This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Jennifer Johnson of The Client Cube joins Greg and Kevin to discuss the benefits of outsourcing marketing needs, especially in the rapidly evolving home building environment.
One of the biggest marketing mistakes companies make is in the hiring process. Jennifer says,
“Another mistake I see is hiring the wrong people who don’t understand the nuances or the importance of having a good digital marketing plan. You know, a lot of times you’ll just assume, oh, I’ll just hire someone in-house to do digital marketing or be my digital marketer. That’s a huge mistake. Assuming someone in-house can do it, and I’ll just tell them right now, nine times out of ten, they cannot. This is an extremely specialized discipline as you guys know, and an average in-house marketing manager likely won’t have the time or the knowledge to do it.”
Third-party marketing partners can bring many advantages. Jennifer explains,
“They can just rely on us. We can hit the ground running. We’re already trained. We already know most of their systems. So, we don’t need a lot of up ramp time. We can just plug and play…if they can whittle down the internal expectations and resources and lean a little more heavily on us, that’s absolutely a no-brainer and something we do all the time.”
When considering whether or not to outsource marketing, Jennifer says,
“…think seriously about your marketing plan…think seriously about who your staffing is in-house and whether they may or may not be the right fit for you…I would suggest and recommend that you open your minds to possibly an outsource specialized team that can really hit the ground running and do the kind of work for you that you have maybe been leaning on an internal resource to do. I would suggest that maybe that resource is overworked. They may not be highly specialized in something as nuanced as digital marketing.”
Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about the benefits of outsourcing marketing needs.
About the Guest:
Jennifer Johnson has nearly two decades of experience in the field of marketing, branding, mortgage, new home building, resale real estate sales, property leasing and management, and advertising.
She holds a BA in Communications from California State University Fullerton and has worked for some of the largest homebuilders, mortgage lenders, and advertising agencies in the country.
Starting her early career in the field of property leasing and management, Jennifer worked for the Irvine Company, Arnel Property Management, and Far West Properties, where she was one of the top producing sales and leasing agents at some of Orange County’s largest luxury apartment buildings.
As her career evolved, Jennifer transitioned off the sales floor and moved on to new home construction as a Vice President of Marketing and Sales for some of the country’s largest and most reputable builders. With marketing and advertising always being a passion, she has held corporate positions inside Lennar, Frontier Communities, and Fieldstone Homes as a Marketing Director and Corporate Brand Strategist.
During the 2008 financial crisis, many homebuilders experienced layoffs and opted to outsource their marketing efforts to third-party advertising and marketing agencies. This is when Jennifer received her first taste of supporting the home building industry as part of an outsourced marketing and account management team. She has held management positions with both The Zimmerman Agency and Swirl Advertising where she primarily serviced the homebuilder account, Lennar.
In 2011, Jennifer entered the mortgage industry where she utilized her deep knowledge of real estate sales to help support many of today’s largest mortgage lenders. For over a decade, Jennifer has supported mortgage lenders in a marketing capacity, advising them on best practices, content creation, CRM management, branding, and more.
Today, Jennifer owns and runs The Client Cube, a consulting agency primarily dedicated to serving the mortgage and real estate industries with all their marketing and advertising needs.
Personally, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her husband Don and raising their two children. She also holds an active state of California real estate license and belongs to both the California Association of Realtors (CAR) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In her spare time, she also enjoys yoga, Pilates, ballet, traveling, and visiting with friends and family at the local Temecula Wineries.