Using Content to Connect with and Engage Homebuyers throughout the Digital Journey to a New Home...

USING CONTENT TO CONNECT WITH AND ENGAGE HOMEBUYERS

THROUGHOUT THE DIGITAL JOURNEY TO

A NEW HOME PURCHASE

CONTENTSTRATEGY

CONVERSIONMARKETING

CUSTOMERACQUISTION

I N T E G R A T E D M E D I A S E R V I C E S

DIGITAL JOURNEY TO A NEW HOME PURCHASE

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© ASTRALCOM 2016. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners.

CONTENT STRATEGY | CONVERSION MARKETING | CUSTOMER ACQUISITION

Contents

This Information will aid homebuilders in using content to connect with and engage homebuyers throughout the online journey to a new home purchase.

Introduction.............................................................................................................................3

The Digital Home Buying Journey Overview............................................................................5

Understanding The Phases of the House Buying Journey........................................................7

• Awareness • Consideration • Intent • Decision

Summary...............................................................................................................................14

Resources..............................................................................................................................15

DIGITAL JOURNEY TO A NEW HOME PURCHASEIntroduction

While the overall psychological process of consumers buying a new home and homebuilders selling a new home hasn’t changed, how consumers interact with homebuilder brands has. Moreover, the ways and means – the customer touchpoints – that consumers use to engage with brands is a fluid and constantly changing environment. Yet, amidst all that fluidity, marketers search for some method to the madness. Inherently, we all know there is at least one. There must be a “typical” buying process that homebuyers today use in deciding on the new home that they ultimately purchase.

With 90% of home buyers searching online during their home buying journey, it makes sense for marketers to understand that process and how typical homebuyers use the internet as a way to engage with, and ultimately decide on, purchasing from a new homebuilder.

From a digital marketer’s perspective, this whole course of action – this journey – really boils down to the Four C’s;

1. Content 2. Click-Thru-Ratio (CTR) 3. Customer Experience Context 4. Conversion

It is important to note that the Four C’s have been listed in order. Content drives CTR into a Customer Experience context; which ultimately drives Conversions. This tenet will become evident further along in this document.

We also know from research and experience that higher cost items (like a new home purchase) require more content to support a sale, than does a lower cost item (e.g., mp3 player). If you’ve read our Social Commerce Tactical Guide for 2015, then you’ll understand the age-old internet axiom: Content is king.

But what kind of content? How should it be used? When?

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http://www.astralcom.com/#/social-media-tactical-guide

http://www.astralcom.com/#/social-media-tactical-guide

DIGITAL JOURNEY TO A NEW HOME PURCHASEIntroduction (Cont’d)

This document serves as a roadmap for homebuilders to aid in accomplishing the following fundamental objectives when creating content marketing strategies;

• Understanding the homebuyer journey. • Recognizing channel syntax: What channels and when? • Defining appropriate content: Which content goes where?

Presented as a general overview, this information will aid homebuilders in using content to connect with and engage homebuyers throughout the online journey to a new home purchase. It is a culmination of working with dozens of BUILDER 100 homebuilders over a 20-year span, gaining valuable insight and knowledge, testing our theories in real-market circumstances and learning from other industry professionals and thought leaders. It’s a direct result of delivering outstanding results in content strategy, conversion marketing and customer acquisition for our homebuilder clients.

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The Digital Home Buying Journey Overview

By understanding the homebuyer journey and effectively leveraging customer touchpoints along the way, your brand can develop a quicker affinity and deeper engagement with homebuyers.

According to NAR and Realtor.org, in any given year, typically there is a 1.75 million unit inventory of used homes; a four-month supply in a standard 3-4 month sales cycle.

http://www.astralcom.com/content-is-king-context-is-queen-conversion-is-the-royal-heir/

DIGITAL JOURNEY TO A NEW HOME PURCHASEThe Digital Home Buying Journey Overview (Cont’d)

It is this very same 3-4 month sales cycle that has become the homebuyer journey to a new home purchase. Along this journey, homebuyers will consume various types of content, across multiple channels and in different types of context. These “accumulated instances” will play a key role as they come to a decision on which homebuilder they will buy from.

