My #1 Secret to Generating Traffic to Your Model Home
Brian Flook, MIRM

Brian Flook is president of Power Marketing & Advertising. Reach him at bflook@power-marketing.com

In my quote this month I used a popular quote attributed to Confucius. I selected it because we often choose to curse the darkness rather than light a candle. Instead of cursing the housing market, I suggest you light a candle: an ad that will generate traffic.

What exactly is qualified traffic? Is it a family of four with disposable income, two fine cars, a fat IRA and two dogs? Is it a guy and his girlfriend looking at models because there’s nothing better to do? Maybe qualified traffic is best illustrated with a 3-piece suit, BMW and a Rolex watch. If you’re like most people your answer is that my product determines qualified traffic: are they able to buy it? That’s important enough.

But don’t lose sight of the fact that a crowd draws a crowd. Some sales people tell me they would rather have three qualified traffic than 20 unqualified. I agree. But I would rather have 30 traffic with only three qualified. I know, it creates more work, but high traffic counts also create buzz.

So here’s my number one secret: offer the right home in a location the consumer desires at a price they’re willing to pay and then advertise properly. I talk to clients nearly weekly who want to know how to spend their ad budgets. How much should I spend? Where should I spend it? And all the while they’re spending advertising dollars, not measuring results and wondering why the phone isn’t ringing. It’s true, advertising is an art and a science. To successfully generate traffic, you must understand both. The art is the emotional content of the ad that reaches out and grabs the reader by the throat and says, “read this or you will regret it!”

The Art

Which ads grab your attention? Which ads stop you and make you read? How does one ad make you care and another go unnoticed? Headlines that are graphically reinforced are the most important factor in grabbing your attention. First make sure that your headline powerfully states a compelling selling message that focuses on the benefits of your target audience. Then, use a powerful graphic that visually ties to the headline to reinforce and strengthen the message. Read Five Key Components to a New Home Advertisement by Belinda Smith to understand your advertising more.

The Science

Great looking ads often win awards, but that doesn’t mean they will deliver traffic. When people show up at your model home it means that you are offering the right home in a location the consumer desires at a price they’re willing to pay. They didn’t come to see you because your reputation is squeaky clean. They came because: you are offering the right home in a location the consumer desires at a price they’re willing to pay! I know, you have a great reputation and your company builds quality homes… yada, yada, yada. If you accomplish the secret (see above) your reputation is the icing on the cake. It becomes the best closer possible. It will push the consumer over the edge and attract them to you as opposed to the competition with a spotty reputation. I do understand the importance of a great reputation, it’s extremely meaningful, but not as a traffic generator. When Toyota entered the US auto market in 1967, they had no reputation to lean on. Actually, they were universally viewed as “cheap Japanese junk.” Today, no one in Detroit is laughing as Toyota passes GM. During the first three months of 2007, Toyota sold more cars and trucks worldwide surpassing General Motors for the first time ever. Today their reputation works for them, but even today, Americans purchase Toyotas because of the product’s exceptional value.

Generating traffic is about strategically meeting a consumer’s housing needs and then creating and marketing a compelling selling message that communicates to the heart of the consumer. Remember the adage: location, location, location. We quote it often, but we ignore it often too. In the following editorial I will talk about generating traffic for spot lot sales versus community sales.

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