Builder Designs Helps Maximize the Builder’s Digital Footprint

There are many best practices and technologies that builders can adopt to attract more buyers to their new construction homes. The Zillow Advantage Program — an exclusive network of preferred partners and services that our builder customers can leverage at discounted or pre-negotiated rates — is designed to put more of these resources at your fingertips.

We sat down with Matt Riley, vice president of marketing for Builder Designs, a Zillow Advantage Program partner, to find out how builders can make their online efforts more impactful.

What does Builder Designs do?

Create websites that sell homes. We develop complete strategies that encompass the builder’s digital footprint — their entire online sales and marketing ecosystem, including email marketing, social media and remarketing campaigns. Whether we’re building a custom website or a digital marketing campaign, our clients find the process works very similarly to building a home: It all starts with the plans.

How does your tech benefit buyers during their home search?

Because we create and manage our builders’ digital footprints, we can give all their buyers a consistent and outstanding experience when they interact with the platform. We’re strategic about our decisions because we know how much it matters: In a survey we conducted, 97% of home buyers polled stated that the tone of the website was influential in their decision to fill out a lead form.

When builders come to you, what’s the biggest problem they want you to solve?

Initially, they want to improve their online presence via web and digital marketing to get more sales. But we find that a lack of sales or traffic isn’t the actual problem, it’s the symptom. We dive in deep with our builders and work backwards to find all the broken cogs in the wheel that lead to the perceived problem. When the lightbulb finally goes off about where they truly need to improve, builders are determined to get there. It’s extremely fun and satisfying to watch the results pour in.

What advice do you have for builders looking to incorporate your type of tech into their marketing strategy?

Start now and always monitor your digital footprint — never set it and forget it. Your digital ecosystem should be a living, breathing thing, not something that you look at once every quarter. Our dedicated marketing team is constantly thinking of ways to improve the marketing strategies of our builder clients so that they can simply focus on closing sales.