S1 EP52 | Brand is the Future

Show Notes:

Focus Discussion of the Week:

Don’t think branding is important? Think again. When buyers are considering one of the most important purchases of their life, the unique story you tell is vital — but if you only prioritize your bottom line, buyers can sense that from a mile away. Matt and Mollie discuss why “Brand is The Future” and how to create a fulfilling and memorable customer experience.

 

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Two thought leaders come together to explore all things sales and marketing from their unique perspectives. Each week, Mollie Elkman, Matt Riley, and others from Group Two dive into a focus discussion to talk about the latest trends, changes, and best practices.

[00:00:00] Mollie: Unfortunately, a lot of business owners undervalue the importance of brand. And that’s why this is the reason that housing is behind. Not because of any technology, not because of, you know, we’re not as creative as other industries. It is because we are the only industry that does not consider the company.

Is not recognized as a brand. And for some reason, builders just want to get out there and build which I get. You just want to get out there and do your best work. But when you were providing a product or service, one as big as where someone is going to live their life, you have a much bigger story to tell than just, you know, Oh, yeah, we build homes.

There is a much bigger, more meaningful story and people want to connect with you on a, on a deeper level. So this is that’s why brand is [00:01:00] the future.

Matt: Hi, and welcome to building perspective with Matt Riley and Mollie Elkman.

Mollie: We’re here to bring value to you and your team by exploring all things, sales and marketing related

Matt: all from different perspectives. All right, and welcome back to another episode of building perspective today. My esteemed co-host and I are going to be talking about brand is the future.

So it’s going to be an exciting episode. And, Mollie, are you ready to talk about,

Mollie: I am always ready to talk about brands.

Matt: I knew [00:02:00] you would be. so all right, before we get into brand, cause you’re going to, people might be thinking well, What are we going to be talking about from a brand? Like, what do you mean brand is the future?

So I want to set the table for a second and kind of lay out why we want to talk about brand is the future. And I’m, I’m using brand as a verb here, not as a sense of like branding, like your logo or your colors. I’m specifically talking about. Brand. Right. Okay. So here we go. Here’s an article off marketing land.

There’s more places you’re going to find the same article, but this is just where I pulled it up. So about a week ago, Google rolled out for some analytics. they’re new. Version, they’re calling it Google analytics for super impressive title, Google analytics for, and the title of this article is Google’s vision for the future of analytics.

All right. It says the new analytics ads, AI [00:03:00] powered insights, tracks users across devices and provides more granular data controls. All right. So I’m going to go down through here. It’s going to have new AI powered insights and predictions, which is going to be an important piece of what we’re going to talk about in a second.

deeper audiences integration with Google ads. That’s easy because that’s a Google product. It’s just going to integrate that more customer lifestyle, life cycle, framed reporting, codeless event tracking, which that’s actually nice because you can go in and see some real time stuff and you don’t have to get in and tag inside of tag manager or.

Handle any, any type of code on your website? more granular user data controls. That’s going to give you a little bit more ability to easier, to more easily comply with GDPR and CCPA, which is the California consumer protection act. and then the last piece down here is really the most important part, right?

So it’s analytics and a cookie list. Future. So what does that mean? Let’s break down. I’m going to really quickly break [00:04:00] down cookie list feature. A cookie is not what you eat. it is not the chocolate. It does not have chocolate chips or oatmeal raisin or anything like that of cookie is what. Your website places, within the user’s browser history.

So we can actually see what it is that they’re doing on your website, and then what it is that they’re doing off of your website. And it allows us to track things okay. And a much more granular level now. But the thing that, most people assume is when they going to dial in their digital advertising, is that they’re going to be able to see.

And note everything down to the millisecond of what’s happening and exactly know every single penny that they’re spending and what’s working in, where is working. Now, we can do a lot, we can do and see a lot of data. Let’s us understand that buyer journey and where they’re coming from. It is not perfect.

Okay. We cannot tell all the way, cause we’re not [00:05:00] e-commerce we cannot tell at a, at a more granular level, like e-comm can, because they’re checking out and making purchases and things like that. All online, we can’t do that in the home building industry yet. Now here’s where we talk about a cookie list future.

