The home services industry is entering a defining moment. Competition is higher, marketing is more complex, and the margin for error is shrinking. Yet amid this pressure, a clear pattern is emerging: the businesses that grow consistently aren’t the ones spending the most, they’re the ones running marketing like a system.
That’s one of the key findings from our recent survey of nearly 1,000 home services business operators, marketers, and leaders across the U.S. The data paints a vivid picture of where the industry stands today and where it’s headed next.
This article is part of a new series exploring insights from that survey, starting with the forces shaping how local service businesses compete and grow.
Competition Is Rising and It’s Changing Shape
Standing out from the competition has never been harder. According to our survey, 55% of home services businesses see themselves as “one of many established providers” in their market, and 3 in 5 say independent contractors are their biggest competition, followed by franchise brands and private equity–backed companies.
For homeowners and businesses alike, the abundance of options has changed how people choose who to work with. Visibility and reputation have become the deciding factors, often before price or service offering even come into play.
In other words, being good at what you do isn’t enough anymore. You have to be seen, trusted, and chosen first.
When prospects search for a provider, your ability to stand out, online and offline, can make or break the sale.
That truth has driven many home services owners to rethink how they show up through their websites, reviews, ads, and customer experience. It’s also what’s fueling the next major shift in the industry: the rise of more complex business models.
Opportunity Is Growing, But So Is Complexity
One of the biggest takeaways from this year’s survey is the growing diversity of the customer base.
While 100% of respondents serve residential clients, a surprising 78% also take on commercial jobs, and 32% work with municipalities.
That means the total opportunity for home services businesses is expanding, but so is the complexity of how they market and deliver services. A provider that serves both homeowners and city contracts, for example, now has to manage multiple buyer journeys, pricing models, and communication channels.
This dual focus is forcing many business owners to adopt more structure in how they manage marketing. The challenge isn’t just about reaching more people, it’s about doing it efficiently and consistently.
The Vendor Tangle: Too Many Tools, Too Little Clarity
Most home services leaders know they need marketing help, but the way they’re getting it is creating new problems.
According to the survey, 85% of companies outsource at least some aspect of their marketing, and among those, 78% use two or more external vendors. The result? A tangled web of tools, agencies, and platforms that often don’t communicate with each other.
While outsourcing can bring expertise, juggling disconnected vendors makes it difficult to track results and make confident decisions. Many businesses end up with partial insights knowing they’re getting leads, but not which channels or campaigns actually drive revenue.
That’s where the divide between average performers and top performers becomes clear.
Top performers don’t juggle tools, they integrate them. That’s how they gain visibility, simplify decision-making, and grow confidently.
At Scorpion, we see this pattern every day. The home services businesses achieving consistent, predictable growth are the ones treating marketing as a connected system, where tools, data, and insights flow together to reveal what’s really working.
The New Marketing System: Clarity, Consistency, and Connection
The survey highlights a growing truth: successful marketing isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what works consistently.
Top performers share three key traits:
- Clarity on what drives revenue: They understand where their best jobs come from and focus investment accordingly.
- Tools that work together: Instead of scattered software and vendors, they rely on connected solutions that share data and insights.
- Strategies that adjust in real time: They review performance weekly, not quarterly, allowing them to pivot quickly based on what’s working.
That rhythm of review makes a measurable difference. Businesses that evaluate marketing performance weekly achieve an average 6x ROI, while those reviewing quarterly average 4.8x ROI.
The takeaway is simple: marketing is no longer a “set it and forget it” function. The best-run businesses treat it as an active system measured, continually optimized, and aligned to outcomes like booked jobs and repeat customers.
What This Means for Home Services Businesses
If your business feels like it’s “just one of many options in your area,” this is your moment to step back and reassess. Ask yourself:
- Are we clear on what’s actually driving our revenue?
- Do our marketing tools and vendors work together, or are we piecing things together manually?
- How often are we reviewing results and are we confident we’re measuring the right things?
Many home services businesses are realizing that the old way of marketing, scattered vendors, siloed data, and reactive decisions, no longer works. To compete in 2025, you need clarity and connection across every part of your marketing system.
That’s why we built RevenueMAX, a complete collection of digital marketing solutions built specifically for home services professionals.
RevenueMAX brings your marketing, lead tracking, and performance analytics into one platform, so you can see exactly what’s driving qualified calls, jobs, and most importantly revenue.
The Bottom Line
The results of our survey make one thing clear: the businesses winning today aren’t just hustling harder. They’re operating with clarity, consistency, and treating their marketing like a system.
They understand that visibility and trust drive growth. They know their tools and data work together. And they adjust quickly to stay ahead of market shifts. Sustainable growth is about quality, not just volume. Higher-value jobs, repeat business, and a stronger reputation matter more than raw lead count.
As this new landscape takes shape, every home services business has a choice: keep juggling disconnected parts, or start building a system that turns marketing into measurable results.
If you’re ready to spend less time guessing and more time growing, talk to a Scorpion expert about how your business can start seeing measurable results from your marketing efforts.
Next in this series: We’ll dive deeper into the marketing tools and technologies that actually work, and how top-performing home services businesses are using them to drive revenue. Read it now.
