Sarah Eckel » NDG Communications, Inc.

What inspires people to buy your product? Chances are, it’s the very same thing that motivates you to build that product.

According to Simon Sinek, author of “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action,” people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. It’s a concept he refers to as The Golden Circle.

Every company or organization knows what they do, most know how they do it—but very few, Sinek says, know why they do it.

A real world example? Take Apple.

Apple is a successful, innovative company with loyal customers. What sets them apart from other computer companies? Instead of simply saying they make great computers, Apple starts with their why—challenging the status quo.

Apple’s goal—and your goal—is not to do business with everyone who needs your product, but rather people who share your “why”. This is especially true for a purchase as important and personal as a new home.

Your “why” gives your customers something to relate to, it encourages them to act, and can lead to greater brand loyalty. It’s also what truly sets you apart from other homebuilders.

What’s your “why”?

Click here to read more about The Golden Circle, or click here to watch a video where Sinek shares more on this concept.

We are proud to announce that Mid-Atlantic Builders, an NDG client, has released 10 premier homesites at The Grand Reserve at South Village—the pinnacle of luxury at Beechtree in Upper Marlboro, MD.

Click here to learn more about this exciting opportunity to own one of the largest remaining homesites at Prince George’s County’s resort-style luxury community!

Do you have plans for this Valentine’s Day weekend? If not, stop by for Dinner and Live Jazz Night this Saturday at the Lake Presidential Clubhouse at Beechtree—NDG client Ryko Development’s exceptional, resort-style community in Upper Marlboro.

Take this opportunity to check out all of the wonderful amenities Beechtree has to offer and meet new people, while enjoying a night out with the one you love.

The menu for the evening includes Petite Filet Mignon with Grilled Tiger Shrimp, Baked Stuffed Flounder with Crab Imperial, and Rosemary Roasted Cornish Game Hen with Berry Port Reduction.

Click here for full details.

Reserve your seats today: Contact Beechtree’s Community Concierge Melissa Jackson at Melissa@BeechtreeMD.com or by calling 301-803-0474.

Over the past few months, we’ve added quite a few new articles and e-books to the NDG “Knowledge Base,” our internal library of online content.

Looking to drive more traffic to your website via Facebook? Check out “Beyond the Facebook Business Page: How to Generate Traffic and Leads with Facebook,” an interesting new e-book publication from HubSpot. Learn how to make Facebook a major part of your marketing strategy with tips on keeping your content fresh, instructions on how to advertise successfully, and more. Click here to download this free e-book today.

Content Marketing vs. Traditional Advertising, an infographic from Marketo, shows how content marketing—the creation and sharing of content to promote a product or service—is competing with traditional advertising, and benefiting marketers. Some of the most popular content marketing tactics include social media—with 55% of marketers using Twitter, 54% using Facebook, and 38% using YouTube to distribute their content—e-newsletters, and blogs. Click here to see the infographic.

We are happy to announce that Beechtree, a valued NDG client, has officially broken ground on their swim and racquet club. The new facility—a recreation centerpiece in Upper Marlboro’s premier luxury community—will feature a clubhouse, meeting/party room, swimming pool, children’s pool, fitness center, and a racquet club! Beechtree is also home to an award-winning golf course, 11,000 sq. ft. clubhouse, and a scenic 30-acre lake.

When an employee at Brookfield Homes, a client of NDG, lost her life to domestic violence in 1996, the company banded together to not only honor the memory of Lisa Sechrist, but also to help young women build self esteem and professional skills—and support local efforts to provide a safe place to live, with the hope of preventing the recurrence of such a tragedy.

Since then, Brookfield Homes has raised nearly $500,000 in scholarships and assisted more than 100 young women with the Lisa Sechrist Memorial Foundation.

In addition to financial contributions, they accept non-perishable food, clothing, school supplies, toys, furniture, and more.

Click here to learn more about the foundation.

Here at NDG Communications, we always want to be moving forward in our field. In addition to our growing library of books, we also have the NDG “Knowledge Base.”

The NDG Knowledge Base is something that we developed internally here at NDG and are very proud of. It is essentially a library of online articles and reports that can be easily accessed by the entire NDG team at any time through our operations system, and covers topics on advertising, marketing, and the real estate industry. What makes our Knowledge Base even more special is that it’s a team effort and everyone contributes to it and also relies upon it for the most up-to-date information and advice.

Here are a couple of recent articles that we added to our Knowledge Base that we felt were important to share with you:

“The Future of Mobile Advertising: Less Annoying, More Useful” reveals that 60% of mobile users click on mobile ads at least once a week. The article suggests that there’s still room for improvement with mobile ads that could make them a “less annoying, more useful” experience. Click here to read more about future trends in mobile advertising.

“You’ve Got Three Seconds to Make an Impact” covers the importance of the email subject line. It’s one of the first things a person sees before opening an email. After viewing who sent the email, the recipient looks to the subject line, and within three seconds, they’ve already decided whether or not to open the email.

Stop back periodically for more great and informative reads from our library and the NDG Knowledge Base. We’ll continue to share the most timely and informative things we find with you.