What this really means is with privacy laws becoming a more and more important piece of legislation, people are very much aware of what they’re, more aware I should say of what their online privacy means and how. Big companies are, have been selling their data for years and profiting off of us as the consumer.

Right. And remember, like when you’re using social media, when something is free, remember. You are the product once when you’re using something free, you are the actual product. So you’re taking all that data and using it to sell either more ads. Right? So from Facebook and Google’s perspective, they’re using that data to [00:06:00] be able to.

To make your advertisers be able to, want to advertise more and spend more money credit card company. Like all of this stuff, it all gets sold and passed around. We are the product, but this, as these, as the privacy concerns and privacy laws tighten up, we’re going to have less and less cookies, quote, air quotes that are going to be able to tell us that data.

Right. And tell us the data that the stuff that we know today. So, if we’re going to be, if understanding what’s going to be happening later down the road is going to be harder than what becomes important. And so what is the key thing that I said we would come back to in this article were talks about, where did it go?

New AI powered insights and predictions. So what, what. The new version of Google analytics is going to attempt to do is use AI to fill in the gaps of what a what’s already there and be filling more gaps as you’re able to track [00:07:00] less and less. So it’s going to be able to see a little bit of information, and then it’s going to use AI in an algorithm to help determine, fill in the blanks and serve you up.

What it’s hopefully. A good use of information to make business decisions. Right. But we still don’t actually know the real picture. And so now we start to you, we start to fast-forward into voice search, right? Alexa and Google and Siri and all of these things. And it becomes, it’s becoming more and more mainstream.

And I’ve even heard Gary Vaynerchuk talking about this probably for about a year. Honestly. his brand is going to be. So much more important than it has been in the last, let’s just say seven years or so of the digital realm. just like 10 years, maybe even around numbers. Right. So if we’re going to be able to track less and less, then what becomes more and more [00:08:00] important, right?

So that’s, that’s kind of setting the table for. When we talk about brand and again, branding is going through and making, can, you know what you’re going to do to your physical parts of your logo, your colors, your signage, like all of that, but brand is something different. Mollie. What do you, how do, how do you explain brand and branding?

Mollie: So before we even get into that, I want to ask you a couple of questions because I am not as tech savvy as you are. And you said a lot of big words. So when we’re talking about privacy laws and that being tightened up, being able to track less and less, is this, is this definitely happening or is this a hypothetical,

Matt: Oh, it’s already happening, right.

It’s already happening. And then, you know, and then throw in the mix. You know, now it’s official. Google is being sued by the U S government and an antitrust lawsuit. Right. So right. It’s going to become an [00:09:00] even bigger issue.

Mollie: Okay. So I think, you know, I definitely, because I think we’ve been talking about this, over, we talk about this all the time about privacy ethics and where that line is.

And. I think, you know, for me, I’ve always thought brand and branding, are the center to marketing. And I think in our industry, it’s so interesting because as an industry, we always hear and talk about how we’re so far behind and, and we ended up in the past decade talking about. Digital and analytics and all this and all this stuff, but that didn’t bring us further ahead.

It just made us forget what is at the core and at the core of it is brand. and I think. Most home building companies have a hard time considering themselves a brand and your brand is who you are. I like to talk about brand as character. [00:10:00] So your character either as a person or as a company is your brand and how you communicate that.

In your messaging and in your colors and in all of that is your branding. So that is how you communicate your character to others. Does that make sense?

Matt: Yep, absolutely.

Mollie: So I think, you know, here we are as an industry and we’ve been so excited about tech and getting our name out there, that we have kind of lost the story of our character, who are we as an organization.

And beyond that, Who are we today and who do we want to be? And this is really where positioning plays a huge role in your overall brand and branding. So if you take a deep view of who you are right now today, and also start to [00:11:00] incorporate how you want to be a better version of yourself. Okay. All of us want to be better.

