In his article A National Industry Image Campaign Discussion Starter, Editor and Publisher L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach initiated a discussion on a nationwide campaign. That post has drawn numerous comments, all with valid points, issues and opinions. All-in-all, a great start to a conversation that hopefully will bear fruit in the form of a real campaign.
There seems to be a real tidal wave of opinion in the industry that the way out of the current sales depression is to draw new customers to the product by elevating the public perception of the lifestyle associated with manufactured housing and the quality of the homes themselves. There are other factors, but I believe that the industry’s product image is a key element.
In an earlier post in this blog, What if people thought Manufactured Housing was the greatest thing since sliced bread?, I threw out a couple of ideas to get this campaign going on a local basis RIGHT NOW!
Using the outlets provided by modern technology, a grassroots industry image campaign could be started in your local market today. Who would do it? YOU! And I submit that if you aren’t willing to start in your own backyard, don’t expect others to pick up the slack for you.
“We want to go where the customers are.
Since some 80% of home purchases begin with
research done online, that is the perfect place to start.”
A national campaign may or may not ever get off the ground. But a hundred local campaigns could begin changing the public’s perception of the manufactured housing industry whether or not the national campaign ever sees the light of day.
What are the tools for this local campaign?
- Your blog
- Your Facebook Fan page
- Your Twitter account
- YouTube
- Your email subscriber list
This doesn’t mean you should abandon traditional marketing methods that are working for you. But if you have traditional methods that are bombing, put them out of their misery and spend the energy on things that do work.
Oh, that national campaign – even if it gets going, it will be a while before the organizational elements are put into place and materials are produced. Do you really have the time to wait?
Newspaper and Yellow Page ads will not change how the public perceives manufactured housing. At least, they haven’t so far. But the interactive media mentioned above can, especially if you can get your satisfied customers involved.
Head on over to What if people thought Manufactured Housing was the greatest thing since sliced bread? and re-read the Blog It! list.
Start getting lifestyle images and videos of your best homes, residents and community activities, whether you are a community, retailer or installer. We’re all in this together. Get the subjects permission to use the material. Then, USE IT!
Nothing sells a lifestyle better than those living and enjoying it.