What costs, if any, are there with your best choices?
Please do not include ‘word of mouth’ as I am looking for suggestions for both paid and free services (Home Advisor/CraigsList).
We have had succes with running a tv commercial spot on our local news station airing 8 times per week. We’ve also mailed flyers by direct mail. Being on BuildZoom certainly helps.
We were told by an international businessman that our insulation work was far beyond the industry and that Angie’sList would be a great addition to our great website. There is no cost to a contractor who does supercede the industry standards as homeowners are used to . Building our review list to 70+ all “A” reviews cost nothing but diligence. Now we get calls that don’t ask how much, instead it is when can you come and how soon can you start! There are paid programs also , like storefront offers and “Big Deal” offers that will take a little from you upon completion, and there is county list searches you can be at the top, but without the ability to WOW your clients, none of this will help. Online presence and reviews (Google also) are the future of contractors. It helps cleanout the “one hit wonders” People are also “SMART” to know that just a few reviews can be bought by friends! A powerful website like ours tells client’s you are different- http://www.njsprayfoaminsulation.com or DoctorEnergySmart.com is a great example!
Awesome question, J.A. Goodson Construction LLC! The answer is a combination of things. Approach this opportunity from a holistic perspective. In other words, think of the solution as the sum of a variety of various, small activities. This includes: a website, online profiles, affiliations, social media platforms and advertising through those mediums.
Utilize all “free” resources to build online profiles. This includes social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook is the best option. Then, build online profiles. This includes BuildZoom, Thumbtack, Google, Yahoo. Build a website. This can be very simple. Align your business with organizations such as BBB. Then, start advertising online. Direct marketing material is okay, but the response rate is minimal. Use the money on branding the guys and the vehicles.
I recently hired someone to manage my business facebook page and it has paid off more than anything I can remember in a while. I pay her $150 a month for her to post interesting paint related items on my FB page (I have a painting contracting business) and it has gotten the attention of lot of people in my community. We allot $50 a month to “boost” posts so the FB postings reach more people. During the slower months it helped to get us through. You can obviously manage this yourself for free but in my case it helps to have someone dedicated to running it as there are plenty of other items to occupy my time. If you can find a good local person to handle it it’s money well spent. I also joined BuildZoom a couple days ago so I’m interested to see what it might turn up - I like their pricing model - seems straight forward.
All online presences help with new leads. It is your reputation and the work that you do that extends that network to everyone that the new lead knows based on their experience with the company.
HomeAdvisor is ok, however my experience is most of the leads are unreachable. I also use craigslist, Facebook, newspaper ads, and door hangers.
I really hope you get refunds for the leads you cannot reach. Has that been your experience with HA?
I do the digital marketing for our firm, and I think it has made a tremendous difference. You do have to have some basic knowledge about how search engines work and things, but for the most part I have found that consistency is key. You should be on all platforms, but the most vital thing is always updating, adding new pictures and videos and even blogging.
Facebook is a great tool, but it is not good to rely only on that for all of your work. It can be hard to find new customers too. Of course Craigslist is a basic requirement, but don’t forget the power of leaflets. I would advise people to target specific markets or audiences when they do marketing efforts because it is a pretty specific group of people that want remodeling work, and own a home! I don’t think there is one magical method, but hiring someone to trawl through and make profiles on every platform and find leads can be a great way to go!
We use buildzoom as well as craigslist, facebook, mail flyers and current customers recommend us to their circle of friends and family. We used Homeadvisor for some time but it was extremely hard to weed out the right leads and when we did talk with the homeowner it wasnt as promising as we had been led to beleive it would be. We also use our sub contractors as a great refernce tool.
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