Landscaper, drywaller, electrician, painter, this list can go on and on; no matter what the housing market is home maintenance and remodelling is always a high priority for people who are both selling and staying in their current residents.
- Do you know if you are reaching all those potential customers?
- How are they going to find you when they are ready for your services?
- Are they including your business in part of their research for their new project?
These are all great questions you should know the answers to about your business advertising. More than likely you have started your own business in this industry cause you are good at what you do and not cause you have a background in business and advertising.
The Business Plan: No matter the business you are always recommended to have a plan in place. This not only defines you to your financial backers but it helps you stay on target to what your goals are and how you are going to achieve them. Part of this business plan you are going to define your clients so that you know how you are going to reach them. You want to target clients that have projects in the skill set that is being offered by your business and they have a budget to work with the services you offer.
Know what you want your brand to stand for. Are you professional, well managed, provide good value, reliable? Create your brand’s personality within your business plan so that you and any current and future employees can keep to your brand image. You do not want to be known as the business that provides cheap or low-cost services as you will be attracting those type of clients that will be always looking for that discount and make your job harder by being both the one providing the service and running the business.
Consistent Advertising: Do not just advertise just when you need new clients. Keep up the work on getting your name out there. Remember if you do not reach your clients your competition will be swooping in a taking your future clients away from you. Make sure you advertise where your ideal client is located and planning out their next reno project. Word of mouth marketing has changed and it is easier than ever for you to have your past customers place a review on social media sites recommending your services. Make sure you have examples of your work on display on both your website and social media platforms you are using to market your business.
Word of mouth marketing has changed and it is easier than ever for you to have your past customers place a review on social media sites recommending your services. For each job, you complete offer a small incentive, whether it is a gift certificate for a local restaurant or coffee house, a gift basket or a discount on future services, for completing a review of your business online.
Make sure you have examples of your work on display on both your website and social media platforms you are using to market your business. Potential customers want to see what you are capable so that they can envision it within their own home.
After they have checked out your reviews and visited your website, what’s next? Retargeting! The next time they are on a website with ad placements you want to make sure they see you again and again. Retargeting you past visitors is an effective way to draw them back into your site in hopes of converting them into a lead.
Logos, Vehicles and Signage: A good logo becomes the face of your business, and it should be seen. You have a geographic market that you want your image to reach, what better way then place it on your work truck. This way your image is seen at every job site you visit, and location you pick up supplies. This will help differentiate you and your team from the general contractor that hired you. Of course, having your logo on display you should also have clear standards of conduct for any employee who drives that vehicle.
Are lawn signs right for your business? Placing lawn signs out is adding your logo to you work as you are working on the job site, but what about after? Ask your customers if you can leave a sign behind to advertise the work completed. This will allow others in the neighbourhood that admire your work to know who to contact when they are keeping up with the Jones. Keep into consideration when leaving a sign,
- Needs of interest
- newer subdivision
- pools, landscaping, fencing
- older subdivision
- painting, roofing, renovations
- newer subdivision
- High traffic areas
- Disturbance or removal of your sign
- Timing and season
- Demographics of the area
Make sure that when adding a yard sign to keep within municipal by-laws.
- Needs of interest
Networking, Networking and More Networking: Business chambers, local networking groups, services organisations, and home shows. Get out there, talk to people and build relationships. Yes, all these this take time, but it is something you have to budget for each month to get out there to know people in your community. Not everyone at these meetings will need your services but build the right type of relationships with them and when they are asked to refer someone for the job they will know you to go to for a quote.
Know Your Limits: Have your marketing work within your business plan. All the marketing and public relations are great unless they are executed correctly. Make sure you have the in-house talent and time to work on the tasks your small business is taking on, if not consider outsourcing some of these tasks to make the new work-load manageable.
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