How To Market a Design-Build Firm on Houzz and Attract New Clients

Houzz For Marketing Design-Build Firms

Design-build contractors have an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the recent upward trend in housing starts and the best way to market your firm is on Houzz.  We are fans of Houzz because it allows you to target prospects on the social media platform where prospects are looking for your services. Frankly, we are amazed when we come across design-build firms who are not using Houzz for marketing.

Houzz has a massive user base with more than 46 million unique visitors every month. Houzz is where builders use images to showcase their best work.  The key to success is the inclusion of keywords you want to be found for within the description for your firm and the photographs. The effort it takes for builders to reach their target market with keywords pays off in awareness of your company and if used as part of your marketing strategy, increased sales.

Great photographs of your work demonstrate your skills and encourage interaction with potential customers. Prospects file your project pictures in their ‘Ideabooks’ and contact you when they are ready to tackle that new home, renovation or addition.

Checking your Houzz page each day allows you to interact with prospects. The conversations don’t have to be particularly sales driven. Simply giving advice and sharing your knowledge on Houzz is a great way of attracting prospective clients. They will appreciate the value of your information and you will be seen as an expert. When they are ready to start a project they'll remember your firm for the help you've provided.

Houzz has several additional benefits and is committed to allowing professionals access to powerful tools that are necessary for the success of their business. You can expect to receive a series of emails guiding you on how to best use Houzz. Builders are also given access to a broad range of tools and market research which can direct businesses into the right direction for marketing on the social media platform.

For marketing off the platform, companies are often invited to Houzz run events that are being held in their local area. This is an excellent way to meet potential clients face to face and generate quality leads.

Houzz’s Pro+ program benefits businesses seeking an additional advertising channel. The Pro+ package has expanded to include extra benefits, tools and resources that increase the opportunities for businesses to take advantage of in their social media marketing campaigns. It is no longer just about being featured in the feed, it may also include being eligible for your images to be used in blogs that Houzz writers contribute to the platform. 

Houzz CEO Adi Tatarko has stated, “With this powerful new analytics tool, remodeling professionals will be armed with real-time insights on how their profile and portfolio are resonating with the homeowner community, enabling them to make adjustments and craft the most effective brand presence possible to attract the right clients. Our goal with Pro+ is to deliver a service that helps professionals build their brands and increase their exposure to homeowners in their local area the way they want.”

Design-build professionals can monitor the number of visitors that have clicked through to their content and the number of those that have saved it. This is useful for determining what the current market is interested in.

Reviews are important to the visibility of your profile and project pages. Always request reviews and if necessary, walk clients through the online review process to ensure its being done correctly. Businesses can also create printable customized review forms that can be handed to clients to return free to Houzz. This feedback can then be added to the company profile. Pro+ contractors can place a button on their website which will direct visitors to their Houzz page to see additional images of your work.  The button also allows prospects to save the design to their 'Ideabook' automatically.

Using Houzz to market your firm will result in more leads than any other social media platform. The key is to fill out profiles and project descriptions completely, add as many images as possible, change up the keywords you want to be found for and write images descriptions for every picture.  With a strong set of images, highly searched keywords and frequently looking in on who is contacting you through Houzz, client quality lead generation can increase.