Market Proof Marketing: New Home Builder Marketing Insights

Market Proof Marketing · The End Is Near for Google Analytics 3! Prep GA4 now Dennis O'Neil and Molly White join Andrew Peek to discuss the sunsetting of Google Analytics 3 (GA3) on July 1, 2023, and how to prepare for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) now. They review the differences between GA3 and GA4 and discuss why now is the time to create your new account so you can have year-over-year data when the mandatory change occurs next year. Plus they discuss the biggest challenges they believe markers will have to overcome to use and understand GA4.Andrew, Dennis, and Molly discuss:What makes Google Analytics 4 different from Google Analytics 3 (aka Universal Analytics)Why GA4 is forecasting more on events over sessions Understanding n Event vs a Session: An event is an action that someone has taken on your website in some shape or form and a session is a visit to the websiteWhy you should take this time to explore new tracking opportunities with GA4 The benefits of GA4, including the building of custom funnels vs ana

Market Proof Marketing · How Important Is Attribution Really? Andrew Peek, Julie Jarnagin, and Bryce Baker discuss what is attribution and how valuable it actually is, why overspending on a struggling community won’t help if there’s no content on your community page, the value of having an HOA, and more!Story Time (3:17)Julie created the word “slumpy” to describe the feeling behind how marketers feel about the conversions slowing down on their website. Andrew has issues with no context attribution leading to large-scale decisions at companies. Bryce asks the team their opinions on HOA’s and what they would be willing to spend for comfortSupporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Opendoor partners with homebuilders across the country in over 2,000 sales offices and has helped help generate more than $4 billion in new construction home sales. Visit Opendoor.com/doyouconvert to learn more about how you can partner with Opendoor. In the News April New Home

Market Proof Marketing · It’s Time To Show Your Work Kevin Oakley, Andrew Peek, and Sarah Simmerman argue around the vagueness of using the word “available” to reference homes on builder websites. They discuss what additional words you can have on your website to create more clarity around homes in different stages of construction. Plus Kevin is concerned for any marketers who may have been copying marketing homework from other builders as we shift into a different market and he shares year-over-year data changes for homebuilder website traffic from 2021 and 2019.Story Time (3:20)Sarah explores google analytics 4 and she explains why she loves the new interface and why bounce rates as a metric might no longer be tracked.Andrew asks the audience their opinions regarding the phrase “now available” for homes online.Kevin shares the awkward story of two builders who may have used “copy/paste” behavior to create marketing content. Plus he shares a few stories from an event he went to where Elon Musk presented. Sup

Market Proof Marketing · Lean Into The Market Shift Kevin Oakley, Jackie Lipinski, and Samantha Matlock (soon to be Kelleburger) discuss what ratio of leads should be that come from corporate marketing for sales agents, the latest data around cancellation rates from Zonda’s webinar, and what happened when a home builder became overconfident in their prequalified leads for an event (Spoiler: No one showed up to the event).Story Time (1:45)Jackie shares the latest home cancellation rate data for April 2022 from Zonda’s Covid-19 Housing Market Update WebinarSamantha shares the story of an overconfident marketing and sales team who didn’t feel the need to reach out to their entire interest list.Kevin tells a story about why some people don’t want to be next on the interest lists at the moment.Supporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Opendoor partners with homebuilders across the country in over 2,000 sales offices and has helped help generate more than

Market Proof Marketing · Death to Bad Home Photography with Chad Davies Kevin Oakley is joined by Chad Davies, CEO & Owner of Davies Imaging Group. Chad and Kevin call for the end of the “crime scene” style photography of homes and give tips on how to take great photographs (even if you are using just your phone). Plus, Chad shares how his journey into new construction home photography began, the difference between quantity and quality architectural photos, how to capture moments that invoke feelings, why he developed a course around taking new home photos with your phone, & more!Kevin and Chad discuss:What the expectations can and should be for a new home photographerChad’s latest smartphone photography courseThe difference between a photographer and an architectural photographer The value of understanding and utilizing lightingHow to optimize your photography if you’re taking it on your phoneQuestions? Comments? Email show@doyouconvert.com or call 404-369-2595 and we’ll address them on the next episode. Mor

