Jay S. Grant
Few small home builders have a marketing program as comprehensive as the one in place at Grant Homes. The custom builder covers all its bases — newspapers, the Web, real estate agents, and of course potential home buyers — with a variety of well-designed and well-targeted efforts.
Jay Grant doesn’t miss a chance to spread the word about his company through local newspapers. Any time Jay or Grant Homes is involved in an event, a press release goes out to local papers. A release reporting on a seminar he gave at the 2002 International Builders’ Show rang up stories in several local papers.
The company’s involvement in local charitable events, such as participating in an effort to build a playground in memory of a local child, also keeps Grant Homes in the public eye. The builder hosted a fundraiser for the playground at a completed house in its Water’s Edge project, a four-lot subdivision of $1.6 million-plus custom homes in Mendham, N.J. In addition to raising thousands (which Grant Homes matched), the event drew 100 people to the project and nudged a potential buyer to purchase the house before the event.
The builder actively promotes to local real estate agents with periodic mailings and small branded gifts. When a house is completed, Grant Homes invites agents to a luncheon where they can tour the house and any available lots.
Grant Homes also produces a slick 20-page “magazine” that features professional photos of completed houses that is sent to prospective clients. The company also maintains a well-designed Web site that is updated weekly.
Grant Homes’ marketing program allows it to reach deep into the community in positive, reputation-enhancing ways. It’s the kind of program that puts a custom builder in control of the clients he takes on and the types of houses he builds.
Grant Homes, Morristown, N.J. Type of business: custom and spec builder, developer; Years in business: 18; Employees: 10; 2001 volume: $7,000,000; 2001 starts: 7
George Lewis – Marketing
George Lewis is way past the point of having to establish a reputation. After all, he’s worked in tony north Dallas neighborhoods like Oak Lawn, Turtle Creek, and Preston Hollow for over 30 years. None of the remodels or new homes that he builds is more than a 20-minute drive from his office. His subs, too, are local. Because Lewis works in such a small, close-knit area, most of his jobs come from client referrals.
So when marketing director Carolyn Henson and Lewis launched a marketing campaign, they opted not to reinvent the wheel. “George already had the recognition,” says Henson. “Our idea was to take all that word of mouth and make it into an ad campaign.” Henson’s graphic design firm, Carolyn Henson Communications, created ads featuring photos of clients’ homes, carefully chosen and taken by an architectural photographer. The ads ran in two popular local publications, D Magazine and D Home & Gardens.
Sixty-five percent of D Magazine’s subscribers live in the ZIP codes where Lewis builds, and D Home & Gardens goes to every interior designer in town. Lewis and Henson intended the ads to excite their clients, as well as the architects, interior designers, and landscape architects with whom they work. “People call their friends and say, ‘Did you see my house in D Magazine?'” Henson says. “Some clients have even called us and asked why their house isn’t in the ad.”
By designing ads meant for its own clients, the company encourages them to spread the word about George Lewis Custom Homes even more heartily than they normally would. “We don’t have a precise tracking system,” says Lewis. “But I can tell you that prospects mention the ads frequently — probably two to four times per quarter.”
The company’s Web site centers on the clients as well. Each page is splashed with big, beautiful photos of both new and remodeled homes. Renovations and remodels make up a large portion of Lewis’ business, and conservative Dallas home buyers often prefer new houses to look like historic ones. So Henson and Lewis have made an effort to promote both aspects of the business on the Web site, in ads, and in postcards they occasionally mail out. By capitalizing on their strengths, they’ve made an already successful business even more so.
George Lewis Custom Homes, Dallas. Type of business: custom builder/remodeler; Years in business: 30; Employees: 9; 2001 volume: $10 million; 2001 starts: 5 new homes, 40 remodels
2002 Pacesetter Awards
Introduction
Excellence in Customer Service
Excellence in Design
Excellence in Management
Excellence in Production