Sarah Eckel,
NDG Director of Account Services

CNBC recently interviewed Stephen Paul, Executive Vice President of Mid-Atlantic Builders, a client of NDG, about the Real Estate Industry and the hurdles that home builders are currently facing.

Screen shot 2011-08-18 at 12.10.42 PM — Stephen Paul, Executive Vice President, Mid-Atlantic Builders

According to the interview, during the month of July, single-family new home starts dropped 4.9%, whereas multi-family starts increased by 6.3%, showing a rise in rental demand. A new trend identified in the interview is multi-generational families moving into one home in order to afford and qualify for a mortgage. Mid-Atlantic Builders is “selling in-law suites with the regular part of the house, and the parents are moving in and actually helping pay,” Paul said.

But when it comes to single-family homes, “the escalation of gas prices, the debt issue with the government, and what’s going on in Europe has caused consumer confidence to fade,” Paul said, adding that buyers are cautious of their next move. “They are anxious to buy, they see the rates are very attractive, the prices are affordable, but they have held off, really starting in May and through the summer.” But, Mr. Paul is certain the market will pick up in the fall.

To read the complete story, click here or watch the full interview here.

Sarah Eckel,
NDG Director of Account Services

Nearly a week after the launch of the new Google + social network, Facebook has just unveiled its anticipated Skype-powered video chat feature.

Skype CEO Tony Bates described the new Facebook video feature as a “mini-Skype client”—built right into chat, easily accessible with the click of a button at the top of your chat window. And if the person you’re calling doesn’t answer, you can even leave a video message.

Unlike the Google + “Hangouts” feature, which allows up to 10 people to engage in video chat, Facebook’s video chat offers free one-on-one capability only. So why didn’t Facebook launch group video chat from the start in effort to stay head of Google +? Facebook responds that one-on-one chat on Skype is more popular; however, it’s worth noting that Skype currently charges for group chat and relies on this feature for revenue, indicating that Facebook is unlikely to offer group video chat capability anytime soon.

All in all, both social networks’ video chat features are useful for entirely different reasons: Facebook’s Skype-powered video chat is simple, direct, and easy to use, while Google + “Hangouts” offers a number of social options for connecting with various groups of friends or colleagues in different ways, in any combination you like.

Do you use video chat now? Will you be more likely to use it on Facebook or Google +? And do you anticipate incorporating this capability into your company’s public response, just as “live chat” has become a necessity for many websites? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Sarah Eckel,
NDG Director of Account Services

The ever-changing technological landscape has provided the real estate marketers and real estate buyers with several new tools to utilize when searching for a new home. The most popular of those tools today are the iPad and the iPhone because of their many apps, and other smartphone platforms are also in wide use in the Real Estate industry among both agents and buyers, such as Android and Blackberry. There are countless useful apps out there, but only a select few that are affiliated with some of the most effective real estate listing sites.

If you’ve done your homework and you know that your buyer profile is an avid smart phone or tablet user, here are a few apps that connect with some of our preferred real estate listing sites. All of these apps serve the general purpose of allowing potential homebuyers to search for homes, so we’ve outlined some of their other great features that help prospects find homes of interest.

The TRULIA App from Trulia.com

Listings include thorough information, and overall this is the easiest app to utilize when looking for homes based primarily on location.
The search function is map-based and powered by Google, making it very easy to use only if you are searching first by location. Secondary filters allow users to select the price range, square footage, number of bedrooms, and number of bathrooms.
There is a separate map search function that allows users to search only for homes where the price has been recently reduced. When users view the listings they can see when the price was reduced and by how much.
Use your Trulia.com account or create one in the app.

The ZILLOW App from Zillow.com

Map-based search functionality allows the user to easily find homes in a particular area of interest.
Search results also display animated banner ads linking to mobile websites.
Zillow’s signature Zestimate® feature is shown on each listing, allowing users to fully understand taxes and any previous sales history of the home.
Users do not need to navigate one layer deeper to view photos, as each listing displays photos on the main detail page, making it very easy to navigate the listing content.

The REALTOR.com App from Realtor.com

Allows you to search the largest amount of homes for sale because their listings are powered by MRIS.
The app can automatically sync up to an existing Realtor.com account or a new account can be created directly from the app.
Listings are easy to browse and all information is accessible in very few layers.
The email and share to Facebook and Twitter features are very easy to use, making sharing more likely.

The HomeFinder App from HomeFinder.com

Great resource for searching open houses on the weekend.
Listings are powered from a large, national database of newspaper websites.
Many options to filter your search by price range, type of home, location, and features.
You can also sort by distance from a specified location or price.
Google powers the mobile-friendly driving directions feature, making it useful for navigating to homes.

NDG Communications, Inc.

Author Archives: Sarah Eckel

Inspiring Others to Act

Get the First Look at The Grand Reserve at South Village

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Beechtree

Beechtree Breaks Ground on Swim and Racquet Facility!

NDG Client Brookfield Homes Gives Back to the Community

Sharing Helpful Reads from Our “Knowledge Base”

CNBC Interviews Stephen Paul, EVP at Mid-Atlantic Builders

The Best Mobile Apps for Real Estate Marketers

The TRULIA App from Trulia.com

The ZILLOW App from Zillow.com

The REALTOR.com App from Realtor.com

The HomeFinder App from HomeFinder.com