With home interest rates on the rise over the last few years, more people than ever are planning on staying put and investing in their existing homes. For small businesses in the home services industry this is great news. But just because there are plenty of customers out there, doesn’t mean they’re always finding and choosing your business.
So, how do you solve that?
The answer lies in how you market yourself. Are you promoting yourself well online? Are you mainly relying on referrals for new clients? There are plenty of factors affecting your ability to get and convert new leads. Let’s take a look at some marketing for home services tips and tricks that could help you grow your business.
Service-based companies are unique because instead of selling a physical product, they’re selling a skill that their employees possess. This means that marketing tactics need to be unique as well.
Effective marketing strategies for services include things like building trust with customers or showing them how your services can benefit them. For example, a contractor who specializes in building decks may promote the work they’ve done on their social media with before and after photos.
Popular examples of the types of companies who use home services marketing includes:
We’ve put together a list of tactics you can use in both digital marketing for home services and offline marketing. If you already do some of the things on this list, great! Maybe you can work on improving them. Or pick a few new tips to try out and see what works best for you and your business.
When you provide a service, most of your business relies on local customers that you can reach easily. By focusing on local SEO marketing, you’ll help your website show up at the top of the SERPs for local searches. This is crucial when you factor in that 78% of local searches on mobile devices lead to a purchase within 24 hours.
When you create or claim your Google Business Profile, Google will create a Google Maps location that will synchronize with traditional Google Search. This helps your business show up in the maps section of local searches, making it easier for customers to find you. It also adds an element of trust when Google recognizes your business.
Customers don’t want to play guessing games when they search for your business looking for things like hours and phone numbers. But if you’re not managing your business listings, that’s exactly what might happen. Make sure your info is up to date all across the web to ease any doubt.
If you have the budget for it, running ads is another great way to eyes on your business. With pay-per-click (PPC) advertising specifically, you only pay a fee once your ad is clicked on. This is a great way to target your ideal customer and get results quickly.
Google Local Services Ads, or LSAs for short, are advertisements that are specifically geared toward businesses that offer services instead of products. They show up at the very top of Google search results and target searchers who have transactional intent within the business’s chosen area. These are even more cost-effective than PPC ads because instead of paying for every click, you only pay for the leads you gain from the ad.
Home services businesses thrive on referrals. The best way to earn those referrals is by providing excellent customer service to current clients. When you execute jobs to a high degree, communicate efficiently and go above and beyond for your customers, they’ll be happy to recommend your services to all their friends and family.
While you might rely on referrals for gaining new customers, that doesn’t mean online reviews aren’t important. When a new potential customer is referred to your business, they’re most likely going to then double-check your online presence. Studies show that 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses and 57% of consumers will only use a business if it has 4 or more stars on local reviews. A combination of personal referrals and positive online reviews is key.
According to HubSpot, 80% of customers remember a video they’ve watched in the last month. Why not take advantage by filling your social channels with plenty of videos? You can highlight completed jobs, current projects that are in progress, or even Q and As.
Speaking of social media, don’t forget to highlight your employees on your channels as well. When you run a service business, more than likely these employees will be visiting customers’ homes. Getting customers familiar with the people who will be performing their services adds an element of trust.
Potential customers might be curious about what your process looks like. Use YouTube to document all the steps your business takes when performing your service. Potential customers will get a behind-the-scenes look before deciding to use your business. Don’t forget you can also post clips from these longer-form videos on your social media for the important video content we mentioned before.
With mobile devices accounting for approximately 57% of people’s online time, making sure you have a mobile-optimized website is an absolute must. 61% of mobile users call a business when they’re in the purchase phase of the buying cycle. You don’t want to miss out on those high-intent customers with a website that doesn’t support optimal use on cell phones.
We often stress how important digital marketing is today, but sometimes it’s still helpful to add a little bit of offline marketing into your overall strategy—especially for home service businesses. Posting on local bulletin boards, leaving flyers with local businesses, or even taking out an ad in a local newspaper are some great and inexpensive ways to get your business seen by people in your area.
Entice potential customers to choose your business over other service businesses is by running promotions. Add an extra layer of persuasion by running those promos during peak seasons. For example, offer discounts on lawn care right before summer or percentages off cleaning services around the holidays.
Sure, a lot of your marketing tactics are about bringing in new leads, but don’t forget about nurturing the ones you’ve already gained. 57% of consumers spend more on brands to which they are loyal. Make sure you show your repeat customers plenty of love with special deals, amazing customer service and beyond.
Another perk of having loyal customers is that they’ll speak on your behalf. Don’t be afraid to ask a few of them to give customer testimonials. When added to your website or social media, they’ll work along with reviews to help you build a solid online reputation.
Often when customers are reaching out to home service businesses, their needs are urgent. They might have a leak or a broken furnace in the middle of winter. During these times, people prefer to speak to a live agent to communicate the urgency of their issues instead of filling out an online form. It’s important to have a real person at the end of your phone line for cases like this.
If you’re looking for someone to handle all aspects of your digital marketing, you might consider hiring an agency. When you put your trust in a marketing agency, you can use your time to focus on other important aspects of your business and get back more free time for your family. RevLocal specializes in local search, websites, organic SEO, social media, paid ads and review marketing. Our team of expert strategists will work with you to create a marketing plan that best suits your business and budget. Reach out to us today for a free consultation.
Some unique challenges come with marketing a home service business. When you’re selling skills, your strategies won’t be the same as businesses that sell physical products. That’s why we’ve included multiple different tips and tricks for you to try out. Whether your goals are to stand out from competitors, get more leads or earn repeat customers, there should be at least a few new strategies for you to implement on this list.
As we mentioned, don’t hesitate to give RevLocal a call if you have any questions about marketing for home services or how we can help your business.
Mideya Kinney, Junior Content Writer
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