When you're start up a business in home improvement, remodelling, or handiwork, getting new clients on board can be hard. Given that home improvement work can be a big monetary investment, many potential customers approach new contractors with hesitation and scepticism. This leaves new business owners in a difficult predicament: low-cost marketing methods targeted at impulse buyers don't work well, but the long-term advertising strategies that convert are just too expensive for a business that's not yet making bank.
That's why one of the best ways to get new clients is to focus your marketing efforts on a target group that's easy to sway: your existing clients' neighbours. Word of mouth marketing is highly effective; when you do work on an existing client's house, they're sure to talk about it with their neighbours. These neighbours will be a pool of potential customers who are now primed, willing to trust you, and interested in having work done on their own home to keep up with the Joneses. Here are 2 ways you can encourage these potential customers to give you a call and schedule a quote.
Get Vehicle Signage
If, like almost all home improvement professionals, you drive to your clients' homes, you're missing out on tons of free advertising if you don't utilise vehicle signage. As the name suggests, vehicle signage is an advertising graphic adhered to your car or van. Every time you park up outside a property you're improving, dozens or even hundreds of neighbours will see your brand. Alongside making your business look expert and professional, this signage will get your business stuck in potential customers' minds so you're the first one they think of when they decide to remodel.
Vehicle signs range from the cheaper vinyl lettering stickers to the more expensive full-body wrap, but what makes this marketing method so low cost is that you only have to make one investment. Once you have the vehicle signage, it works for you time and time again for free. The best signage has the business name and contact details at the forefront and features bold, professional design.
Post Letter-Style Flyers
A lot of home improvement businesses try using professionally-printed, glossy postcards and flyers to solicit new business. While these may look nice, they're often not the most effective way of marketing your business to neighbours. These flyers often consist of a nice graphic and a list of services, but don't give potential customers any reason to act now. They're expensive to print, and often end up stuffed away in a drawer to be forgotten or in the rubbish.
Instead of investing in multiple print runs of fancy flyers, try printing cheap, letter-style flyers on your home printer or at a local stationer. Instead of showing off your business, these flyers consist primarily of three important components: a reason to act now, a deal price, and contact information. The headline should be one of the main benefits of your service followed by a quick explanation of what you do. Then give customers a special deal price they can get if they act now while you're working in the area. Finally, put your contact number or email on the flyer in big, bold type. You can also include a simple graphic and a few reasons why you're better than the competition. This type of marketing is more down-to-earth and personable, so the flyer doesn't need to have an intricate design.
This works so much better than traditional flyers because neighbours will already be primed after seeing or hearing about the work you've done nearby. The flyer gives them a tangible improvement they could see if they used your services, a limited-time deal, and a way to get in touch with you--everything they need to take action right now. Just post them to neighbours before you leave for the day, and you're sure to see calls rolling in.