Some important facts from Realtor.org help to underscore the need to meet homebuyers at the different points along their journey;

• Real estate related searches on Google.com have grown 253% over the past 4 years • Buyers use specific online tools during different phases of the home search process • How important “local” search terms and websites are for buyers • How mobile technology connects online to offline home buying—including the reading of online reviews • 31% of home shoppers who take action on a real estate site are aged 25-34, surpassing all other ages

As for first-time vs. repeat homebuyers:

• First-time homebuyers: 32% • Median age of first-time homebuyers: 31 • Median age of repeat homebuyers: 53 • Median household income of first-time homebuyers: $69,400 • Median household income of repeat homebuyers: $98,700

When it comes to the Top 5 home buying reasons:

1. Desire to own a home of my own 30% 2. Desire for larger home 11% 3. Job-related relocation or move 9% 4. Change in family situation 8% 5. Affordability of homes 7%

Each of these facts and others should inspire homebuilders to create contextual content around their offerings that is designed to be consumed – and acted upon – by homebuyers at different points along their journey.

With the Four C’s (Content, CTR, Context, Conversion) serving as guideposts, we want to discuss the homebuyer online journey as a linear process that begins with creating awareness. As you move along the linear pathway – from awareness, to consideration, to intent and onto decision – you will notice various channel tactics at play. These contextual instances are where content plays a vital role in the customer experience and, ultimately, in conversions.

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DIGITAL JOURNEY TO A NEW HOME PURCHASEUnderstanding the Phases of the Home Buying Journey

1. AwarenessThe start of the customer journey. The top of the sales funnel. It’s where the buying cycle starts and the first opportunity that consumers have to interact with your brand. Some homebuyers may already know your brand and some may not. Some may be looking for specific information related to new homes, but not necessarily one of your homes or communities – at least not yet.

This phase of the homebuyer journey presents multiple excellent opportunities to connect your brand with these homebuyers and to begin to influence their decision-making process, earlier in the customer journey. However, these aren’t “selling” opportunities. Rather, they are instances by which to create interest and engagement with homebuyers.

Google calls these “Assisting Interactions” that build awareness, consideration, and intent earlier in the homebuyer journey or purchase funnel. Content that attracts, entertains and engages homebuyers and that fits the context of their journey across channels goes a long way in generating interest and connecting with homebuyers at the start of the sales cycle.

Since generic search terms like “home for sale,” or “buy new home” constitute 72% of all searches, it’s clear that brand-related searches aren’t even being considered by most homebuyers at this stage of their journey. In fact, only 17% of searches are brand-only. Furthermore, according to Think Real Estate with Google, 75% of homebuyers who start with a generic search and end with a generic search convert and opposed to 40% that start their search with a brand name.

Message/Content a. Educate; • New vs Used – Demonstrate the value and savings of a new home over a used one. • Rent vs Own – Demonstrate the value and savings owing a home instead of renting. • Establish Wants and Needs – Help determine the wants and needs of homebuyers. • Choose Where to Live – Educate homebuyers on the livability of your communities. • Infographics – That help explain the home buying journey and the various attributes of buying a new home. b. Content for calls-to-action (CTA); • Create account. • Newsletter sign-up. • Online chat.

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http://www.astralcom.com/when-does-the-buyer-journey-start-when-does-it-end/

http://www.astralcom.com/situational-search-advertising-right-message-right-place-right-time/

DIGITAL JOURNEY TO A NEW HOME PURCHASEUnderstanding the Phases of the Home Buying Journey (Cont’d)

Channels a. SEO • Organic search results via SEO, local search matches, images, video, keyword optimized press releases and RSS/XML feeds to news channels. b. PPC • Generic search keywords and terms c. Blog influencers and other referring sites • 3rd party feeds to real estate sites, bloggers, news channels and industry-specific sources.

