Kelly Kenton Fink of Bowen Family Home, talks about the brand review she did of 30 competing builder Web sites. Click here to listen. |
Category//Marketing Director of the Year
Gold Winner//Kelly Kenton Fink, Regional Marketing and Internet Director, Bowen Family Homes, Duluth, Ga.
Kelly Kenton Fink became Bowen Family Homes’ regional marketing and Internet director in 2005. The division has since increased its percentage of online sales 30 to 35 percent from 5 to 7 percent.
“We still do print advertising,” Fink says, “because I still believe people want to see something in print, to have something tangible in front of them. But the majority of our marketing budget right now is online. I don’t do print unless it comes with an online package.”
She increased sales by 28 percent with the inception of the “My Home Concierge” customer service program — accessible from the Bowen Homes Web site — offering potential buyers special services and personal assistance.
“If you’re moving to the area, we can help you with finding schools, day care, even a hotel to stay in while you’re in town,” Fink says. “We took [clients] all the way from the time of their VIP appointment [with a sales staff member] and walked them through the process, even helping them with mortgage information.”
She conducted a brand review of 30 competing builder Web sites. She registered at each site under an assumed name and made the same information requests from each. “It was really interesting,” says Fink. “I got a lot of auto responders instead of personal follow-up.”
Fink concluded from the results that in terms of response times, correspondence frequency, appointment requests and incentives offered, Bowen’s processes outperformed the competition.
The Nationals judges applauded Fink for doing creative and innovative things to achieve superior results. For instance, she used Google analytics to review the effectiveness of Bowen’s online marketing and made adjustments that saved nearly $200,000. She also developed a co-branding program with Pottery Barn to furnish her models and save merchandising dollars.
“She built the online sales department from scratch,” says Steve Palmer, Bowen’s CFO, in his nomination of her for Nationals recognition, “and [has] the best lead generation and conversion rates in the Atlanta market.”
Related Stories
Business
Entries Closing Soon for Best in American Living Awards
Custom builders have only one week left to submit their projects for recognition
Awards
Three Custom Homes Honored by Best in American Living Awards
These three custom homes stood out in the Best in American Living Awards for their site sensitivity and attention to detail
Awards
Home Design: A Mellower Modern
Three New England contemporary homes show modern architecture's softer side
Awards
Impeccable Execution
These custom homes captured top honors in the 2017 Best in American Living Awards with their brillant synthesis of design and craftsmanship
Awards
BALA-Winning Custom Homes Set High Standards
Three Platinum winners from the 2016 Best in American Living Awards show how custom is done
Awards
David Weekley Homes honors top suppliers with Partners of Choice Awards
Houston-based David Weekley Homes last week announced the winners of its Partners of Choice Award, which recognizes the product suppliers that ranked highest in satisfaction by approximately 500 David Weekley staff members.
Awards
Quick! Bookmark HousingGiants.com
Housing Giants is making another big leap, and this time, you have more opportunity to contribute
Awards
The Keys to Sales Success
We interviewed some of the Nationals' gold winners after the January awards ceremony in Las Vegas to learn what they attribute for their success
Awards
2009 Nationals Sales and Marketing Awards Winners
The Nationals Sales & Marketing Award gold winners were on top of their game – despite the condition of the market