An effective marketing strategy plays a major role in your ability to scale your home services business. It can help you improve brand awareness, promote marketing campaigns and content, better understand your target audience and customer personas, and convert more prospects into paying customers.
To implement any marketing strategy, you must determine where and how you’ll share your marketing content, campaigns, ads, and more - in other words, which marketing channels you will use.
Continue reading to learn about what marketing channels are, examples of commonly-used channels, and which ones you should start or continue using for your home services business.
Marketing Channels
A marketing channel is a method by which people and businesses bring their brand and product or service to the market and, more specifically, their target audience. It’s how a business can deliver information, campaigns, content, products, and services to prospects, customers, and the general public.
Marketing Channel Examples
There are dozens of marketing channels that are effective when bringing your brand and product or service to your target audience. Here are some common examples.
1. Website
Your website is at the heart of your online presence and overall digital marketing strategy - it’s critical for brand awareness, engagement, conversion, and more. It hosts marketing content and information that can be applied to each stage of the buyer’s journey (e.g. thought-leadership blog content, customer stories, services page, pricing page).
When thinking about your website as a marketing channel, don’t forget your mobile site. Ensure your website has a responsive design that allows for a seamless experience no matter where your potential and current customers are engaging with your marketing content.
2. Blog
A blog can be an incredibly powerful inbound marketing and organic search tool. By optimizing your content for the search terms and keywords or phrases that your small business is known for, you can establish yourself as a thought-leader in your industry, while also improving your chances of appearing on the search engine results page (SERP) when people are looking for solutions similar to those your home services business offers.
3. Social Media
There are dozens of social media platforms you can leverage as marketing channels such as Facebook, Instagram LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Depending on the type of home services business you own and who your customers are, determine which platforms are worth investing time and resources in as part of your multi channel marketing strategy.
By establishing a social media marketing strategy, you can share content that teaches people how to resolve some challenges on their own (e.g. how to manage a simple plumbing issue), engages new prospects, and allows for another avenue for communication between your business and audience. You can also leverage the ad tools across each platform to share tailored paid ads that are likely to garner attention from your target audience.
Another fun way to market on social media is to dabble in influencer marketing. If you can find local influencers that people in your area follow, you can reach out to that influencer and ask if they need any help with their HVAC, electrical work, etc. Then, if they post about their experience, you'll receive traffic to your social sites and website.
4. Email
Email marketing is an effective way to keep your subscribers and customers in the loop regarding new or special offerings, news about the business, and discounts. It’s also a great way to engage and educate your audience before, during, or after a service job is complete. Email is a great distribution channel because owned channels, like your email list, will be a way to always contact your customers. Even if different social media sites get shut down, you can reach out to past and current customers via email.
5. Podcast
According to a survey, as of 2021, 57% of US consumers listen to podcasts. Whether you host your own podcast or you advertise on a show, podcasts are an effective marketing channel for most businesses since they engage audience members who are prepared to actively listen to an episode.
For example, at Scorpion, we have several podcasts, but one of them in the home services industry is The Sharpest Tool. On this podcast, we talk to home services marketing experts to help inform business owners on how to level up their digital marketing.
If you host your own podcast, you’re establishing yourself as a thought leader in a specific market segment. And if you advertise on a podcast that relates to your industry or the service you offer, you’re getting your brand and expertise in front of people who are likely qualified leads for your business.
6. Paid Ads
Paid ads - or pay-per-click/ PPC - are those that are placed on the search engine results page. You (the advertiser) only pay for them when people click on them.
For example, a display ad is a common form of paid advertising. A display ad is a digital advertisement - which may include images, text, and video - that appears on websites, social media, and more. It directs users to a landing page where they can take your desired action (e.g. request an estimate, sign up for a newsletter).
7. SMS
SMS ads are effective for quick, transactional, and time-sensitive marketing messages among customers who have given you permission to communicate with them via text message.
8. Online and In-Person Events
In-person events (such as conventions, dinners, or networking mixers), as well as online events (such as webinars), are great places to promote your brand, connect with other business owners in your industry, and meet with interested prospects.
9. Direct Mail and Physical Ads
When it comes to effective advertising, direct mail may not be as influential as it once was but that doesn’t mean it’s something to ignore. Based on your business’s offerings and your buyer personas, it may be worth sending marketing materials and communications - such as coupons or service information - via direct mail. You may also invest in other physical ads such as billboards.
Home Services Marketing
Home services marketing is how you promote and bring your service to your prospects and customers. It’s how you tell your target audience about your brand, the services you offer, and what type of work you can successfully execute. Home services marketing also allows you to share industry knowledge to establish your team as experts in your field of work.
Marketing Channels for Home Services
We reviewed multiple channels to consider adding to your marketing mix above. You can use all of those channels (and more!) when it comes to marketing your home services business. However, there are a couple of channels that are a must. In this section, we’ll review what those are and why they’re important to add to your marketing efforts when marketing your home services business.
1. Website
These days, every business needs a website to simply sustain itself, let alone grow. A website that clearly states your technical and industry expertise and service offerings, as well as makes it easy to contact you or someone on your team, is critical. Not only is your website a major player when it comes to your marketing strategy, but it’s also critical to your ability to sell your service once visitors have begun engaging with your marketing content.
Spend a bit of time learning about how to optimize your website for search engines (the process of search engine optimization, or SEO), or hire a temporary SEO specialist to optimize your website for you. This will increase your likelihood of appearing on the search engine results page when people search keywords and phrases related to your service - meaning your search engine marketing will have greater reach and impact.
Part of the process of ensuring your website is a well-oiled marketing channel entails making sure your mobile site is up and running, and has a responsive design. This will allow anybody who visits your site via mobile phone or tablet to have a pleasant user experience and engage with your content easily.
2. Social Media
A 2022 report shows that 58% of today’s world population is on social media - meaning it’s important that your home services business has a presence on social media. Conduct some persona research to determine which platforms your customers use. Home services businesses can create strong profiles on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok. On social, you may show images of jobs you’ve completed, post how-to videos, share information about your service offerings, and engage with your followers.
Remember that you don’t need to be on all of the popular platforms - choose the ones that make sense for your audience. Also, consider your ability to maintain and manage the profile(s). Focusing on one or two social media sites is better than spreading yourself too thin.
Market Your Homes Services Business Across Different Marketing Channels
Promoting your brand and sharing information about your service offerings and technical knowledge through multichannel marketing is an important part of growing your home services business. Begin by identifying the channels you’re going to hone in on and use as channels to improve awareness and engage your target customers.
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