Than we are today. We want to continue to grow. As humans continue to learn. It’s the same thing for your company, your company’s brand, your company’s character. You want to continue to evolve and grow based on learning and the changing world around us. So group two. We don’t just talk about this stuff.

We’re actually going through a rebrand right now. And what’s what some people think is that just means like rip up your paper. you know, Nancy Pelosi style, ripping it up and just logo out the door. That’s not what it is. your brand being your character. You have a starting point and it’s something that is evolving.

So how do you take who you are today and continue to tell that story in a way that is true to who you are, but also reflects this new direction or, [00:12:00] vision or. Whatever of where you are going. So for, for us, I want to share with our audience, our brand and branding exercises as we’re going through them.

I think you guys are going to love seeing how we go through this whole process. We’re definitely going to share a lot of that, but the major thing that. Has happened that made us know one it’s always, your brand should always be evolving, but for us, we added an additional service to, what we’re doing for builders.

We are now doing websites. So the way we tell our story really needed to evolve with our full service of who we are. So, I’m really excited to share that. What do you think Matt, should we share, some of our branding exercises with this podcast?

Matt: I think we should. I think we should share some of the branding exercises.

We’ll put it, we can put it in our, and their Facebook group. Yeah. Facebook group for people to access. Yeah.

Mollie: And there’s, there is [00:13:00] some fun to be had here. So one of the questions that we asked our team that is a part of our branding project here is if our company was a car, what kind of car would it be?

And we got some really interesting answers.

Matt: Absolutely. They were all across the board and they were good. And this is why this exercise. Very interesting.

Mollie: Yeah. So if, so, think about that right now. If your company was a car, what kind of car would it be? And what, you know, we can come up with these really thoughtful answers, but none of us are one thing we all have to our character, different elements.

So like for example, Matt, I think you said. Like a Tesla, right. Something like that. And you know, I think I said a Bronco. So the new Bronco, which is so cool. I am so excited. I’m on the waiting list for that. yeah. So, you know, there are reasons behind your answer, but what these kinds of exercises do is they [00:14:00] get you thinking about who you are today and who you want to be, and really remembering the word character, because I think for some reason, our character of our company, isn’t something that we talk about a lot in our industry.

And that isn’t like doing some charity and posting about it on social media. It has much more depth than that. It really is fundamentally if your company. Is a person is personified. What’s the character of that organization. So I love getting into branding, obviously mats like Mollie, please stop talking.

Matt: Oh no, it’s it’s the future. Mollie framed is the future.

Mollie: Grand is the future and these conversations are not surface level. They should feel deep. They should feel, you should be questioning w you know, your practices and where you are today. Aligned with where you want to be in a year in five years.

Matt: Yeah. And, and so I’m going [00:15:00] to tag onto a couple of things. So one, I think that we talk about. You know, in Mollie saying your character and the active part of your brand is telling your story in your advertising. Right? So brand just isn’t like your, it is part of word of mouth. It is what people are saying about you when you’re not around.

Whether that’s your personal brand or whether that’s your company’s brand, but you have to tell that story. You have to tell the story in your advertising. You have to tell that story on your website. You have to tell that story and everything that your customer is going to come in contact with you or, or touch you with.

Right. So th that’s that part’s really important because that is the verb part of it. now when we started going, as we’re going through this exercise, it’s really of the, of rediscovering or is that, or redefining who you’ve evolved into, it’s really, really. [00:16:00] Really important to get as much input from the other people on your team as you can, because it’s going to be, everyone’s going to have a different perspective.

So if it was just Mollie and I giving our feedback and I said a Tesla, and she said a Bronco, and we had our reasons, like I thought my version, my reason of Tesla was. It’s sleek design. it’s new age. It’s transitioning from what is old to, what is the, what is becoming the new future? and it’s freaking cool.

Right? And then your thought of a Bronco, the new Bronco was

Mollie: what. Yeah. So for me it was really that it’s, it is again, like you said, something old that is being made new. Again, it is classic. It is sturdy. It is fun. I mean, this new Bronco is going to compete with the Wrangler. you’re going to be able to take the doors off and the, and the roof off.