Market Proof Marketing · Builder 100 Recap + What Is An Appointment? Kevin Oakley, Andrew Peek, and Jessie Suggs discuss what is truly considered an appointment for online sales and the difference between automatic and manual scoring of leads. Plus, Kevin shares stories from his latest Builder 100 trip, the team discusses why builders need to focus on building relationships, and why you should start getting excited about the upcoming Market Proof Awards!Story Time (1:45)Jessie is not only the G.O.A.T. but she also owns 2 goats! She shares why building trust with her goats is similar to online sales teams working with builders.Andrew is almost done building the new Market Proof Awards website.Kevin shares the latest and greatest from attending the Builder 100, including a few shout-outs to people in the industry. Supporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Opendoor partners with homebuilders across the country in over 2,000 sales offices and has helped h

Market Proof Marketing · Ep 212: Here Comes The Massive Housing Disruption with Rob Hahn Kevin Oakley is joined Robert Hahn, Managing Partner of 7DS Associates, cohost of the podcast Industry Relations, and writer of NotoriousRob.com. They discuss the potential mass disruption coming to the real estate world when it comes to cooperation compensation for real estate agents and what builders need to know. They touch on the illusion of permanence in the industry, the impact of the rising interest rates, and more.Kevin Oakley and Robert discuss:Why the home buyer demographics are bizarreWhy permanence is the illusion of every ageWhy Rob thinks iBuying will constitute 60% of the marketThe reason Rob is watching Opendoor, Zillow, and CoStarWhy Rob believes that houses aren’t too expensive but instead the dollar is inflatedIf they think there will be an increase in resale homes on the market this spring/summerQuestions? Comments? Email show@doyouconvert.com or call 404-369-2595 and we’ll address them on the next epi

Market Proof Marketing · Strategies For Handling Uncertainty Kevin Oakley, Andrew Peek, and Jackie Lipinski discuss the value of building certainty for home buyers and your teams through messaging, why geography matters in your google ad keywords, Elon buys Twitter, and what the agent commission lawsuit could mean for home builders. Story Time (2:01)Jackie’s neighborhood is getting a new construction community and she’s tracking the listed starting at price on their signage to see if it changes when the homes actually become available.Andrew gives insight on building google ads and why builders need to focus on geography first and foremost.Kevin talks about building certainty when uncertainty exists everywhere in the home building realm.Supporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Opendoor partners with homebuilders across the country in over 2,000 sales offices and has helped help generate more than $2 billion in new construction home sales. Visit Opend

Market Proof Marketing · Selling Homes Predictably with Kimberly Mackey Kevin Oakley is joined by Kimberly Mackey, Sales & Marketing Management Consultant, Sales Trainer, & Keynote Speaker at New Home Solutions. They discuss a multitude of topics, including why builders can’t move forward to improve their sales numbers until they know where they are currently at when it comes to community-level web traffic, leads, and sales. Kevin Oakley and Kimberly discuss:What 10 | 5 | 2 | 1 means to home buildersWhy marketers need to pay attention to the even-flow production scheduleHow the Law of Inertia applies to the sales processWhy you shouldn’t be selling the same home multiple timesThe 6 areas of focus, including knowing the mission statement of your builderWhy everything can’t always be a priority& more!Questions? Comments? Email show@doyouconvert.com or call 404-369-2595 and we’ll address them on the next episode. More insights, discussions, and opportunities in the Market Proof Marketing Facebook group.Subscrib

Market Proof Marketing · Builders Gonna Build Andrew Peek, Becca Thomas, and Julie Jarnagin give recommendations on how to adjust the messaging on home builder’s websites that can encourage people to come back even when they have nothing to sell. Plus they discuss the latest Market Proof Marketing Academy and how they dive into how to diagnose a problem community with the Market Proof Algorithm excel formula. Plus if you had a dip in website traffic on Easter weekend, don’t panic. Story Time (2:08)Becca shares the story of a builder using Hubspot and data being incorrectly funneled in google analytics due to Hubspot’s UTM codes.Julie walks through solutions for home builders who have little to no inventory to sell and don’t want to list home prices.Andrew recently wrapped up the latest marketing academy and goes in-depth on how to analyze a community and identify where the bottleneck is for sales with data.Supporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Ope

