Home Builders: Are You Segmenting and Staying in Touch with Leads?

As a home builder, you probably deliver the same quality and attention to detail to all of your customers. That’s a great thing—and something that helps build your reputation. But when it comes to your leads, it’s something you really don’t want to do.

Not all leads are created equal. Different individuals are after different things. Some leads may be farther along in the sales cycle than others. Some may turn out not to be qualified leads at all. That’s why it’s important to segment your leads so that you can stay in touch with them appropriately. And that means giving them the information they really want.

What does that look like? Here are a few ways you can break down your leads into more specific groups so that your messaging to them addresses the specific issues they’re interested in—moving them closer to a decision.

Geography

You may have leads that are interested in a specific community or neighborhood. You can separate out all of the names and addresses of your leads who have shown an interest in a specific community and send them relevant, automated emails with information about new developments, opportunities, or events impacting that neighborhood.

Age

There’s a good chance that your leads represent different age groups. For instance, you might notice that a certain segment of your leads has expressed a particular interest in blog posts or floor plans for aging-in-place. You could follow up with an email asking if they’d like additional information on those kinds of homes. You might send them a report or an eBook on the subject. Or you might pass on a review of one of your homes that fits their interest. And you can take the same approach with younger couples that have children—tailoring the information you offer to them.

Level of Interest

As I mentioned earlier, your leads will be in different stages of the decision-making process. You’ll want to be responsive but not overwhelming with the information you offer. But at some stage you may notice that a lead is particularly interested. It could be repeated visits to your website. It could be that they’ve downloaded several eBooks that indicate their interest. Perhaps they’ve come to an open house or called in to ask specific questions. In those cases, you may want to send a personal email that says something along the lines of, “We’ve noticed you seem to be quite interested in a home that offers single-level living. Would you like to talk to one of our experts about specific questions that will help you find what you’re looking for?

Not all of your leads are the same. The way that you communicate with them (whether it’s via phone, email, or some other method) needs to reflect their level of interest and the specific area of information they want to research.