These specific channels may result in different outcomes for your brand, depending on when homebuyers interact with each one. In this beginning part of the journey, these channels help homebuyers develop an awareness of your brand.

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2. ConsiderationWelcome to the middle of the road. This is where homebuyers are collecting information, building ideas, looking for inspiration and otherwise creating a short-list. They are currently, “Just looking” at homebuilders that have caught their interest. Casual browsing. Looking for what attracts and inspires. Onsite engagement and the visitor experience are paramount at this stage of the journey.

Defining their wants and needs, what they can afford, and what each community they are considering has to offer. This phase of the purchase funnel is where content really does its job. No, we’re still not selling or otherwise directly talking about homes, lots, or floor plans, just yet.

Content at this phase of the journey needs to educate homebuyers in a way that helps them come to an understanding about the value of your brand. Homebuyers typically use different channels during this phase of their journey than they did in their last phase. So, naturally your content, messaging and channel use will need to take this into consideration.

These instances are also considered “Assisting Interactions” that tend to build consideration and initiate intent earlier in the homebuyer journey or purchase funnel.

Creating content that helps educate and inspire, and that fits the context of homebuyers’ journeys across appropriate channels, goes a long way in creating stronger engagement during the consideration phase of the sales cycle.

Consider that when also looking into schools, homebuyers spend 15 more days researching and they visit 40% more sites, according to Think Real Estate with Google. Therefore, creating content, across sites using display ads, landing pages and/or blog posts can help create deeper engagement with your brand.

Message/Content a. Educate/Inform; • Determine Affordability – with credit and loan info and calculators, assessments. • Configurators, Polls – Help create affinity with homebuyers by giving them the tools they need to make their decisions. b. Community-specific features and benefits focused content; • New community press releases – Highlighting the attributes of the floor plans, amenities and attributes. • Area attributes like schools, shopping, entertainment, etc c. User-generated content; • Reviews, ratings and testimonials. d. Mobile app/mobile experience-specific content • Properly designed responsive site pages or mobile version with sniffer, mobile specific ads. e. Content for calls-to-action (CTA); • Create account. • Newsletter sign-up. • Online chat. • Schedule appointment/Onsite tour.Channels a. Social media platforms • Ads. • Posts. b. Display • Syndicated, targeted ads. • Remarketing ads.

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http://www.astralcom.com/situational-search-advertising-right-message-right-place-right-time/

http://www.astralcom.com/social-commerce-and-the-relationship-economy-whats-all-the-hype/


c. Blog • Long form informative/educational content. d. Google+ • SERP-specific posts. e. Blog influencers • 3rd party feeds to real estate sites, bloggers, news channels and industry-specific sources. f. Email • Community and division-specific emails, general corporate/culture emails, highlight blog content and educational and informative content, with proper CTA’s leading to conversion processes. g. Videos • Video content that helps explain, inform and educate homebuyers on the value of new homes vs used homes, competitive differentiators and/or building processes. YouTube channel with videos properly SEO’d, video pre-roll ads.

These specific channels may result in different outcomes for your brand, depending on when homebuyers interact with each one. In this middle part of the journey, these channels help create engagement with homebuyers considering your brand.

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3. IntentOn the fence? So is your homebuyer in this phase of their journey. It’s come down to their top choices and this is where your brand’s competitive differentiators (and maybe an incentive) will make or break the deal. They are focused on researching and engaging with their top-choice homebuilders. Here is where your brand needs to clearly stand apart from the others.

Content at this phase of the journey should highlight the reasons why your brand is a better fit for homebuyers. From energy-efficiency and builder process, to personalization and warranty; this is where homebuyers are making decisions about the brands that truly connect with them, provide value, and deliver inspiration.

By this time, homebuyers are most likely on your email list and should be receiving content that helps them to shape their expectations about your homes and communities and how your competitive differentiators add even more value.

Google calls these instances “Last Interactions” that act as the last points of contact, prior to a purchase decision.

