Viking Homes Wins Buyers by Creating a Personal Online Experience

Like all marketers, Dannica Hanson’s biggest challenges are making her new construction homes and communities stand out from the competition and converting home shoppers into happy buyers. Hanson is the sales and marketing manager for Viking Homes, which has 18 communities between northern Idaho and the Tri-Cities in eastern Washington.

Hanson knows the key is providing buyers with an outstanding experience — from their first encounter with Viking Homes to exploring its design center to personalize their home — and that starts with a strong digital presence.

Two websites, more results

Around the time she started advertising on Zillow Group, Hanson completed an overhaul of the Viking Homes website. The timing allowed her to align the sites in a two-part strategy: Educate Zillow Group home shoppers on what Viking Homes offers, then drive them to the company’s own website where they can take the next step in their home search.

“Today’s buyer wants the info upfront. They want to feel like they’re coming to the table informed and empowered instead of being handed info from someone else,” Hanson stated. “Information is key: Customers are going to get it somewhere — it might as well be from us.”

Hanson also likes that both websites are mobile optimized, making it easy for buyers to navigate and discover information on Viking Homes, no matter what device they use.

“I was already saying that we needed to be on Zillow, because it boosts our visibility,” Hanson recalled. “With the Promoted Communities platform, you’re in the palm of someone’s hand, because they’re looking you up on their mobile device.”

Boosts for visibility

Hanson first advertised only four Viking Homes communities on Zillow Group, but she currently has about 80 percent of them listed there to showcase her available inventory, increase brand awareness and attract more buyers.

For communities that require extra exposure, Hanson uses Boost with Precision Targeting to pinpoint Zillow Group home shoppers on Facebook — those who are already searching for homes within the area  — and drive traffic to its listings.

“Since we started doing additional Boost promos, we’ve doubled our website viewership, and it helps the organic push, too,” Hanson noted. “The increase in awareness is awesome — I like that!”

Applying data to demographics

Understanding how buyers search for and choose a home has made the biggest difference in helping Viking Homes create personal experiences for its customers. Hanson relies on Zillow Group to provide data and customer insights to increase that understanding.

“You generally know the outlines of the people you’re trying to serve, but having the data to back it up is compelling and interesting,” Hanson remarked. “It’s a nice refresher on things you know and a big eye-opener about a specific demographic you didn’t know.”

Viking Homes’ real estate agents see buyers who submit multiple inquiries on multiple houses, which Hanson believes indicates greater interest than a casual shopper. But she also sees a notable difference in her Zillow Group contacts.

“Their inquiries are specific to a house or area, and they want more info,” Hanson pointed out. “I get a lot of my real estate agents saying those buyers are engaging more and setting up showings — they’re much more involved, and that’s been rewarding.”