Home service enterprises are important for communities, but even among local businesses, competition is fierce, so a robust marketing strategy is essential for growth.
While it’s ultimately up to you which direction you want to take your business, here are some definitive tips for marketing to help you grow and succeed in your chosen industry.
Step 1: Refine your brand identity
Before you begin your exciting foray into marketing, you’re going to want to figure out what exactly it is you’re selling.
Start internally, looking at your company’s values and goals. Are you going to employ modern agile work practices? Will you allow the business use of personal cell phones or opt for a more traditional business model? These are parts the public won’t see, but the culture of your business should be reflected in your brand.
After that, figure out what makes you different from your competitors and highlight those differences. Maybe your home service business is the most cost-effective or has the best customer service. Maybe you boast the best call-out times or are exclusively high-end.
No matter what it is, try to find something unique about your home service business – a reason for customers to choose you over your competitors. If you’re struggling to think of something or find the market is already saturated with similar businesses, you might need to consider if there’s something slightly different you can offer.
Step 2: Make a website
Once you’re confident in your brand’s identity, it’s time to get the word out. Having a website is a must nowadays, even for local businesses, and expectations are high. No matter how good your services are, an unprofessional website is enough to scare away potential customers.
There are a few options for this step:
i. Produce your own website
This is a great option if you’re confident in your coding skills. You’ll have complete control and limitless opportunity for customization.
There are a lot of upsides, but it’s not a great choice for amateurs. So, if you’re the type of person who would have a meltdown at the sign of their first computer bug, maybe it’s not for you.
ii. Use a website creation service
There are a lot of great site creation companies that offer ready-made templates with which to create your site.
You will have to pay a regular subscription fee to the company for hosting your website, and there are limits in terms of customization, but this is a great option for those who are not I.T. literate.
iii. Hire a third party
The final, more expensive, option would be to hire a third party that specializes in original website creation.
They will work with you to create a bespoke website with any features you desire. A good service will work alongside your business, allowing you input every step of the way, from conception to localization testing.
If you’ve got the funds to spare, and you can’t make your own website, this is the best option to create an entirely original online platform.
Step 3: Site mapping for SEO
After making your website, you need to ensure people see it. The best way to be seen is through search engine optimization (SEO). This means making it as easy as possible for search engines to find your site when somebody searches for something related to your business.
This sounds fairly simple, but it can be difficult for newcomers to get a significant SEO ROI. Search engines often prioritize results based on engagement and quality ratings, but if you’re brand new, chances are you won’t have much of either.
Submitting a sitemap of your website to search engines can help in that department. A sitemap is essentially a blueprint of your website that helps search engines read the content within it via industry keywords.
As long as they deem your site a valid source of information or services, they will use your sitemap to place you higher on the list of search engine results.
This can be a difficult process, as having a sitemap alone won’t guarantee greater visibility. It has to be paired with relevant content, SEO competitive analysis, and positive user engagement to get going.
However, if you keep creating good content, and receiving good reviews, eventually search engines will know you are to be trusted, and they’ll use your sitemap to help people find you.
Step 4: Grow your reputation as experts
One of the best forms of marketing is growing your reputation, and becoming an authority in your chosen field is a great identity to foster. Try producing informative content like blog posts, FAQs, or video tutorials. This kind of online engagement is fantastic for your brand and its SEO.
Building a reputation will invoke a sense of trust in your brand which is invaluable and may even open up another avenue of business in terms of consultations, lectures, and/or tutorials. Moving in this direction can widen your reach and improve brand awareness.
If this takes off in a big way, make sure you’re able to scale up your operations to keep up. VoIP for business is a useful option for supporting scalability and growth.
Step 5: Encourage online reviews
Search engine results rely heavily on star ratings. They tend to prioritize higher ratings, and you’ll know yourself that you default to the highest-rated company. You’ll also know that most people don’t bother leaving ratings at all.
Do everything you can to encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews about your service, setting you up for future business. It only takes a short amount of time, and most people will happily do this if requested.
This is another way to increase your online presence while gathering vital feedback from consumers.
Step 6: Paid advertising
i. Google search ads
Paid advertising is also an option to consider. Whenever you google something, you’ll notice that the first couple of results are ads. That’s because those businesses paid to be there.
Everybody wants to be at the top of the search list, but doing so organically will take a lot of time and user engagement. An easy way to jump to the top is by bidding on that spot in relation to a certain keyword.
This is a great option for new businesses looking to get a foot in the door and will ensure your business is one of the first things customers see when they search for your particular home service.
ii. Local service ads
Have you ever googled something “near me”? Of course you have, and you probably got some useful results. The way Google finds those results is by consulting their list of local businesses.
As a home service business, most of your customers are likely to be located nearby, so you’re going to want to appear on that list. First, you have to register with Google. This is a pay-per-click service, so you won’t have to bid on the top spot like you do with search ads.
iii. Appear on Google Maps
Finally, registering with Google on “Google My Business listings” will ensure your enterprise appears on Google Maps.
This is great, for all the same reasons as local service ads. It also has the bonus of showing more information when your business is viewed.
Just by clicking your business, users will have instant access to your location, contact information, reviews, and link to your home site.
Step 7: Keep Adapting
If you follow this guide, then you’ll have a great start to marketing your home service business, but new strategies are evolving all the time. So, never be afraid to keep adapting as you continue to grow.
What are you waiting for? Put these top tips to work today to successfully market your home service business!