Creating content that helps educate and inspire and that fits the context of homebuyers’ journeys across appropriate channels directly helps homebuyers review and decide on which brands to focus on, during the intent phase of the sales cycle.

Message/Content a. Inspire/Differentiate; • Builder vs Builder – Demonstrate why your homes and communities are better than the competition. • Personalization – Inspire homebuyers with personalization offerings. • Location – Show how your communities are connected to jobs, schools, shopping, culture and transportation. • Price Point – Leverage the price points of your communities and homes. • Energy-efficiency – Clarify how your energy-efficient homes reduce the cost of home ownership. • Builder Process – Explain how your builder process enhances the homebuilding process and experience. • Warranty – Define your warranty process in basic terms that will make homebuyers feel comfortable and have trust in your brand. • Floor plan options, amenities, etc – Engage homebuyers with deep information and interactive content. • Post-purchase Value-added Services – Package and promote any services and/or offerings that will help create additional value after the sale. • Assessments, Configurators, Polls – Help create affinity with homebuyers by giving them the tools they need to make their decisions. • User-generated content – Leverage appropriate content created by users to help create brand evangelists and viral activity. • Mobile app/mobile experience – Ensure content is consumable via mobile devices. b. Content for calls-to-action (CTA); • Create account. • Newsletter sign-up. • Online chat. • Schedule appointment/Onsite tour.

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http://www.astralcom.com/the-mathemagical-customer-conversion-formula-part-1/

http://www.astralcom.com/the-mathemagical-customer-conversion-formula-part-1/

http://www.astralcom.com/energy-efficiency-the-undiscovered-instant-edge-for-homebuilders/


Channels a. Social media platforms • Create engagement with home buyers. Likes, click-thru’s, shares, etc, interact with users and leverage user-generated content. b. Social media ads • Post coupons/specials/add-on’s and other incentives. c. Display ads • Evoking achievement and lifestyle. d. Remarketing (with incentive) • Focusing on value and competitive differentiators. e. PPC Brand – relative • Brand-centric, community and/or differentiator-specific contextual ads. f. Email • Community and division-specific emails, highlight blog content and differentiating and inspiring content, with proper CTA’s leading to conversion processes. g. Direct, as a result of brand awareness • Including website URL in offline marketing (i.e, flyers, billboards, brochures, etc). • Encouraging visitors to bookmark the website.

These specific channels may result in different outcomes for your brand, depending on when homebuyers interact with each one. In this middle part of the journey, these channels help create inspiration, desire and cultivate interest from homebuyers engaging with your brand.

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Understanding the Phases of the Home Buying Journey (Cont’d)

4. DecisionCongratulations! Your homebuyer has just completed their journey and has decided on your brand. Well, mostly anyway. While the majority of homebuyers at this stage of the journey have typically made their decision, some may still need a bit of coaxing to help remove the last elements of friction and/or anxiety. So, revisiting or reintroducing content from an earlier phase (assessments, calculators, polls, warranty, builder process, loan application assistance, etc), or connecting with new content focused on these last-stage homebuyer concerns, can help move them to decision.

These instances are also considered “Last Interactions” that act as the last point of contact prior to a purchase decision.

Message/Content a. Reaffirm/Assure; • Assessments, Configurators, Polls – Help create affinity with homebuyers by giving them the tools they need to make their decisions. • User-generated content – Leverage appropriate content created by users to help create brand evangelists and viral activity. b. Content for calls-to-action (CTA); • Create account. • Newsletter sign-up. • Online chat. • Schedule appointment/Onsite tour. • Hand-off to sales.Channels a. Social media platforms • Leveraging user-generated content • Creating brand evangelists b. Remarketing • Assuring/affirming content in display. c. PPC Brand-relative • Assuring/affirming content in search. d. Email • Assuring/affirming content in email that points to user-generated content in blog and in social platforms. e. Direct • Including website URL in offline marketing (i.e, flyers, billboards, brochures, etc). • Encouraging visitors to bookmark the website.

http://www.astralcom.com/the-long-sometimes-winding-road-to-a-conversion/


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Summary

Often, we think of sales as a direct result of some advertising, marketing, social media or public relations function. A homebuyer sees your search listing or display ad and then performs a conversion action on your website. While that certainly can be the case, many times, it isn’t.

