Spring is just around the corner. Soon homeowners are going to be ready to take on home improvement projects, putting an end to the slow winter months that are all too common for contractors. This preseason lull in the workload can be the perfect time to assess your business. This includes re-evaluating your marketing strategy and determining the best way to promote your business. Our experts have put together a comprehensive contractor marketing checklist to help you get the most out of your marketing efforts and maximize profits throughout the season.
Website Remodel
An essential component of any marketing strategy, a business website isn’t a one and done project. When was the last time yours was updated? In order to get the most bang for your buck, your website needs to remain current. This applies to design, content, and technology.
First and foremost, if it isn’t already, your website needs to be mobile friendly. With today’s busy lifestyles, people are always on the go and search for everything on their mobile devices. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re probably missing out on a significant chunk of your targeted audience. Frustrated by an antiquated website, they will quickly move on to the next site which will most likely be one of your competitors.
Just like architectural styles, website design trends are always changing. If you haven’t updated your website recently, it’s probably time for a refresh or maybe even a complete redesign. Your website should have a modern feel and functionality, making it visually appealing and easy to navigate. Also, take another look at your content. If it isn’t current and relevant, users will be much less likely to consider you an authority in your industry.
Elevate Brand Awareness
Contractor marketing goes beyond just having a great website. It’s about building your brand and your reputation across all online marketing channels. This includes business listings, review sites and all the social media platforms your company is active on. Your business information needs to be current and consistent on every listing. Monitor social media and be aware of what is being said about your business. Addressing any negative chatter or reviews is vital to reputation management.
Even in today’s digital world, your offline marketing presence is still very important. It’s how your company is viewed in the real world, from business cards and print marketing to uniforms and truck wraps. If your website is ready to be updated, it’s time to refresh your offline presence as well. Presenting your business in the best light possible is vital to the strength and success of your brand.
Get Social
Social media is another great tool for contractor marketing. Identify which social media platforms are the most popular with your target audience. Be active on these platforms and share content regularly. Posting images of jobs in progress as well as before and after shots on Instagram is a great way to showcase your work. Using professional photography of your projects can elevate the impact your posts and truly highlight the quality of your work. This will not only help you engage with your audience, it will also extend your reach and help generate new business.
Utilize Automation
Streamlining any work process can free up valuable time to spend on further developing your business. Implementing email marketing is an efficient and effective way of staying in touch with current and previous clients. It allows you to reach your entire mailing list or a specific segment of it all at one time.
Monthly email marketing is a great way to reinforce brand awareness with your clients. Developing automated drip campaigns can help guide prospective clients throughout the sales funnel and prompt them to set up a consultation, request an estimate or even commit to enlisting your services.
Cultivate Leads with Chatbots
Every day, people visit your website without ever interacting with you. Wouldn’t it be great to know what they were interested in and capture their information so you could follow up with them? It can be extremely beneficial for contractor marketing to integrate a chatbot or live chat feature to your website.
A chatbot is a robotic software governed by rules that can interact with your customers via a chat interface on your website. Chatbots can engage visitors and provide them with programmed information they are looking for when you’re not available. When visitors receive even part of the information they are looking for, they are more likely to share their email or phone number to get further information.
A live chat feature allows you to engage with visitors to your website on a more personal level and provide them with an immediate response. In addition to basic text-based chat, many live chat tools offer other features such as allowing you to see how many times they have visited your website, which pages they have viewed and more. All of this can help you understand more about your website visitors and more effectively cultivate leads.
Consider Video Marketing
Embedding a video on your website provides multiple benefits. Videos are easier for visitors to digest and tend to hold their attention longer than text, increasing the time they spend on your site. While this extended session length can build trust and encourage conversion, it can also help improve how your website ranks in popular search engines. Longer sessions indicate that your site content is good and search engines view this favorably. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that Google now owns YouTube, which is the second largest search engine behind Google (in terms of the number of search queries) Actually, hosting all your videos on YouTube can significantly impact your overall ranking.
There are a variety of options to choose from when it comes to video marketing. You can create an explainer video about a product or service. Or you can take a less sales-oriented approach and film an informative video. Videos can include you or members of your team or they can be animated. Animated videos are a great way to explain a difficult process or bring a more mundane subject to life. If you’re not camera shy, live videos are a popular option for social media. Posting any video you have created on social media can encourage social sharing and will help you reach new clients.
Community Involvement
Getting involved in your community is always a good idea simply because it’s the right thing to do. It can also be beneficial to your contractor marketing strategy. Community involvement can help you build relationships with community members and boost your online visibility and brand awareness. You need to decide what level of involvement is right for your business. You can sponsor a community event or, if you want to take a more hands-on approach, you can take part in community projects or enable employee volunteerism. Businesses that take an active interest in their communities and give back are often viewed more favorably and are more likely to be patronized by community members.
Secure Your Website
Probably one of the most important items on your contractor marketing checklist for 2018 is to make sure your website is secure by obtaining an SSL/TLS certificate. This has always been highly recommended but soon it will truly be a “must have” feature for the success of your website and your business.
In the past, websites that had an SSL/TLS certificate would have “https” at the beginning of their URL and websites that didn’t have a certificate would have “http”. The difference was subtle and often went unnoticed. In July 2018, Google plans to roll out Chrome 68. Chrome currently displays a neutral information icon, but starting with version 68, will add an extra notification of “Not secure”, in the address bar. This will clearly alert visitors that the site is not secure and discourage them from entering the site. Your website is a big investment and vital to the success of your business. Make sure it’s secure.
Get Help with Your Contractor Marketing Checklist
As a contractor, your time is better spent doing what you do best. So get your tools ready, rally your crew for another busy season and let Creative Click Media take care of your contractor marketing. Whether you need a complete redesign, social media marketing or help securing your website, we offer complete and professional digital marketing services to keep your business growing. Contact us today and make sure you’re all set for the upcoming season!