It’s all about adventure and living your [00:17:00] best life. So for me, that just, I love it. And I also, am on the wait list to get one. So that was part of it too.

Matt: So, and those are our two. And then, you know, there were, we, our team had, there were such great feedback and comments about. Who they felt like we were in, you know, Vicky and our social media department.

She was like, I’m not really a car person, but you know, her first thought was. Ford. And you’re like, okay, why Ford specifically? and her perception of Ford was they’re reliable. They’re like her words were they’re the OGs, right? Like they’re the OGs of Karmanos car manufacturing. And like group two is the OGs of new home marketing because we’d been in business.

This is our 51st year in business. So it was like, we were literally the original. In the entire industry specific [00:18:00] to, you know, new home sales and marketing. And so that was her, like we’re reliable, we’re here every day. We’ve been doing it longer than anybody and we make some really cool stuff right now.

There would be, some people could think maybe that’s Chevy. Maybe they make maybe the brand choice of Ford is interchangeable, but that to her was her perception. and those were really, really good.

Mollie: Yeah. What was so great about it is she explained it in such a passionate way that we were all just like nodding and saying yes.

Yes, yes. And what happens when you do this exercise? When you kind of take a step back and try to align with another brand or another industry, you’re able to communicate it sometimes in a way, That you can’t when you’re talking about your own organization, because you’re so close to it. So when she was talking about Ford and the company, she’s, you know, making all these parallels, but you know, here she is talking about [00:19:00] another brand and it’s much easier to do that.

And it’s a really fun exercise.

Matt: Yeah. And there’s other questions. There’s stuff like if you’re, if you were a celebrity, if your company was a celebrity, who would it be? And, you know, just different things, but like you said, I think detaching yourself from your company, and trying to compare it to something else.

It really helps you really sorry, and really formulate what it is that you mean, because, You’re not, if you get the blinders on right when you’re in there and you’re in it every day with your own stuff, you definitely get the blinders on. So yeah, we’re, we’re going through this process right now. And for us like Mollie, what, what’s the next step?

You’ve you’ve identified and you’ve gone. Okay. The, these are what our team, this is what everyone on our team says, this is, these are the ones we vote on that we like the best. And w ho how does it go from there to what’s next?

Mollie: Yeah. So [00:20:00] this is really where the magic happens and that’s in our creative department.

So what happens from there is our creative team really sets and looks at the words, looks at the intent, looks at the emotion behind some of these questions. It doesn’t mean that. Every comment is taken. Literally, it’s more of a feeling that you get from the overall reaction to some of the questions and what they do is they take that feedback of the, of all these different conversations and questions, and they, transfer it to become a mood board.

And our mood board is something that I’m happy to share. it doesn’t. You’re going to see it. And you’re going to say, I don’t really see a huge difference because it’s not massively different. It is still totally on brand for group two. It’s just a minor evolution. So there may be one less color that you’ve seen before or one additional color, or there may be a different [00:21:00] texture and addition of some type of story that, We felt was an important story to tell, showing all of that through a visual.

So that’s really the next piece, which is our mood board, which we’re happy to share. as an example, this is this same exact process we go through for home building companies. And that’s part of why we’re super excited about it. One of the things though, I do want to. Emphasize is you can’t be married to a color or logo or, you know, we tend to be, Emotionally attached to the past when it comes to our brand and it’s just like life, you know, you have these fond memories.

Oh, I love that. T-shirt as the, you know, the logo this way, I don’t want to move, move away from that. You really have to detach from that because when you are so attached to the past, it does hold you back from moving. Forward and being your [00:22:00] new best version of yourself and so much of brand. And I make these parallels, like I talk about character.

It is, this is highly personal, and this is part of why culture and company go together on such a personal way. And. And I talk about this all the time. Like you, as visuals, we need to believe in ourselves, right? You have to like yourself, you have to know that you are making the right choices and, and believe in your own character.