In fact, we typically see a very circuitous route that homebuyers take – sometimes visiting a website multiple times – prior to performing a conversion action (i.e., a form submission). Homebuyers may first do generic paid search and then end up on your website, but not perform a conversion action. That same user may then visit another site and see/click on your display ad, go back to your site, but still not convert. Then, that same homebuyer may do an organic search leading back to your site, but not convert. Finally, the same user may directly type your website address, then visit your Facebook page, then go back to your website and then perform a conversion action.

Look at line 12 above, as a real-life homebuilder example. This particular homebuyer visited 39 times via multiple channels including organic, direct, social, paid search and referral, before converting.

Line 21, by comparison, shows a homebuyer visiting twice via two channels, display ad and paid search, before performing a conversion action.

It is for these reasons that a multichannel content strategy will enable you to sell more homes, more consistently and in a shorter amount of time. This is done by connecting with and engaging homebuyers throughout their journey with content that is relevant, provides value and is created in a way that builds trust and instills a sense of genuine confidence. When your content proactively addresses homebuyers’ needs, your brand will resonate with them and they will buy your homes. They could even become your brand evangelists.


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Resources

• realtor.org/sites/default/files/Study-Digital-House-Hunt-2013-01_1.pdf • slideshare.net/fred.zimny/mckinsey-theconsumer-decision-journey • thinkwithgoogle.com• realtor.org/reports/real-estate-in-a-digital-age• gstatic.com/ads/research/en/2010_The_Home_Buyer_Online_Journey.pdf• apps.ioninteractive.com/site/interactive/content-across-buyers-journey • silverpop.com/Documents/Whitepapers/2015/Customer-Journey-Maps-WP-2015-Silverpop.pdf • realtor.org/sites/default/files/reports/2016/embargoes/ehs-2-23/ehs-01-2016-overview-2016-02-23.pdf • mortgagenewsdaily.com/data/home-sales-new.aspx • census.gov/construction/nrs/pdf/soldann.pdf• astralcom.com/the-mathemagical-customer-conversion-formula-part-1 • astralcom.com/the-long-sometimes-winding-road-to-a-conversion• astralcom.com/situational-search-advertising-right-message-right-place-right-time• astralcom.com/when-does-the-buyer-journey-start-when-does-it-end• astralcom.com/content-is-king-context-is-queen-conversion-is-the-royal-heir


I N T E G R A T E D M E D I A S E R V I C E S © ASTRALCOM 2016. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners.


About ASTRALCOM

You build homes. We build homebuilders.

With homebuilder marketing and customer experience solutions from ASTRALCOM, you’ll connect with more homebuyers across more channels and sell more homes, more consistently; just like our other homebuilder clients.

Using proven tactics in web, search, social, mobile and print, ASTRALCOM delivers outstanding results for homebuilders across the nation.

Just as you build relationships with homebuyers, we build relationships with homebuilders. We help them connect with homebuyers in more inspiring and meaningful ways. We create engagement with homebuyers in ways that deliver true value and that result in more new home sales. Choose an agency that knows how to move homebuyers toward new home ownership.

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I N T E G R A T E D M E D I A S E R V I C E S © ASTRALCOM 2016. All logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners.


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You build homes. We build homebuilders.

With homebuilder marketing and customer experience solutions from ASTRALCOM, you’ll connect with more homebuyers across more channels and sell more homes, more consistenly; just like our other homebuilder clients.

We create engagement with homebuyers in ways that deliver true value and that result in more new home sales. Partner-up with ASTRALCOM.

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Using Content to Connect with and Engage Homebuyers throughout the Digital Journey to a New Home...

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