Market Proof Marketing · Is There An Industry-Wide Cost-Per-Lead Benchmark? Kevin Oakley, Jackie Lipinski, and Julie Jarnagin discuss why there is not an exact industry cost-per-lead marketing benchmark and why home builders should analyze their own data to create company-specific benchmarking numbers. Plus they talk about why it’s valuable to have a healthy level of skepticism toward any one source of information.Story Time (2:30)Jackie explains why there is no industry-wide marketing cost-per-lead benchmark numberJulie overhears a conversation between a real estate agent and a potential home buyer friend and why agents need to kick their bad habits stat.Kevin shares why it’s important to have a healthy level of skepticism and why you should always stay curious when analyzing your home builder data. Supporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Opendoor partners with homebuilders across the country in over 2,000 sales offices and has helped help generat

Market Proof Marketing · Beyond the WOW of Augmented Reality Kevin Oakley is joined by Richard Penny, CEO at Reactar Labs | Creators of homeAR.io. They discuss how home builders are utilizing augmented reality to help buyers visualize their new home, in detail, at each step of their home buying journey. Richard shares what sparked his journey into AR and how they're able to quickly turn any home design into a pre-build AR walkthrough experience.Kevin Oakley and Richard also discuss:How Richard’s personal new home buying experience spurred the idea behind using AR tech to improve his home buying experience.How you can utilize augmented reality to help market homes to buyers at the very beginning of a buyer's journey.How they’re able to create a more realistic home viewing experience.How architects and builders have been using AR to promote master-planned communities& more!Questions? Comments? Email show@doyouconvert.com or call 404-369-2595 and we’ll address them on the next episode. More insights, discussion

Market Proof Marketing · Creative Solutions Kevin Oakley, Jen Barkan, and Andrew Peek discuss what they’re seeing on the online sales front lines and why online sales may need to dust off their lead prospecting hats soon. Plus why you should tour other builders to get a fresh perspective on what is being offered and digital solutions that have the potential to help marketing teams who can't find employees. Story Time (1:45)Jen shares the latest from the frontlines after getting back from training brand new online sales specialists at the Online Sales Academy.Andrew encourages you to get out of your bubble and check out other builders.Kevin knows many builders who can’t find marketing employees so they’ve gotten creative with digital solutions. Supporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Opendoor partners with homebuilders across the country in over 2,000 sales offices and has helped help generate more than $2 billion in new construc

Market Proof Marketing · Encouraging and Handling Reviews Andrew Peek, Sarah Simmerman, and Julie Jarnagin discuss how home builders can encourage good reviews and how they can handle the not-so-great ones. The team discusses youtube marketing for home builders, google analytics 4, and the upcoming Online Sales & Marketing Summit happening September 20-21, 2022 in Phoenix, AZ. Story Time (1:12)Sarah shares the story of a family friend looking for their first home and how they now have to adjust their home search due to the material cost increases and increasing interest rates.Julie shares the experience of working with a writer who asks for a review at the wrong moment and why there’s an art to asking for a review. Andrew discusses the expectations of marketing on youtube and the average costs he's seeing.Supporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Opendoor partners with homebuilders across the country in over 2,000 sales offices and has helped help

Market Proof Marketing · Atypical Home Selling Season Data with Qadra Evans Kevin Oakley and Andrew Peek are joined by Qadra Evans, Director, Industry Relations, New Construction at Zillow. They break down the data of the latest New Construction Consumer Housing Trends Report. They analyze the report's main takeaways including the increase in interest in new construction homes, the changes the pandemic had and continues to have on homes, and more. Kevin Oakley, Andrew Peek, and Qadra Evans also discuss:Over 9,000 buyers were surveyed for Zillow’s 2021’s Housing Trends ReportMore new construction buyers want their houses to be a potential source of revenue as well as the place they call home. Four in 10 (41%) say the opportunity to generate income by renting out part of their home while they live there is very or extremely important.What “Charming” actually means when it applies to resale homesBuyers who pay a premium on convenience on all aspects in life are now purchasing homes.Why the data shows that the v

