Eastbrook Homes has been building homes in Michigan for over 50 years and prides itself on its creativity. When we started taking a deeper look at the company’s marketing efforts, we confirmed that the same creativity that inspires the company’s home and community plans and designs is also driving their marketing programs.
Two years ago, the Eastbrook team began working with BDX. Today, not only have their listings on NewHomeSource become one of their top lead sources, but they are also using BDX’s Envision Online Design Center to power their online Home Creation Studio. We sat down with Sarah Titus, Marketing Manager for Eastbrook Homes, to discuss their marketing approach and experience working with BDX.
Saving Time & Creating Consistency With NewHomeSource Listings & BDXLive
BDX’s backend listings management platform, BDXLive has made a huge difference in streamlining the community listing process for Titus and the Eastbrook team.
“It’s critical to have one place to update all of our listings information… then feed it to NewHomeSource, other third party sites, and our website,” said Titus. “When updating a listing in four different places, we’re bound to make a mistake – the more often we make changes, the more problems that will occur… having BDXLive as a one-stop-shop for all of our listings data has made a huge difference.”
When they were selecting a listings platform, one of the big differentiators BDXLive provided was the ability to have multiple sales agents in charge of their listings. Each Eastbrook agent has been trained so they can manage their listings and make changes as needed.
A Shining Example of Listings Content
When it comes to listings content for their communities and plans, Eastbrook is at the top of their game. The Eastbrook listings on NewHomeSource are a great example of how BDX recommends builders coordinate the content that supports their listings. Their goal is to have a Matterport on every listing and at least 20 photos per plan. The focus is on meeting customer’s needs and giving them as much information as possible.
“We are a Pinterest-driven society,” said Titus. “Any investment we have made to improve our content has really paid off. If there’s one piece of advice I would give to other builders it’s to not be afraid of creating many different types of content and using it everywhere!”
Accelerating Conversion and Engagement
The focus on content doesn’t stop once the lead has entered the sales funnel. The goal of the content plan is to convert shoppers into buyers and then keep them engaged throughout the buying and building process. The team at Eastbrook has placed a high priority on creating compelling content for shoppers as they move through their buying journey. In addition to new blog posts every Thursday to keep things fresh on that front, the team has developed a series of nurture campaigns to serve up information that shoppers need at any given time.
They’ve even created Eastbrook University to educate people on the different advantages of new homes. Whether it’s current Eastbrook customers or home shoppers early in the process, when visitors navigate to Eastbrook University, they find a destination that helps them learn about the home building process. There are informative flyers, videos, and articles available to offer insight into different areas of building a home and in some cases offer solutions and tips to make the experience even better
One of the featured sections of Eastbrook University helps educate home buyers about the Eastbrook Home Creation Studio through a series of educational videos. Eastbrook chose BDX’s Envision online design center as their solution to help shoppers research, visualize and select options online. The video series walks shoppers through everything they need to know in advance of their first design appointment – including instructions for using Envision.
Leveraging User-Generated Content To Build Trust
Eastbrook also got creative with its social media. After realizing that a lot of their customers were showcasing their homes and tagging them on social media, Eastbrook decided to leverage this user-generated content. When customers would tag Eastbrook on Instagram or the social network of their choice, they sent a photographer to the customer’s home to take photos of the family for a blog story they would publish.
“User-generated content is hugely successful for us because home shoppers feel more connected and can relate to customers and their stories,” said Titus.
At the end of the day, it is Eastbrook’s focus on process and efficiency combined with their comprehensive and creative approach to content development that sets them apart.
