case study on Better homes & gardens real estate.. insights on B2B and B2C social media marketing.

1. BETTER HOMES & GARDENS REAL
ESTATE:
B2B AND B2C SOCIAL MEDIA
MARKETING
CASE STUDY ON
By
ARUN S R
LIBIN PAUL

2. 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/mth
By the end of 1st quarter, 2011 –> in 23 states (approx. 200 offices & 7,000 agents)

3. Website of
BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

4. Website of
BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

5. 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.

6. 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. ”

7. B2B TO B2C
B2B 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.

8. 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?

9. 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?

10. 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?

11. THANK YOU