Slow economy necessitates inventive thinking

It is no secret that both new and existing houses have not been selling well the past couple years.

Neither is the fact that rising gas prices and the cost of other necessities are forcing people to cut back on extras like buying new amenities for their homes and eating in restaurants several nights a week.

When the housing market slows, no one feels it more than the builders and Realtors.

And when consumers tighten their belts, those who make their livings selling "the extras" suffer.

But, as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Realtors, builders and suppliers who are determined to stay in business and have the ability to think outside the box are coming up with innovative marketing ideas in this difficult economy.

Imagine the surprise of motorists on Route 176 in Wauconda during the evening commute one Thursday in September when Realtors carrying bags of coupons, fresh-baked cookies and cans of pop wandered through the traffic backup, distributing the gifts.

That three-hour giveaway was the brainchild of Holly Arnold McGrath, manager of the Century 21 - Roberts & Andrews office in Wauconda.

"For 12 years I have been in this office, watching the bumper-to-bumper traffic on 176 every evening and I suddenly thought that we have such a great location, we should use it," McGrath explained.

"All of the businesses on 176 are struggling and I was trying to think of something totally different to do that would bring us business, keep my agents happy and enthused and be fun for everyone," she said. "So I approached the other businesses to ask for coupons and giveaways and they were all very willing."

Motorists received free Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen, coupons for slices of pizza from a local pizza establishment, coupons for a hot dog and fries at another local restaurant, big cookies from the Citgo mart and cans of pop. Some even got American Family Insurance mugs. And everything handed out had Century 21 stickers on them.

"People are hungry when they are coming home from work and bringing them food in their cars will make sure they never forget us," McGrath laughed.

"People were honking and waving and laughing. They loved it and so did the other businesses," she added.

They got their materials out to about 200 people and 10 actually pulled into the parking lot to put their names on the office's mailing list and talk to their experts about avoiding foreclosure.

"If I help the other local businesses, I hope that they will think of me when they have real estate needs and I am sure that the people who got the food will notice our Century 21 office whenever they drive by now and have fond memories," she explained.

The neighboring businesses were so enthused about the experience that they are talking about repeating it monthly when the weather is good and taking turns manning the extravaganza.

In another recent marketing effort, the mortgage loan department of a local bank and a Libertyville Realtor drew together local businesses for an unusual open house.

John Forker of Fifth Third Bank in Vernon Hills and Doug Anderson of Blue Fence Realty in Libertyville met through the Gurnee-Libertyville-Mundelein-Vernon Hills Chamber of Commerce. Commiserating over the state of the housing market and the fact that fewer and fewer real estate agents and members of the public were attending open houses, they decided to try something new.

They approached other Libertyville area merchants like the Trattoria Pomigliano restaurant and Vintners Winery to see if they would like to showcase their foods and wines at a super open house, of sorts.

Both enthusiastically agreed and the open houses were soon held - an evening one for the public and a lunchtime one for other Realtors - in mid-September.

Blue Fence Realty provided the house - a $1 million home in the Nickel and Dimes subdivision.

Grandma Ann Panico of Trattoria Pomigliano manned the kitchen, demonstrating how she makes one of her most popular dishes, sausage and peppers.

Vintners Winery offered wine samples and showcased their custom label program, while a video production company produced a video tour of the house; Staging Chicago staged the house to its best advantage; and a silk flower artist provided lovely arrangements to dress up the home.

"They usually get between five and 10 Realtors at the Realtor open houses and we got 47 brokers and 75 members of the public for this one," Forker said. "Our partners had lots of interest in their products and we even had a couple of people show up who are now interested in the house."

So you can be sure that the group plans to do another similar event in the future.

"Our aim is to put together unique ideas to get people out to look at houses and we have a few more planned over the next few months," Forker said. "All of them will be unique. We are even expecting to have muscle cars displayed at one."

Educational seminars are another way Realtors are trying to attract buyers.

Baird & Warner in Carpentersville recently held a seminar about the new $7,500 tax credit that the government has authorized for first-time homebuyers.

"This tax credit is like an interest-free loan from the government so we brought out three speakers - an accountant, a loan officer and a Realtor - to educate people about it," explained John Worklan, sales manager of the North Randall office.

The accountant explained the tax advantages of owning a house versus renting and how the $7,500 credit works. The loan officer discussed the cost of buying versus renting and the Realtor talked about types of homes and bargains that are now available in the area market.

"The purpose of the seminar was to get people off the fence so that they will buy something," Worklan admitted.

And to make it easy for young parents to attend, free on-site baby-sitting was even offered. Worklan said that his office plans to hold another similar seminar in December or January.

Builders are also coming up with innovative marketing ideas.

Northbrook-based Kenneth James Builders is offering homebuyers the opportunity to finish their own homes at substantial savings. And 40 percent of them have taken him up on the offer over the past two years.

"We have had requests for this over the years and initially, we tried to discourage it. But recently we have realized that this is a sales feature," explained Carl James, president.

"It has added some additional sales for us and has generated good talk within the industry because over the years we have sold to lots of trades people and people with connections in the business who would like to save some money by doing it themselves or getting free labor from their friends and relatives."

Generally, Kenneth James Builders lets buyers take over no earlier than drywall stage since most have elected to handle things like the installation of flooring and countertops. But on rare occasions, they will also allow people to do things like plumbing, which has to go in before the drywall.

Those buyers, however, must comply with the builder's insurance requirements and adhere to the builder's schedule.

Obviously, the amount of work done by the buyers varies according to time constraints, budget and construction know-how.

"We offer this to our customers in an effort to help them afford a home they might not have otherwise been able to purchase," James explained.

They are currently selling single-family homes in the $239,000 to $500,000 range at Prairie Woods in Island Lake and $1.2 to 1.9 million custom homes in Old Mill Woods in Lincolnshire.

Even suppliers are getting into the act.

Northwest Electric, a custom lighting and electrical supply store at 600 E. Rand Road, Mount Prospect, offered "Tasty Tuesdays" all summer in an effort to engender loyalty among electrical contractors and members of the public shopping for lighting fixtures.

Most weeks from early June through early September, the grill could be seen outside the store cooking up hot dogs, hamburgers and brats during the lunch hour. But occasionally, breakfasts of pancakes, sausage and the like were offered instead for the sake of variety, according to Amanda Wolfe, marketing administrator.

The meals were also offered to store employees, so most weeks the business fed between 100 and 125 people, Wolfe said. Approximately 60 percent were contractors and members of the public.

Vendors helped sponsor the events and, in return, were able to display their products, give demonstrations and discuss them with those who were interested.

Dominick Losacco of Ram Construction in Elk Grove Village happened to walk in one September morning to find sausage and pancakes cooking. "This definitely will make me more loyal to Northwest Electric," he admitted.

"We stay in business because of the loyalty of our customers," explained Wolfe. "We try to be competitive in our pricing, but sometimes it is about the extras."