It’s the same thing with your company. You have to believe in the character of your company, no matter what role you have. So it’s, that is really where culture. Comes in with brand. so this really does go very, very deep. And for us, it’s always an, it’s always a team building exercise. When you start to talk about brand, it really is a team building exercise because you take different points of view and none are wrong and you get to just [00:23:00] kind of dive into it and evaluate and have open discussion.

It’s it’s kind of like going to therapy a little bit. Who are we, where are we going? What are, what do we want to fix moving forward?

Matt: Well, but then, so, and, you know, could be, you could be thinking, all right, great. I’m going to take these questions and on, then I’m going to have a designer make this mood board.

That’s going to put my logo and throw a bunch of colors on a sheet of paper, but what, what does that mood board. what does that represent? Like all the different elements of it? What are, what are the things, what are the different things you’re going to pull from and how does that impact what we’re going to get into, you know, to wrap it at the end, when we get towards the end is how do we utilize each one of those pieces to help tell our story and our advertising and our website and everything that’s customer and client facing.

Mollie: Right. So a good mood board is not about a single element. So you’ll see on our mood [00:24:00] board that we’re sharing here, there are fonts, textures, images, none of those are standalone pieces that would necessarily represent our company. What the mood board is, is it’s supposed to evoke a feeling. So when you look at this board, does it evoke the feeling.

Of group choose brand. Does it represent us as a company that in a way that feels right and, and it is our brand and our character. And I know it does because when it was presented to us, all of us were nodding our heads saying, yup, that’s right. If just, you looked at it and you knew it was a visual representation of everything we had talked

Matt: about.

Yup. And then each one of those different elements, like, you know, the in, as we share it, right, there was the one little, the ying and the yang symbol that you can then break apart and use as [00:25:00] quotation marks. So it was like we’re out there sharing blog articles, or we’re pulling excerpts of our blogs that we’ve written.

You can utilize that symbol or that part of the mood board is quotation marks or standalone standalone graphics, that different textures that go along that help. Individual little pieces, all tie together into one larger picture. When they come into, for instance, the group, when someone comes into the group to website, which has not been updated yet, because we’re still in the middle of the process.

Mollie: Yeah. I love that. You pull out that specific. I mean, this, the mood board goes so deep. We’ve actually talked, spent a lot of time talking about the number two and the power of two and what that means. for us, you know, when, when we come together, we are better. Whether it’s group two’s different departments, whether it’s group two and a builder.

So we have really taken this idea of group. Two and the power of [00:26:00] two, and really, are using that to tell our story. So we’re going to, we’re going to be doing a lot of that’s really part of that yang yang kind of image that people are gonna see this idea of being better together. And that is really at the core of who we are as a company.

Is that the core of our character? This is not a one-man show. This is a. Team of people who make each other better and make the companies we work with better. that is our, the core of our message. So it needs to be the core of our brand.

Matt: Yep. Totally. All right. So we’ve talked about the exercise that we’re going through and how we’re shifting that.

and I, and I think that’s where. Th that thought process to a lot of people. When, you know, at least the people that we talk builders, when we talk to builders, most of the time, I would say at least eight out of 10 times, when someone comes in and like, Hey, we need help with our brand [00:27:00] or our branding.

They immediately think logo and colors. And that’s it, or they’ll come in and we’ll talk about, you know, all the different things that we do and how we work together. And, and they’ll say, you know, I really, I just want to like drive leads and sales. And like our brand is like, we don’t need help with our brand.

Our logo’s great. and, and again, it’s that correlation to what brand actually is, and tying that back to that article of Google analytics for, of. How we’re going to be able to tell less and less of what is actually happening, what the buyers are doing, across multiple devices and multiple sources and sites and mediums, all that good stuff.

And if w and R what is the most important thing? Is it what people think of who we are and why they’re going to come to us? Go ahead. You were gonna say something. Yeah,

Mollie: I would say it’s actually the reverse. It’s [00:28:00] what we think of ourselves and why people come to us. So for example, A lot of builders like to talk about the product, product, product, product, we’re selling homes.

