”
Remodelers should use marketing to create a buzz about their company — to get people’s attention and make it fun. Gray’s new site features his dog and an animated version of himself. A tab on the site is labeled “fun stuff” and leads users to animated holiday cards and a video of quotes about taxes. “We want people to have personalities — that is how we make buying decisions,” he says.
Jackson uses his newsletter to promote open houses, seminars, and the company’s referral program. Instead of a gift certificate, he awards participating clients with an adventure or event, such as a kayaking trip for two, a hot-air balloon ride, or a wine tasting. “We’re creating an experience they will talk about,” he says.
—Nina Patel, senior editor, REMODELING.
This is a longer version of an article that appeared in the February 2010 issue of REMODELING.