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Finding Success Marketing Mutual Self-Help Housing
By Angela Sisco, RCAC rural development specialist
Often, one of the biggest challenges for self-help housing grantees is to find families that qualify for the program.
Mutual Self-Help Housing grantees have found successful recruiting programs by going back to basics. Grantees have learned that their future participants are not necessarily to be found through typical marketing methods. What worked at the height of the housing boom is not working in today’s economy.
Consider the following tips when marketing your self-help housing program:
There is a marketing principle that people need to see or hear a message multiple times, so you should ensure your marketing plan employs a variety of opportunities for people to learn about the self-help housing program. Review all of your printed marketing materials to determine that you are sending the best message every time. Keep in mind that the direct translation of “sweat equity” in some languages is undesirable.
By changing marketing materials often, people may be tempted to read the program brochure more than once! Using staff members who know and believe in the program to conduct door-to-door marketing campaigns, present at town hall meetings and be the voice in radio and television advertisements has helped to alleviate concerns that the program is too good to be true or is just another slick housing program.
Consider trying these low- or no-cost marketing initiatives that have been successful for others:
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Use your own For Sale sign on your lots – potential clients are already in the neighborhood looking.
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Survey previous participants to find people they know who may be interested.
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Offer a “finder’s fee” (not from Section 523 funds) for referrals when the loans close.
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Get interviewed by your local news station, newspaper or PBS station.
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Have a local business sponsor your organization for a day and have $1 of every widget sold go to your organization (and they do the marketing!)
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Beat the pavement; get out into a targeted community and start talking about self-help housing regularly.
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Be active; be creative and have fun. This will make people take notice and want to be a part of the action.
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Provide printed shirts and hoodies to staff as just one more way to make people familiar with your organization and program.
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Never underestimate the power of partnerships with local businesses, organizations, churches and advocacy groups.
If your organization plans to attend local fairs and events this summer, ask yourself, “What are we going to do to bring people to our booth?” Some ideas are: 1) rent a bounce house;
2) raffle a play house (check your state’s raffle laws first); 3) offer face painting; 4) make cotton candy; or 5) share a booth with a popular radio station. Try something that makes children bring their parents to your booth and makes people feel good while they are there.
This is a new time and potentially a whole new generation of self-help participants. Do not assume that because you have tried something before, it will not work now. Have a mechanism to track what is working; scrap what does not, and look back to what worked before the participants found you.
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