Well, there’s more to the story there are you selling homes because you like to, you know, get out there with a hammer and a nail. No, that’s not why you’re selling homes. There’s, there’s more depth there. So really knowing, and I hate to be like cliche. Everyone says, what’s your, why? What’s your reason behind it?

There’s, we’ve all heard those kinds of discussions, but your character is much deeper than. Your gesture, product alone. And that’s why for us, you know, yes, we do marketing. We could just show examples of our marketing, but that’s not our character. That’s not our brand. That’s not the service we provide and the value we bring.

So really you’re, you know, being able to tell that story in a way. In a way that is meaningful to the audience and shows the depth of, the [00:29:00] core of who you are. That’s why a lot of times these conversations, are really when the mission statement of an organization come into play. And unfortunately, a lot of business owners.

Undervalue the importance of brand. And that’s why this is the reason that housing is behind. Not because of any technology, not because of, you know, we’re not as creative as other industries. It is because we are the only industry that does not consider the company. Is not recognized as a brand. And for some reason, builders just want to get out there and build which I get.

You just want to get out there and do your best work. But when you were providing a product or service, one as big as where someone is going to live their life, you have a much bigger story to tell than just, you know, Oh, yeah, we build homes. There is a much bigger, more meaningful [00:30:00] story and people want to connect with you on a, on a deeper level.

So this is that’s why brand is the future.

Matt: I even think too, it can go like, this is a little bit off topic, but similar, I guess, but. I think even telling that story and connecting those emotions goes as far as what you see, like how you label your bedrooms, right? Like, you know, you give a floor plan and it’s you look at a floor plan and it says owner suite or bedroom, two bedroom, three bedroom four.

Well, So what, like, that’s not personal, you know, if I’m a, if I’m a salesperson and I’m taking someone through and they tell me their stuff, they tell me I’m looking for 2000 square feet, four bedroom, two and a half bath, at least two over two floors, like a walkout basement, but whatever it may be. Right.

And you go, okay, great. Yeah. I can check off all those boxes. but let me ask you a question. How do you live? How do you live your life? Because you talked about the things [00:31:00] that are searchable, but as we all know, like all square footage, isn’t created equal because the way that it’s used in the space.

And so as you’re walking somebody through, or you could be walking them through physically, or it’s the story that you’re telling on your website, or it’s the story that you’re telling in your advertising, but you’re talking about how, you know, Zoe, this is how Zoe is going to live in this bedroom, right?

Like this is Mollie. This is going to be, this could be Zoe’s room. And you said she likes to do this, this and this. And over here, this, on this side of the house, this is going to be Zach’s room. And what, you know, because you said Zach likes to do blah, blah ABCD, right? And so, and then you go, you know, you and Dan are going to be over here and this, and as a family, this is where you’re going to spend the majority of your time based on what you told me.

And so we’re telling that story in person, we’re telling that story in our advertising. We’re telling that story on our website, when people come in and as I said that, Mollie and I can see each other, as I said, [00:32:00] started using those names and invoking a person, Mollie instantly just started smiling. Right because,

Mollie: and nodding my head

Matt: and nodding your head because we’re talking about you and how, and that connection, and yes, you’re not going to know every single, like, as they come to your website, you’re not going to, there’s no magic thing out there.

That’s going to be like start filling in their kids’ names on the, on the, on it. But it’s how you tell your story on the different points of interaction along the way.

Mollie: Absolutely. And like we were saying before brand is personal. So when you have. A truly established brand. You feel it in the sales presentation, you feel it in the model, you feel it in the merchandising, it’s a part of every aspect of the organization.

So it really is personal and you will feel it at every single interaction.

Matt: Yeah. Without a doubt. And so all of these things combined, this is why brand. [00:33:00] Is the future and brand has been what really has driven companies, for since the beginning. Right. It’s it really has been what was, and what will continue to be.

And yeah. I’ll, and I’ll be honest. Like I will be a couple of years ago. I would have probably been that one of the people arguing that I’m like, you know what? People don’t care about your brand as a home builder. Right. Like, I can get down in the bottom of the funnel in front of the people that are searching for a home when they’re searching for a home.

