5 Key Trends and Takeaways from the Builders' Show & KBIS

That’s a wrap! I had a blast at the Builders’ Show and KBIS last week. The highlight was meeting many of you who were so optimistic about the opportunities you have to build your business and the ideas you shared about what was working for you and what wasn’t.

If you read the news you’d think home building was dead. But, if you were at the show you’d see that the flurry of activity and attendance was real and even though business might not be booming for some, many home builders and remodelers are finding a way to make it work.

Here are my key takeaways from three days walking the show and talking to exhibitors, builders and remodelers about the current state of marketing and growing their business.

1. Many builders and remodelers are starting from the ground up - I spoke to a few guys who have been swinging a hammer for 30 years or more and they’ve always had plenty of jobs and beyond setting up a website and Yelp page, they’ve never done any organic or paid marketing of their services. They now realize it’s time to expand their business and they aren’t sure where to start. These are exactly the type of folks I love chatting with! It’s never too late to start with content creation and what’s great is that results can happen quickly.

2. Builders are dissatisfied with their digital tools - I won’t call out any of these tools but more than one builder expressed frustration with their do-everything online platforms that promise to solve marketing and operations, but instead became unbearable to use. There are quite a few options out there, so don’t feel locked into one. It may also feel daunting, but you can and I believe you should separate your online marketing efforts from a system that is handling your operations.

3. Builders know their audience - A tough thing for many marketers is determining a buyer persona for a brand, but builders have been face to face with their customers for years and know them very well. That makes my job easier as we can speak directly to that persona which will yield the best results.

4. Brands are working harder to reach you - This is a generalization, but the bigger brands are sending their product managers and engineers to the shows to talk about the products as opposed to just a marketing person. They know that builders need a technical explanation of a product instead of just a marketer who might only know about the features.

5. The NAHB was impressive - I found that the NAHB was working hard to offer more education, meetups, and general opportunities for their members to learn and connect. I don’t work for the NAHB and I’m no shill, but their social media team and outreach on email was consistent and just enough to keep me interested about everything happening at the show. I go to a lot of trade shows and the NAHB is one of the best for a reason.

I dropped the ball on posting a lot from social media, so I apologize if you were following from afar. I got tied up with conversations and meetups that I found more valuable than posting about the newest cold plunge from Kohler. I’ll do better next time and probably bring someone along to help me.

As we wrap up the first quarter, keep me posted on how I can help you and your business. In addition to content marketing consulting I am taking on a select few writing gigs, so keep me in mind if you are seeking a great storyteller :-)

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Best regards,
Timothy Dahl
Founder, Builder Playbook