As we begin a new decade, it’s important to understand what our consumers are looking for online when it comes to seeking home services professionals. Gone are the days when a simple, clever ad converts a homeowner into a customer.
The online audience is smarter and more sophisticated than ever before, and they’ve learned to spot a “faker” from a mile away. The responsibility is now on the business owner to prove their legitimacy by showcasing their business through attention-grabbing ad language and visuals, a professional-looking website that addresses their needs, and engaging, informative content.
Whether you’ve been in business for “3 Generations and Over 60 Years” or you’re “The Neighborhood Expert,” your potential customers are skeptical and need to see more before they believe it.
There are several ways you can win customers over the competition, a few of which I’ll go over here.
Telling Your Story
It’s been said that you have about seven seconds to make a good first impression, and that is definitely true. But once you’ve done that, then what?
Every business has a unique story to tell which usually answers these two questions: “What makes you different from the competition?” and “Why are you the choice for me?” This story can be told through your website and online media. Does a visitor really get to understand what makes your company special by browsing your website? If not, why? Your website is the online face of your business and should be a true representation of the experience your customers will get when they work with you. Do they feel welcomed? Do they feel informed? Will they trust you?
Using proper storytelling to engage your website visitors is a powerful way to not only educate them on the services you provide, but to build trust with them before they’ve even had a conversation with anyone at your company.
And speaking of trust…
Showcasing Customer Successes
Now more than ever, online consumers are looking for recommendations and reviews to help them choose their next service provider. Quantity is important, but quality can be a more critical factor in how your customers make a decision. As mentioned earlier, the online audience is more sophisticated than ever before and they will often gloss over any reviews that are light in content and context. They need to understand how you made the customer feel because they want that same experience, too.
Create a growing base of advocates and work with them to create compelling success stories that you can showcase on your website and other online channels.
Communicating Your Authenticity
There are a lot of businesses out there that are working hard to get the same customers that you are looking to book. When multiple businesses have similar reviews, price points, and historical track records, the next leading purchase driver becomes authenticity.
Do you have a brand voice that properly represents you online? Is it clear to visitors what you stand for as a home services business owner? Being more honest and open with who you are and what you stand for has been shown to attract more customers in today’s purchasing world. Don’t let your potential customers feel unwelcome by using a robotic tone and lackluster presence.
What’s Next?
What should you do once you’re getting these visitors and they are turning into customers? How do you know if your marketing dollars are providing the return you need to grow your business?
Use Real Data
It’s critical that you use accurate data when analyzing your campaigns. Understand how your home services digital marketing partner defines a “lead.” Ensure you’re looking at more than just the number of calls you’re getting. How many of these calls are turning into customers? What are those jobs actually worth for your business? Failure to understand and see this will create uncertainty and a guessing game of, “Where should we spend our marketing budget this month?” Don’t guess. Know. Information is power and the only way to get that power is to access real data.
Know Where Your Customers Come From
One of the biggest advantages of online advertising is the amount of data you can collect. There are hundreds of data points that can be looked at and analyzed. Understanding where your customers come from is crucial.
Not nearly enough businesses capitalize on this data and they continue to miss out on new customers. If you knew that all the bass were swimming along the shore would you continue to cast your line in the middle of the lake? Of course not! Utilize the data that’s available to maximize your marketing budget and get the customers that you want.
If you’re interested in learning more about internet marketing in 2020, please contact us and one of our team members will be happy to send you The State of Internet Marketing book.