Marketing your home improvement business with a profitable customer base presents unique challenges.
- "Everyone" can use your products and services.
- "Non-marketing" tasks take up your time and energy in each day.
- There are so many options, it’s hard to choose what will be effective.
Plus, not all Home Improvement businesses are alike. And each type of company should be marketing to a different type of customer.
- Home Centers and Lumber Yards: Homeowners (including DIYers) and Contractors
- Remodeling Contractors: Homeowners who are not DIYers
- Generator Installers: Homeowners who want comfort or convenience
The list goes on and on. But what you can see by the examples above is there are subtle differences. The first step is to figure how who exactly you should be marketing to. Then get the word out at the right time. Finally, by marketing smarter you'll attract the right customers instead of any customer. Get started now! Create your smarter marketing strategy using the step-by-step process outlined below.
Ok, so how do I market my home improvement business?
Your marketing needs are unique and your time is precious. That's why it makes sense to have a home improvement marketing strategy tailored to your business. One that:
- Targets your potential customers.
- Delivers the right messaging to your potential customers at the right time.
- Continues to keep in touch to help them transition to buying customers.
- Growing your customer base in a targeted regional area
- Attracting profitable customers
- Promoting your company's sales and services in a timely manner
- Staying on top of home improvement marketing trends
- Generating website content ideas
- Improving customer reviews and promoting them
- Nurturing your potential customers through:
- social media strategies
- traditional and digital advertising
- email campaigns
Home Improvement Marketing Challenges
What are your home improvement marketing challenges? Maybe you've been asking yourself one or more of the following questions:
Why can't I attract the right customers?
It's frustrating to spend advertising dollars that aren't reaching profitable customers. How do you fix this? By figuring out who the best customers are for your home improvement business. This doesn't have to be a long and drawn-out process either. You can start by noticing patterns in their age, location, and interests.
How do I get the word out on time?
It's discouraging to have a great sale, service, or in-store event to promote and have it fall flat. Planning out your advertising even one month ahead - will keep you ahead of the curve.
What if I don't have the time for marketing?
You may feel like you don't have the time. As a small business ourselves, we understand the day-to-day fires get in the way. Start with small simple tasks once a week. The key is to stick with it and be consistent. Then, as you get comfortable and see results from one technique, you can add another one. (And another one.) Before you know it, you'll have a complete and working program.
Meeting Your Home Improvement Marketing Goals
Of course you want to market your products, events and services that brings in sales. Makes sense. That said, we believe your home improvement marketing goals should aim even higher.
For example, how about marketing your products, events and services to exactly the right audience at exactly the right time? This is the key to sales sustainability and a customer-base that grows each year.
The next steps would be to position your business as a community asset. Or set your sights on being an industry thought leader. It's not hard to do. The easiest way is to show your expertise with useful tips and relevant information. Your company can share this information on your website, social channels and emails. When you do this, you will gain followers, fans, and a community of engaged customers.
3 clear steps to begin marketing your home improvement business:
1. Attract profitable customers.
The first step to any successful marketing strategy is to define your best customer. It isn’t as hard as it might seem. Start with these basic questions:
- What is their location? Do people drive about 10 miles to your store? Do your service reps handle jobs really well within a one-hour drive?
- Are their specific towns or areas, that you believe would attract more profitable clients for your business?
- What age range does your team work best with?
- Are they male or female? Do they live with a spouse or partner or do they live alone?
Then get into specifics, like:
- Are they a first-time homeowner?
- Did they buy a fixer-upper? Are they looking to live there or flip it?
- Do your services or products appeal to weekenders or vacation homebuyers?
- How do they spend money? Are they frivolous or more budget conscious?
The more detailed you can get, the more specifically you can identify their problems. Which in turn helps you explain how your company can solve them. This free eBook walks through the details of the full process.
2. Get the word out at the right time.
Now that you know who you want to talk to, next focus on your timing.
Home Improvements are usually seasonal projects. In the Northeast for instance, we start thinking of being outside in March. After a long winter, we can’t wait to spend time on our deck, or plant a garden. In the summer, we may realize our roof or siding should be repaired or replaced. And in the Fall, we think about if we need to insulate or prepare our homes for winter.
Pre-create content that help your customers identify the problems your company solves.
- ads
- before and after photos
- videos
- website pages
- social posts
- and more.
Don't forget to make the connection you can solve the problem.
Then get your ads and posts out when your customers are likely to have the problem and need that solution.
Sounds obvious right? It is, but the key is to have the content ready and scheduled. That way you are promoting a consistent stream of useful, relevant, and interesting content. And then pair that with an occasional sale or promotional item announcement. Soon your customers will be looking to you and your company to help solve their Home Improvement problems.
3. Market smarter.
Do you want to know how to market your home improvement business in a smarter way? A little bit of planning and some automation will help a lot.
- Figure out what problems your business solves. and note when these problems are on your customer’s minds.
- Determine how much money and/or time you have to put towards marketing your company.
- Based on your time and money, how can you stay top of mind when your customer’s have problems they need to solve?
Then, plan out where you want to spend your money and time for the entire year. Two things to keep in mind, as you are planning time vs money:
- Social Media is the least expensive ad option but can be the most time intensive.
- Television can be the most expensive per ad option, but it is the least time intensive.
If you are a marketing DIYer, you can automate your marketing. There are plenty of tools to help you post pre-created social posts and send emails. If you use these technology hacks, you can create marketing in your slow times, and have it roll out when you are busy.
Ready to build a larger customer base?
Do you want to figure out your target audience on your own? Download our eBook Creating Magnetic Content. It walks through step-by-step examples.
If you want to brainstorm with our team, schedule a free strategy session. We can help you figure out who your best customer is, because we work with a lot of Home Improvement businesses. Once you know who you need to reach, we can create a plan to do it for you. Or give your team advice on what you can do to attract profitable customers.
