There are millions of small businesses in the United States that have fallen behind the times. Contractors especially are a little bit behind the curve in adapting to the many awesome resources that the internet has gifted us. Relying on word of mouth is still a great channel to acquire customers but if you are solely relying on referrals then you are putting yourself in a challenging position. For that reason, I wanted to give my favorite 7 Marketing Tips for Contractors in 2019.
Marketing Tips for Contractors #1: Have a Web Presence
There are way too many businesses out there that are still ignoring the internet. Many contractors fall into this category and they either a) don't have a website or b) or have a website that looks like it was built when AOL was king.
The good news is that websites are more affordable than ever and you can have someone build you a clean, modern & effective website for a few hundred bucks.
Marketing Tips for Contractors #2: Get More Personal
People don't buy services, they buy the people behind the service! So don't be afraid to tell them about you & your team.
What values are important to you?
Are you a small family owned business?
The more personal that you get with your potential customers, the more that they will like you and want to call you instead of some other guy.
Marketing Tips for Contractors #3: Don't Oversell On Social Media
Social media is not a place where you should be selling constantly!
Let me repeat for emphasis...
Social Media is not a place to SELL!!!
Focus on educating your followers and providing value. The goal is not to hit them over the head with your services, but instead just have fun posting & being helpful so that you are reminding them that your business exists.
We do this to stay top of mind and when our followers need a contractor, then you will be the first person they contact.
Marketing Tips For Contractors #4: Use Google Ads
Online advertising is challenging & confusing. I don't recommend someone uses Google Ads if they have no idea what they are doing. That's when you should hire someone else to do it for you.
BUT...
If you are going to advertise online then you want to make sure that you choose the right channels.
Google Ads is the best for contractors because it is the only place that you can advertise to someone when they are looking for your service.
This is so valuable!
You can literally advertise to people who are searching for a plumber, a roofer or a repairman when they have a problem that you can fix.
Never before have you had that much precision, and that is why Google Ads are more efficient than the alternatives.
Marketing Tips for Contractors #5: Prioritize Online Reviews
It has never been more important to maintain a good reputation with your customer base.
One of the major things that you can do to improve your reputation is to get as many 5 star reviews as possible.
Focus on following up and gathering feedback from your clients & then (if they had a positive experience) give them specific instructions about how they can help you out online and what platform would work best.
By doing this it will
a) Collect testimonials that you include on your website, social media & marketing channels.
b) Improve your Local Google Ranking.
c) Gain valuable insight & feedback from your customers.
** So Google had an update that made reviews even more important to rank in their new update. In my opinion, this is now one the most important marketing tips for contractors in 2019.
Marketing Tips for Contractors #6: Do Basic SEO
SEO is something that takes a lot of time to learn & understand. Even if you don't want to spend $500/month to improve your rankings, there are a few things that you can do.
1) Identify what search term is most important to you.
Examples:
- "Plumber in [city name]"
- "Affordable Fridge Repairman"
- "commercial roofing company"
2) Place that search term in specific places (but make it seem organic!):
- Titles of Pages
- Headings
- Meta Description
- Alt Image Text
3)Register your Google My Business Page
Once you do those things then you can start to focus on building your page's authority!
Want to know a way to do that? Check back & review number 5 and get reviews specifically for your Google My Business Page.
Marketing Tips for Contractors #7: Don't Be Shy!
Look... I get it.
Putting yourself & your business out on the internet feels awkward and weird.
The bottom line is that it is an extremely valuable tool that allows you to connect with more customers than ever before.
You don't want to be obnoxious but you must make sure that everyone who is connected with you on social media knows 2 things:
- What it is that your business does.
- That you are damn good at it.
That's it.
How can you expect customers to tell other people in their network how good you are if you can't even do it yourself?
It takes some practice but once you get the hang of it then you will create a rock solid new channel to acquire more customers.
Questions, Concerns or Feedback? Let me know in the comments down below.