To get the most bang from your marketing buck, focus on keeping current clients happy and attracting attention from the type of clients who are most likely to buy from you. Concentrate on meaningful, top-quality interactions with a small handful of past and potential buyers instead of blanketing your entire geographical area with spam e-mails or direct mail.
When you focus on a small group of clients who are actually in the market for a new custom home, you have a much greater likelihood of making the sale. Use the tips below to attract potential customers as well as to keep existing customers happy and ready to refer you to their friends and family.
- Create a unique experience for existing customers. Do something different and special for them; it doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. Present them with a framed photo of their home or tasteful new address labels to keep your company on their minds.
- Cultivate your relationship with existing customers. Keep in touch, with no agenda other than to be friendly. Just express genuine interest about topics such as their kids, their health, or their vacation. My bank does this with me every so often, and it has paid off for them because I recommend them to friends and associates.
- Give away information that will improve a potential customer’s business or personal life. You have special insights as a result of your business experience that can help your customers. Send them a note with a helpful tip or free advice about something that interests them. One of my vendors recently sent me a motivational book that I really enjoyed and found quite useful.
- Deliver more than customers expect. To do this, talk about what a client’s expectations are. Once clearly defined, exceed those expectations with service, products, communication, or extra value. For example, an electrical trade contractor doing some work at my office recently suggested a cheaper, faster way to fix my electrical problem. Even though I didn’t spend as much money with him as I could have, my service expectations were exceeded.
- Make everything relevant to your customer. The problem with direct-mail-type marketing is that so little of it directly applies to the people you are trying to reach. When you address the specific needs of potential home buyers, it creates an immediate attraction.
- See yourself as a customer magnet. Your mindset about your business will have more of an impact than any strategy, policy, or procedure. When you move through your business day with the mind-set of helping your customers rather than taking from your customers, you’ll place your business in a very attractive position.
In marketing your company, offer something of value to the clients and potential clients who mean the most to you. Your marketing will be more streamlined and your likelihood of referrals and new sales will skyrocket.
Paul Montelongo has been a builder for more than 23 years and is a nationally recognized speaker and consultant to the construction industry. Visit Paul at www.contractorofchoice.com.
