The home services market is unique in some of its advertising challenges and needs. Encompassing everything from plumbing and HVAC to cleaning and pest control to roofing and remodeling, these are businesses that require drive and urgency because no bookings on the calendar spells bad news for the bottom line. The right marketing agency can be an essential partner for home services contractors, but how do they go about choosing the right one?
What Home Services Contractors Should Look for in a Marketing Agency
Localized Focus
Your home services business has a finite number of people and homes in your service area and likely several competitors around you. It doesn’t necessarily matter what your random search stats are looking like if the customers closest to you aren’t finding you.
The right home services marketing agency is going to understand that and build strategies around it. They’ll have a detailed plan for location-specific keywords, inclusion in trusted directories, optimizing for that all-important “near me” search, and so on. It’s not just about any old SEO; it’s about targeted, localized search engine rankings that make it to the top.
Budget Efficiency
A local home services business doesn’t always have a high-powered budget to throw at marketing. Their revenue primarily goes to paying technicians and skilled workers, covering material costs, and maintaining or upgrading equipment.
A good digital marketing agency for home services contractors, therefore, is going to know how to make the most of every available dollar. They’re going to be able to do more with less in areas like paid and social ads, aiming less for volume and more for smart, targeted, well-crafted messages that speak to the people in your area.
Urgency and Seasonality
No one tends to think about their plumbing until an emergency strikes. No one wonders what shape their roof is in until a hailstorm hits. Home services customers are often driven by urgency and/or seasonality and need to make a decision on a quick timeline.
This means partnering with a digital marketing agency that understands how to build a different kind of sales funnel, one that very clearly and directly tracks lead sources and streamlines the customer journey. A stressed customer is going to bolt at the first hiccup, so you need a home services marketing team that nows how to automate booking and customer communication.
Reviews and Reputation
Authority and trust are key in an industry like home services. 97% of consumers read reviews of local businesses, and 2 out of 5 consumers read reviews every time they look for a business. And it’s not just about Google, either; the average consumer looks at six different review sites.
So any home services marketing agency needs to be comfortable with reputation management strategies. They need to know how to automate communications to current customers that make it easy for them to leave their reviews in multiple places. They need to have response flows ready to respond to both positive and negative feedback quickly and effectively.
New Technology
The way internet search functions is changing. AI and voice search are rising in popularity, and more and more people are finding their recommendations for local businesses through platforms like ChatGPT, TikTok, and YouTube.
The only constant in digital marketing is change, and the right agency for home services contractors will be able to help your business navigate that. You need marketing teams that stay agile and nimble and ready to learn and adapt quickly.
Find a Partner in Home Services
When it comes to marketing for home services, partnering with the right digital agency is essential to booking jobs and growing your business. By understanding your company, your needs, and your local area, you can ask the right questions and ensure that you choose the perfect partner to support your goals.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can always contact our home services marketing experts at EdwardsSchoen, and we’d be happy to discuss options with you on how to connect with your ideal customers.
