As the owner of a remodeling business, you have the challenge of convincing people to let you transform and beautify their homes. Due to the uniqueness of your business, you might find yourself wondering whether your marketing strategies are on target. You want to find new customers for your business while simultaneously encouraging current clients to keep you in mind for any future projects they might come up with. You want homeowners to retain your services, to recommend your business to their friends and family, and to tell everyone that you offer the most amazing remodeling services in town. Here are some tips to help you attract and retain more clients and grow your business with satisfied customers.
Your Website
Your website often offers your first opportunity to leave a fabulous impression on potential clients. It is also the landing point for most of your digital marketing efforts as you guide potential clients to it from social media channels and direct advertising pieces. The website for your remodeling business should be beautiful, mobile friendly, and offer user experience that is convenient, intuitive and helpful for current and prospective customers.
Images are an excellent way to engage current and prospective clients. That being said, it is important to use authentic images instead of overly-staged stock photos. Hire a professional photographer to capture pictures of you and your staff working on actual properties. Or, keep it casual and use a tech-savvy staff member with a high-quality mobile device to do the same. Use images to tell the story of your staff, their particular talents, and the wonderful service that your clients experience. You can also ask clients to submit pictures of their properties or projects you have completed for them along with a quote about their experience of working with you.
For more website tips, see our article: Website Tips for Remodeling Companies
Social Media
The promotional potential of social media is limitless with a strategically thought out and executed plan. Remodeling businesses can get the most from their social media efforts by posting relevant, engaging, and interactive content. While it may be tempting to simply push out social post after random post in an attempt to gain attention and clients, in reality, a systematic approach will yield the best results.
Facebook has powerful advertising and targeting tools that make it an excellent place to start. This social platform provides an amazing amount of information about the habits and preferences of Facebook users. In addition, the platform offers advertisers a number of different ways to use that data to pinpoint their marketing efforts. Instagram is a visually based social media network and provides an effective canvas for remodeling companies to highlight completed projects and examples of various services. Instagram is also an incredibly interactive platform and encourages high levels of engagement from its users.
Understand your target audience and on which platform or platforms they spend their time. Create a comprehensive content plan that includes setting specific goals for each of the social media platforms on which you choose to feature your remodeling company. Regularly engage with your followers and encourage them to post their own images of completed projects. Track the performance of your content and make tweaks as needed.
It takes time, effort and money to properly establish and maintain a robust social media marketing presence. The goals are simple. Let consumers know you exist. Show them how your remodeling services are superior to your competitors and convince them to give your business a try.
Manage Your Online Reputation
Online reviews and ratings are major factors that influence consumers and shape the way they interact with businesses. The content in online reviews can be the difference between the success and failure of a small business. 62.7% of consumers believe online reviews are important or very important when choosing a local business. Having no reviews can have a negative impact as that lowers credibility and consumer confidence. Today’s digital word-of-mouth, online reviews are a necessary component for your organization.
Feature both positive and negative reviews prominently on your website. While uncomfortable to show less than perfect assessments of your business, transparency is important. Also, include client testimonials but not on a separate page. Integrate reviews and testimonials into the home page and other pages so they are available to consumers throughout their time on your website.
A regular stream of reviews is better than many at once. It is recommended that businesses NOT offer incentives for customers to write reviews and certainly never buy fake reviews. A much better practice is to gently remind consumers they have the opportunity to post a review to share their experience using your services.
Email Marketing
Email is an open platform which makes it a powerful, low-cost marketing channel. The total number of business and consumer emails sent and received per day will exceed 293 billion in 2019 and is forecast to grow to over 347 billion by the end of 2023. The modern form of direct response marketing, email is one of the most effective inbound and outbound lead sources. Even with the increase in other channels of lead generation, email is still a strong way to upsell current customers and convert leads.
Create copy that is direct and to-the-point. Use a conversational tone and avoid jargon or hard sells. Discuss the ways your business can solve common challenges that homeowners run into and how you can beautify their space, regardless of why the consumer is interested in a remodel of sorts. Be aware of the danger of spam trigger words – avoid the urge to overload your messages with fluffy clichés or inflammatory statements. Keep the behavior (CTA) goal in mind, whether it is for the reader to click a link to your website for more information or click a button to set up a consultation.
Not all emails have to promote your business and services. Thank you, birthday, and holiday messages can all help build your relationships with customers. Send welcome emails to new customers immediately after they retain your services. Personalize the messages and reiterate the benefits recipients will receive through your newly built connection.
A reminder on some basics. Proofread and edit all messages prior to sending them. Proper grammar is a must as is correct spelling. Test and optimize any landing pages that your emails provide links to and test all links and buttons in the emails to ensure there is no missing data or broken links. It is also a good idea to test messages on multiple devices to guarantee responsivity. And remember, per anti-spam laws, you must provide a link that readers can use to unsubscribe from receiving your emails.
Wrap Up
It is important to remember that marketing is an ongoing investment that involves advertising, client support, public relations, media planning, and more. Your remodeling business’s marketing plan should integrate strategies that let you grow your client base over time while still allowing you the flexibility you need to respond to changes in your client needs.
The team at Strategy Driven Marketing understands the natural peaks and valleys that are part of growing and running a business. We also understand the importance of continuously working towards increased brand awareness and driving traffic to your website. We’d love to learn more about your business and help you create and execute a specifically tailored marketing plan that works for your brand.
Contact us today to learn more about the services we offer and how we can create a personalized marketing plan that works with your specific business goals and budget. Let’s get started!
Cover photo by Sharath Babu from Pexels