And they’re only going to buy a home once every seven to 10 years. And they’re only 10% of the population’s buying new anyway, you know, like I can make this big argument for why they don’t care. but then I, you know, you look back at my old company, Royal Oaks homes and. Over over 15 years, we created a brand.

It didn’t happen right [00:34:00] away. And when people, I was just having this conversation over a fi last night in my neighbor’s house at the fire at, over at their fire pit. And, you know, we were a company of, I don’t know, 60, 70 people, right. Doing 450 homes a year. And they had forgotten, you know, they, obviously we all live in a Royal looks neighborhood.

And, they asked like how, how big was Royal looks like where you, you were like core. I was like corporate America over there. Right. And I was like, no, we were 60 or 70 people. Like, you’re kidding me like that. Like everybody knew that brand name. We thought we assumed there would be hundreds of people employed there, you know, like your name was everywhere.

And so you can take those same advertising. Tactics skills strategies and apply them with your bar brand philosophy. but building that brand takes time. It’s [00:35:00] not this 90 day metric that we’re going to be able to pull up on a report. and, and honestly, like, here’s the perfect analytical example of how I can say, where are we see well from a brand recognition.

So. In our, in our reporting that we do, I can always tell a story direct correlation. When we take over working with a builder is using, for example, paid social media, right? So we’re running paid ads on Facebook and Instagram, and we can see a huge increase in traffic and leads coming from social media.

But we also see a huge increase in direct traffic coming into the website. People go into www.group two.com, right. Or build our name.com. We start to see that direct correlation to how we were spending money and driving traffic to the website. We can see the traffic coming from social media, but we’re also seeing a rise over the next 30, 60, 90 days of that [00:36:00] direct traffic.

And that’s because. We’re our brand is more in front of them. And we’re telling our story in a better way than just simply because we do want to do this as well, but it’s, it’s telling the story than, than just simply saying brand new homes from the three fifties. Here you go. Right? Like product insert, product shot.

That is, and should be part of the. Overall strategy, but it shouldn’t be the only strategy because that’s only bottom of funnel thinking.

Mollie: I. I agree with everything that you said. And when you first started talking about how, you know, as a builder, I would have thought, you know, Oh, brand isn’t that important?

What I would say to someone who’s thinking brand is an important, I would say. Is character important is your character as a human important. And this is where meaning comes into the work that I, that I do and why I love what I do. when you [00:37:00] think about it on that kind of terms, there are some builders who would say, I don’t care about the character.

I care about the bottom line. And that is one type of home building company. And I promise you buyers can feel that it doesn’t mean that that company may not sell some homes. It is a different kind of organization, a, an organization that doesn’t have character doesn’t feel fulfilling to work for. It doesn’t feel fulfilling to be a part of, You know, selling to someone when you don’t passionately believe in the brand and the character of the company.

So that’s why we want to ask these deeper questions is because we got to break out of that as an industry. We don’t want to just be about the bottom line. We have a position to influence in such a more powerful way. Yep.

Matt: Absolutely. All right. Well, what did, what else did, did we leave anything else out?

Did we leave anything out at all on brand? Is the future.

[00:38:00] Mollie: I th I think we got it across you guys. Go ahead and reach out. we want to talk to you about your brand. If you’re a millennial, you know, you probably have your own personal brand. Now with social media, you as an individual have a brand or company has a brand.

How those line up is very important. we do these exercises for company where we, make sure that those are aligned. And, this is a big opportunity for a mental shift in, in housing and it is taking it, taking a second for, self-evaluation and realizing that there is there’s something bigger here than just, you know, Showing up, you need to show up with the right message.

Matt: Yep, absolutely. Awesome. All right guys. Well, that is going to do it for this week on brand. Is the future, go over to the billing perspective, Facebook page, we [00:39:00] will post our group to mood board and some of that exercise questions, that you can ask yourselves. and maybe you can work through that yourself.

so anyway, really, really fun stuff. And look forward to chatting with you guys soon.

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