The Benefits of Internet Marketing for Builders and Renovators
Marketing has taken some new turns in the last few years, and most of them lead to the internet.
With the proliferation of PC’s and of smart phones and tablets, the internet has taken the place of the old methods, such as the printed yellow pages, for an easy method of finding businesses.
You Have a Website – Isn’t That Enough?
Many businesses have a ‘brochure type’ website. It looks nice, it has pictures, it gives the address and phone number, but when someone searches for “home builder”, that website is nowhere to be seen. Or … maybe if you go to page 22 of the search results, it might show up.
Unfortunately, people who search for a business on Google, or any other search engine, don’t make it all the way to page 22. In fact, they rarely go past page 1 or 2.
So, if your website is not on page 1 or 2, then you have less chance of attracting any business through it … so how much is that website actually worth?
Why Traditional Marketing Costs More than Internet Marketing
Traditional marketing normally costs quite a lot of money; such as radio, TV, newspaper ads, even the yellow pages. But, the argument is that it provides a lot of exposure, which is true.
When you do an ad campaign in traditional media, you are hoping to find the few people out of the entire readership or listenership or viewership who
(1) actually see or hear the ad
(2) are interested in your services in the first place
(3) are seeing the ad exactly when they need it
(4) and are ready at that moment to call to find out more
This is why, in traditional marketing, the statistics of only 1% to 5% become warm leads, applies. It’s not particularly “targeted” marketing for the most part.
This also brings us to the question of return on investment. Did the traditional marketing activity give you a good ROI?
With the internet, it does cost money to have a service help you with your internet marketing; but the difference is, what you are pulling towards you are people who are ALREADY searching for your exact services.
It is very finely tuned “targeted marketing”. Instead of pushing-out advertising and hoping to land a potential customer, you are drawing-in the people who are actually looking for you.
With internet marketing you don’t have to send a blanket promotion to 50,000 people in order to find 5 leads. Your website should attract ONLY those people looking for what you do.
And, if you’ve got the time, and have the interest to learn, then you can do some of the internet marketing yourself.
The ROI with targeted marketing through the internet is excellent because, with the right program, you attract only those people who are already searching for your services.
Why Does Internet Marketing Work for Builders and Renovators?
Because people ARE searching for you. As example, the words “west Vancouver home builders” is searched 140 times a month. What if 5% of those searches resulted in a call to your company? Seven warm leads per month is a fairly good statistic.
The other reason internet marketing works better than something like a static ad or page is pictures. Builders and renovators have the enviable position of showing what they can do with gorgeous images, that look great on a computer (and not so great in a newspaper) and all people love pictures!
What else do pictures bring to the table? Ideas. If Mary is looking for a renovator and sees pictures of a before and after that would suit her neighbor Joyce … you have a built-in advocate and promoter. She can send Joyce this information by email; or Instagram; or on Facebook, etc.
Don’t stop everything else you’re doing, just add the internet.
Which Brings Us to Social Media
It’s NOT just for the kids anymore. The statistics can be staggering. In Canada alone there are over 17 million people on Facebook. Pinterest has 10 million unique visitors a month. It has 25 million members and that’s growing every day.
In terms of search engines, Google is the top. Google considers social media to an extremely important factor to a website. This is why very big corporations like Chrysler.com and Telus.com as well as HAVAN.org, are all involved in social media.
Social media has become a major element of internet marketing. It is a way to engage with people, to stay connected and top of mind, and more importantly, to direct them to your website.
Think of Marketing on the Internet as Another Tool
Your potential buyers are searching for your services. They are looking for you in many different ways; from searching on Google to looking through Pinterest. It’s not going to go away or get less. There are so many benefits to internet marketing that it’s hard to list them all in one short article.
The bottom line is: builders and renovators need to use internet marketing as one of their tools for attracting more business.
Wren spent many years as a senior executive managing various companies and portfolios before founding Results Professional Marketing. She specializes in marketing, internet marketing, and business consulting. ResultsPM is proud to have the award winning Kerr Construction as one of their premier clients.
