Welcome to the world of New Home Marketing! Whether you are new to marketing or coming over from another industry, you are bound to run into a few surprises as you start your new role. Marketing new homes can be very rewarding. You are helping people find their first or next home–a place where they will spend time with friends and family, creating memories that will last a lifetime. 

But many challenges come with these rewards. New home marketing can be fast-paced, and the customer journey is a lot longer than you will experience in other industries. Home buying is an extremely emotional purchase decision, so there is added pressure to connect with your audience on a deeper level.

I joined the industry in 2013. Although I had an extensive background in marketing, I had a bit of a learning curve. Here are a few things I picked up along the way:

It’s easy to think you can just bring digital tactics over from another industry or get best practices from any digital marketing publication. Unfortunately, many things that work well for e-commerce or other industries, just don’t translate over to home building. In home building, our buyer journey is long because people generally spend months researching their new home. Going after the “most eyeballs” is not very effective in our industry, and you would need a very large budget to be effective with this approach.

That’s not to say you should ignore all of the non-industry tools and publications out there. You will definitely benefit from learning all you can, then adjusting the strategy to work for homebuilding.

Part of your job is educating potential buyers on the process of buying and building a home with you. To do this effectively, you need to understand the process well enough to explain it simply to your audience.

A deep understanding of the process will also help you manage your time appropriately. By communicating with your Operations team and understanding the milestones and timing of building a home, you can better prepare for new community launch campaigns. 

You should be visiting your communities and competitors’ communities often! You need to make sure your communities are presented well to your potential buyers and know what the competitor is offering and how they are positioning themselves. The best way to do this is in person.

You also want to have the opportunity to hear the sales presentation from each member of the sales team and hear what customers are asking and saying about your homes. By listening to potential buyers as they tour your models, you will be able to craft a more effective story to use within your marketing.

I never would have expected how some people behave in model homes. Ask any new home marketer, and you are sure to hear some funny stories! From people doing their “Christmas Shopping” in model homes, to eating faux food on display, to bathroom mishaps, the list goes on and on.

Sometimes it can feel difficult to find industry-specific resources online to help you learn your role. This industry is made up of some very intelligent and generous people. Find a mentor, make friends with other marketers in the industry, and help each other to learn and grow.