BETTER HOMES & GARDENS REAL ESTATE: B2B AND B2C SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

CASE STUDY ON

ByARUN S RLIBIN PAUL

BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

Sherry Chris – President & CEO Jennifer Marchetti – VP of marketing & Communications Parent company – Meredith Corporations (magazine comps) 1924 -> Magazine originally started 2007 -> Grown to 40 mil readers & 5 mil website visitors/mth New Brand Launch BHGRE -> 2008 2012 -> 7 mil website visitors/mthBy the end of 1st quarter, 2011 –> in 23 states (approx. 200 offices & 7,000 agents)

Website of BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

Website of BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

WHATS THE “CASE” This case explores social media marketing as both business to

business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) strategies. In spite of a challenging real estate environment, Better Homes

and Gardens Real Estate (BHGRE) was launched in 2008 by Realogy Corporation,

BHGRE has grown rapidly and has experienced tremendous success with its B2B social media efforts.

Now, several years after the formation of the company, the president and chief executive officer must decide how to leverage what she has learned from the B2B effort to create a B2C social media program.

Additional factors include a concurrent Canadian market entry.

Why B2B TO B2C

“After nearly 20 years of real estate experience company believe the future of the industry is based in the effective use of technology along with a significant focus on consumer lifestyle and goal is to do today what the rest of the industry will be doing tomorrow. ”

B2B TO B2CB2B Marketing B2C Marketing

Tend to be smaller, more specialized target markets

Tend to be larger target markets

Complex solution- more “consultative” selling

More product oriented, less “consultative”

Generally smaller above the line advertising/marketing budgets=Less well known brands

Larger “above the line” advertising budgets= more well known brands

Longer sales cycle Shorter sales cycle

Can be very relationship oriented- longstanding sales relationships

Relationship tends to be with the product- not sales person!

Less personal, more “value driven”

Very personal, ties into personal ideas of status, self image, peer group etc.

APPREHENSIONS What would be the right Facebook and Twitter handles? If they were

utilized for the consumer strategy,

what would happen with their existing base of thousands of friends

on Facebook?

Would they split into consumer and Business?

Would they lose momentum on the industry side?

APPREHENSIONS How would they leverage emerging social media sites such as

Pinterest? What kind of content and resources would they need to develop? Would they need to consider a video publishing strategy using

Youtube? In what ways would content marketing to the B2C segment differ from

what BHGRE had produced in their B2B marketing and how might those difference affect budgeting, staffing and editorial requirement?

KEY QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED

What is the right strategy and associated tactics that would allow BHGRE to meet their objectives in creating and implementing a B2C social media strategy?

What exactly did they want to achieve from program? What impact Franchise model may have? How would they go about defining goals around engagement? What was the right strategy and associated tactics that would allow

them to meet their objectives?

THANK YOU