Investor · Allentown, PA · Member since 2012 · 73 posts · 18 votes
Does anyone use billboards or large signs at busy intersections to pull seller leads? I actually have one that I created using a small trailer and had a 4 x 6 sign built on it with "we buy houses" on it. It costed me around $1000 to put it all together. Realistically I get very little calls but probably because the location is not the best so I will probably be moving it.
I had it up for close to a year now and I did manage to wholesale 1 deal out of it so I have made a profit. Just wanted to know if you guys use billboards and what kind/ ideas on how to spend less than $1000 for it? I know you can use a vehicle with sign on it but that's too costly. My goal is to have a few around my areas.
Well you cant use "Ugly" when referring to buying houses. I trademarked I Buy Houses, Ugly Ones Too which was approved by the Government however Homevestors brought action during the publish stage and we fought with Homevestor or years and finally settled with the giant.
The reality is that if you think Hamburgers do you think McDonalds or the neighborhood hamburger stand. What about the word "Soda" do you think Pepsi or Coke or Shasta Cola... Markeing is about both instant gratification and long term brand awareness..
I think companies like Homevestors are great at long term franchisor growth and use current franchisees to facilitate furture awareness and that growth.
Whatever you do your statement has to be simple and easy to remember. The use of mascots help a lot however that may be a little much in the beginning and most investors are not in this for the long haul..
Finally billboards may be a little egocentric for most. A little look at what I paid for where in reality they are not going to create a ton of directed business.
I've experimented with billboards and my main conclusion is that the ROI is too low. I still have a small cheap one over in the hood, but that's all I will do anymore.
I believe billboards are great for branding but I do not think we get many calls from the billboards we have all around D/FW. We may not get many calls from the boards but most people in our area know our company/brand. I believe we are the first company that many people think of when they have an ugly house to sell... And that is a great thing.
Stinson, your company has done a great job with creating and extending its brand. I think your billboards are effective, but the typical or even exceptional wholesaler won't replicate that success. In fact if I explain to someone what wholesaling is who has never heard of it, I ask if they have seen the "we buy ugly houses".ads. They usually have. It could take $millions to create that kind of brand awareness.
Even though you probably can't build a household name like HomeVestors, you can build a strong brand in a small area. I wouldn't pay monthly for a billboard, but I might look to do signs with a one time cost. Like your trailer. $1000 might seem high, but it's given you a deal and future deals won't cost more. So I'd be in favor of using your vehicle. Pay once now for leads you'll be getting for years. Or at least strengthening your brand in your area.
Thanks for your input guys. I'm surprised that more people are not using this method. I think if done right this is a good and easy way to bring leads. I would not suggest this to a new investor but someone who has done deals , I probably would.
Billboards aren't a call to action. They're reinforcement at best. If you do BBs use a rotating schedule. Red and yellow. If focusing on neighborhoods use smaller boards if focusing on city wide use freeway boards in town only.
Keep in mind BBs is a frequency and reach marketing model.
Keep the phrase short and number easy to remember. Don't hide in the trees or building background.
Do you guys think it matters if your messages says "we buy houses" vs "we buy "ugly" houses"? I know Homevestors uses the "ugly" term so I am not sure if I could get in any legal trouble with them. Some other people use something like "cash for houses" ..does all this matter much?
Well you cant use "Ugly" when referring to buying houses. I trademarked I Buy Houses, Ugly Ones Too which was approved by the Government however Homevestors brought action during the publish stage and we fought with Homevestor or years and finally settled with the giant.
The reality is that if you think Hamburgers do you think McDonalds or the neighborhood hamburger stand. What about the word "Soda" do you think Pepsi or Coke or Shasta Cola... Markeing is about both instant gratification and long term brand awareness..
I think companies like Homevestors are great at long term franchisor growth and use current franchisees to facilitate furture awareness and that growth.
Whatever you do your statement has to be simple and easy to remember. The use of mascots help a lot however that may be a little much in the beginning and most investors are not in this for the long haul..
Finally billboards may be a little egocentric for most. A little look at what I paid for where in reality they are not going to create a ton of directed business.
Michael is correct... HomeVestors is very protective of our "We Buy Ugly Houses" slogan and they have a legal department that works diligently to protect it.
John, they have spent millions over the past 15 years building the brand and we continue to do so. I personally think we invest to heavily into billboards in the Dallas market. I think we have plenty of brand recognition in the Dallas market. As I said before, I believe billboards are great for branding but I do not think they drive a lot of leads.
If I wasn’t part of the HomeVestors system, billboards would be near the bottom of list when it comes to marketing strategies. The cost are extremely high and I think there are much better usage of one’s marketing budget. If I was starting a marketing campaign from scratch; I’d focus my initial budget on direct mail, internet marketing, and networking. As my business grew, I’d expand these campaigns and start to focus on branding.
There is another REI in the Dallas market who has done exactly that… he's probably the second most known home buyer in the area. He is also the brother of the founder of HomeVestors (Ken D'Angelo). :)
Billboards are just one part of an advertising campaign not the main source for lead generation. Using billboards, as has been said as brand awareness, so when you do Direct mail or whatever else you do that has a call to action, that there is a familiarity and knowledge of your brand. This will increase the probability of business with you. Branding is an expensive portion of your marketing campaign as some people measure the ROI on each portion of their campaign to see if effective or not. But what I've learned is the combo or layered marketing produces a higher overall response on my direct mail call to action piece by using billboards. Homevestors has truly cornered the billboard branding effect with millions of ad dollar spending over 20 yrs. That means you will spend more just to break the market to become recognizable. This could prove to be costly!
interesting this came topic came up just as I was thinking about starting one of my own! There is a blank billboard in my farm area so I was thinking about contacting the ad company to pick it up, sounds like it may not have sufficient ROI to make it worth doing.
I just finished up my first (and last) month with a 15x60 billboard.
I had driven by the empty billboard every day and stared at it while i was stuck in traffic and figured..if bandit signs have netted me close to $60k this year, a billboard should bring in a small fortune!! Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
We kept it simple, bright, and contrasting to its background: WE BUY HOUSES CASH
Contact #
Website
The vast majority of responses were from local contractors looking for work and other investors, with only a handful of leads. Did it pay for itself? Yes, and a little over; however, i could've funded my direct mail campaign for most of the coming year for what the billboard cost. As several folks have said, its great for brand recognition, but not worth it for lead generation.