Market Proof Marketing · Make Yourself Irreplaceable Kevin Oakley, Andrew Peek, and Bryce Baker discuss how the quick response rate of home builder online sales teams may complicate the buyer's post-purchase communication expectations. Plus Kevin expands on the idea to "make yourself irreplaceable” and why it’s not about what you deliver but who you are and what you bring to your team. Story Time (1:37) Bryce discusses a company that aggressively chased her business, set the customer experience expectation high, then quickly ruined the customer experience when they disappear and now won't get back in touch with a status update. Andrew asks where is it broken, or is it broken, or is it the market?Kevin shares an impactful LinkedIn post to “make yourself irreplaceable” and why it’s not about what you deliver but who you are. Plus he describes the silver lining of delays on his new home, including adding SmartHome life - Brilliant switches (https://www.brilliant.tech/home) & Somfy blinds (https://www.somfysys

Market Proof Marketing · Why Builders Online Shopping Carts Are Different Kevin Oakley is joined by Jason Hardy, the Co-Founder, and CEO of Ownly. Jason describes Ownly’s vision to become the “Shopify” for new construction and allow builders the ability to embed a shopping cart and check out experience on their website. Kevin Oakley and Jason Hardy also discuss:Why the customer, and not technology, needs to be put first in the buying online experience. How the transparency of a car buying experience inspired the creation of Ownly.Why Ownly leans on subject matter resources.Why Jason predicts the end of salespeople is coming nearer each day.How customers educate themselves through home builder websites and how the customer journey is changing.78% of online shoppers are building multiple homes online in their shopping carts.Why buy-in and support for online shopping tools need to come from an empowered and educated team.Questions? Comments? Email show@doyouconvert.com or call 404-369-2595 and we’ll address the

Market Proof Marketing · The 200th Episode Milestone! Kevin Oakley, Andrew Peek, and Julie Jarnagin celebrated the Market Proof Marketing podcast's 200th episode by going live on the social channels! They share some of the original name ideas for the podcast, they discuss what "easy" would mean in the home building world, and after running ad tests, Kevin has found a solution to improving Facebook ads.  Story Time (1:27) Julie shares the quote "Convenience makes things easy but without regard to whether easiness is truly what's most valuable in any given context." from her latest read 4,000 Weeks and discusses how it ties into marketing for new home builders. Andrew travels back in time and shares some of the original names he came up with for the podcast.Kevin finds a Facebook ad fix to bring ad costs down, he discusses how technology can help with crowdsourcing content, and why priority is representational photos of a finished home and then the current status. EventsMarket Proof Marketing Academy | Virtu

Market Proof Marketing · Creating Consumable Content with Megan West Kevin Oakley is joined by Megan West, Vice President Of Community Experience for the Washington State Division of Tri Pointe Homes. They discuss how Megan’s past experience of working in the marketing department of professional sports companies for the last decade has helped shape how she thinks about and creates content. She shares why she recommends leaning into creating top-funnel marketing content along with lower-funnel one-on-one content pieces. Megan also shares how she successfully teamed up with a design partner who created 20 weeks of end-to-end marketing content around their model homes.Kevin Oakley and Megan West also discuss:How to think about the distribution of content and how to think about it when working with talented influencersWho owns the content created by third partiesCreating content for people who are up in the sales funnelThe steps they took to educate a design partner influencer who had 30k followers before How th

Market Proof Marketing · Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck with Leads Kevin Oakley, Andrew Peek, and Jackie Lipinski discuss home builders who live paycheck to paycheck with their leads, the benefit of visiting competitors to prove marketing right, and the beginning of the end the Superbowl being the start date for the new home selling season. Story Time (2:27) Jackie shares the story of a builder getting in the field and visiting competitors and how it helped their mission to move away from printed brochures.Andrew explains his research processes behind finding the right restaurant when travelingKevin covers the topics of builders living paycheck to paycheck with their leads, the difference a model home can feel, and the Superbowl is now the end of selling season. EventsMarket Proof Marketing Academy | Virtual | April 12-14, 2022 | www.marketproofacademy.comSupporting PartnerThe Market Proof Marketing Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Opendoor. Opendoor partners with homebuilders acro