As we step into the year 2024, it’s time to shed old, ineffective marketing strategies and embrace new, innovative tactics that can transform your contractor business. The world of marketing never stands still, and neither should you.
This year, seize the opportunity to amp up your marketing strategy and bring your contracting business to a new level. In this blog, we’ll cover practical, future-proof strategies that will work for companies in the construction and home service sectors.
Ready to elevate your marketing game and outshine your competitors? Keep reading!
#1. Understand your target market
Before you can reach your audience, you have to know who they are and how your service can help them. Here are some ways to identify your audience and their needs:
- Demographics: Start with basic demographic details, like age, location, and occupation. This can help determine which platforms and tactics to use.
- Values: What are their values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyle preferences? This will help you understand why they make certain decisions and how your services can fit into their lives.
- Pain Points: What problems is your audience facing that your services can solve? Identifying pain points helps you position your services as the solution they’ve been looking for.
Successful marketing involves understanding who your audience is and what they need. If you don’t know your business or who you want to serve, it’s difficult to find anyone to market to, let alone create an effective strategy.
#2. Establish a strong brand identity
In an increasingly competitive industry, establishing a strong brand identity goes beyond just being recognized. It is about creating a memorable impression that resonates with your audience and sets you apart from your competitors. For contracting companies, your brand is your promise and commitment to quality service. Here are some important elements to consider:
- Logo: Create a unique and meaningful logo that embodies your brand’s personality and values.
- Mission Statement: Define your purpose and values in a direct statement that resonates with your target audience.
- Unique Selling Point (USP): What sets you apart? Identify and highlight the unique value you offer to your customers that distinguishes you from others.
Your brand identity isn’t just seen – it’s experienced in every interaction a customer has with your business. To foster consumer trust and loyalty, align every aspect of your business with your brand identity and maintain good communication with your audience.
Ensure all customer interactions accurately reflect your brand identity by focusing on excellent customer service and professionalism, and consistently delivering on your promises.
#3. Create a quality website
Your website is your digital storefront. It is a crucial part of your digital marketing strategy, acting as a platform where potential customers can find you, learn about your services, and establish contact. Essentially, your website is a tool that bridges the gap between you and your customers, enabling you to showcase your skills, experience, and portfolio.
- Services Pages: Offer detailed yet succinct information about your services backed by examples and testimonials. This will not only help customers but also improve your Google ranking.
- About Us: Connect with customers on a personal level by sharing your story, values, and commitment to quality work.
- Contact Information: Provide multiple contact options that are easily visible to make it convenient for potential customers to get a hold of you. Hidden contact information is of no use to anyone.
Remember, your website is often the first impression customers have of your business. A well-designed, informative website can help you attract more customers, showcase your expertise, and establish credibility in the digital marketplace. Your website should be seen as an investment that supports your digital marketing efforts and drives results for your business.
#4. Develop an effective SEO strategy
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a vital tool in digital marketing as it greatly influences your website’s visibility on the internet. It’s how your website is optimized to rank higher in results, thereby increasing organic (non-paid) traffic to your site.
Most customers use search engines (mainly Google!) to find and compare contractors. Therefore, a strong SEO strategy can improve your digital footprint and attract more potential customers.
A major part of your SEO strategy involves understanding your competition. By analyzing the keywords they rank for and the type of content they produce, you can get valuable insights to improve your own SEO efforts.
- Step #1 – Keyword/Entity Research: This is the cornerstone of SEO. It involves identifying the words, phrases, and topics that prospective customers use when searching for services similar to yours. Once you’ve identified these keywords/entities, include them in your website content, headers, and meta descriptions to improve your visibility on search engines.
- Step #2 – Content Creation: Your SEO strategy should not only involve incorporating keywords into your website content but also producing high-quality articles and blog posts that are valuable to your readers. (Otherwise, that’s keyword stuffing, which is spammy!)
When you provide useful and engaging content, you actually improve your chances of getting links from other sites, or being shared on social media, which can enhance your SEO.
- Step #3 – Continuous Improvement: SEO takes time and ongoing efforts. Search engine algorithms have updates and customer search habits continually evolve. To keep up, you’ll have to monitor your SEO performance and make necessary adjustments.
Using SEO analytics tools can help you evaluate your performance and identify areas for improvement.
By understanding the workings of search engines, researching your competition, strategically using keywords, and consistently creating engaging content, you can build a robust SEO strategy that significantly enhances your online visibility and brings your contracting business great leads.
#5. Claim your GMB profile and keep it updated
A Google My Business (GMB) is an invaluable tool for local service businesses, including contractors. It’s a free, user-friendly service provided by Google that operates like a virtual business card in the search engine. This includes the highly visible local search results and Google Maps.
If you’ve ever looked for a business, the GMB is the profile on the right-hand side with the information on opening hours, address, location, reviews, and sometimes photos.
This online business card lets businesses display contact details and other info to potential clients.
As a contractor, this means that when a potential client in your local area searches for the services you offer, your business information will appear in the results, increasing your likelihood of being picked. Just make sure all the information is up-to-date.
One of the key components of a GMB profile is the ability to receive and make phone calls directly from the listing. This is a game-changer for local service businesses as it increases convenience for users. Let’s be honest, convenience is great. This simple feature can significantly increase the number of inquiries and potential leads you receive.
Not only does it help with organic searches, but your GMB profile can serve as a platform for ad campaigns and targeted advertising – an effective way to reach a specific demographic in your local area. You can target your adverts based on location and search history, increasing the helpfulness of your ads and potentially improving conversion rates.
Build your strategy with the professionals at Build Media Group.
Contractors seeking to amplify their online presence and attract more customers need to implement a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.
Understanding the digital marketing landscape can be complex and time-consuming. If you’re worried about providing excellent customer service, you may not have the time to figure it all out and implement it effectively.
That’s where the experts come in. We’ll cover the nitty-gritty details of getting your digital footprint in order so you can focus on doing what you do best. For more information, contact the experts at Build Media Group – we’d love to help you build your business.
