Is your strategy for converting home builder website visitors to new leads more like a handshake with potential buyers… or a choke hold?
For home builders, an internet marketing strategy includes many components: home builder social media, home builder SEO, home builder video, and more. But basically everything comes back to conversion. Specifically, converting buyers through each stage of the five step buying cycle. Since most buyers research their home purchase online, it makes sense that a good home builder website conversion strategy is a critical component to drive more new leads online.
So I was shocked to hear myself recently say aloud (and adamantly, because the more adamant you are the more accurate whatever you say is), “Conversion isn’t everything.”
I know. Shocking, right?
What Home Builder Website Conversion Is…
Converting website visitors is a critical piece of successful new home sales today. It enables sales teams to connect with buyers earlier in the sales process instead waiting for buyers to visit on-site before engaging them. This can give home builders a competitive edge.
There are many positive, effective ways to drive home builder website conversion of visitors to registered leads:
- Download brochure
- Register for mailing list
- Receive discount or special incentive
- RSVP for event
We are big fans of finding creative ways to convert home builder website visitors to new leads. But it is possible to take a conversion strategy too far.
…And What it Isn’t
At the core, website conversion is the first point of trust in building a relationship with potential buyers. Sales is never about withholding information from buyers. It’s about educating, informing, and providing information to buyers that is valuable in their buying decision.
Conversion is the first step in building a meaningful relationship with a potential buyer.
Conversion that withholds too much, too soon by requiring an email address to access the information (such as property information, floor plans, urgency driven promotional messages) may win the short term conversion (someone registers an email to get the immediate information) but may cost conversion further down the sales cycle where it really counts. Short term conversion may sound good in a meeting or look good on a weekly marketing report. But that kind of conversion results in higher opt-outs, lower open rates in subsequent emails, lower conversion to sales office visits, and ultimately lower conversion to contracts.
Plus, it’s really kind of cheesy (she said adamantly).
High conversion rates are great, but if you implement an aggressive (obnoxious) conversion strategy at the top of the sales funnel that results in lower conversion rates lower down the funnel (sales visits, be-backs, contracts) then you’ve sacrificed too much for your weekly reporting.
You’ve sacrificed buyer trust.
