Are you finding it challenging to grow your contracting business how you want to? It can be incredibly frustrating when you feel like you’re the best choice for prospects in your area, but they’re moving forward with a different company.
There are many marketing tactics to help get contractors more leads, good and bad. But not all of them work for residential contracting businesses. For example, running an ad on the radio isn’t a great tactic because not many people listen to radio commercials anymore.
Many clients of ours ask what the best, most efficient digital marketing tactics are. This is why we’re publishing a blog post on the best ones for businesses like yours.
Here are the top 20 most effective digital marketing strategies for your residential contracting business.
Online Marketing Tactics
1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile (Google My Business)
This is currently one of the most important marketing tactics in the online world. Every business needs a Google Business Profile (GBP) because it helps Google trust that a business is real and not a scam.
You put information about your business, such as location, hours of operations, and more, onto your GBP. Google is very smart, but they still need your contracting company to feed them data to return search results appropriately.
Google is heavily pushing a contracting company’s GBP when a prospect searches for services your company provides.
Your GBP is also a review collection platform that prospects look at before deciding to hire you or a different contracting company. The more reviews you have and the higher your rating, the more people (and Google) will look at you favorably.
There are many actions you can take to get the most from your GBP. It can quickly become a favorite of your marketing tactics.
2. Get A Quality Website That Is Rich In Content
In today’s digital age, having a website is essential for any business that wants to remain competitive. Potential customers are increasingly turning to the internet to find contracting businesses like yours. This makes it the marketing tactic every residential contracting business absolutely needs to invest in.
Your website should be the hub for your marketing strategy
It’s where you should send potential clients so they can learn more about you and your business. It’s also where they can fill out a contact form to get a quote from you, making it one of the essential marketing tactics.
A website provides a convenient way for customers to learn about your products and services. It also gives you a platform to showcase your brand to connect with potential customers.
You can also include “location pages” to help increase your local rankings on Google. This allows people in your area to find you more easily because you’re proactively telling Google that you service that specific area.
However, simply having a website is not enough. Your website must be well-designed and easy to navigate to be effective.
Here at CGN, with every website we build, we keep in mind the 5 questions every prospect wants answers to:
- Can you actually solve my problem?
- What’s this going to cost me?
- How long will this take to complete?
- What’s the process of our working together look like?
- Do I believe you’re professional enough to take my money?
If your contracting website can answer these 5 questions for prospects, you’ll stand out as a company that’s easy to work with. This is why we weave them into different marketing tactics.
In addition to providing clarity, your website needs regular updating with fresh content relevant to your business (e.g., blogs.)
Investing in a quality website ensures that your marketing efforts have the means to be as efficient as possible.
3. Get Found On Local Online Directories
One of the other effective marketing tactics is to list your business in local online directories. These are websites like Yelp, Google Maps, YP.com, etc. Basically, a directory website is any website that contains the name, contact information, and hours of operation of businesses.
This allows potential customers to easily find your business when searching for products or services you offer
Additionally, many online directories provide valuable features such as customer reviews and ratings. These can help to build trust and credibility with potential customers.
Furthermore, listing your business in multiple online directories can help to improve your visibility and search engine ranking. This makes it more likely that potential customers will find your business when they are looking online, which is the benefit of using digital marketing tactics.
Even if it’s a directory website that you’ve never heard of before, it’s still a good idea in the eyes of Google to have your company’s information listed there.
There are other best ways for contractors to do local SEO (search engine optimization) to help boost their Google rankings. Combining marketing tactics is essential to outranking your competition.
4. Start A Blog On Your Website
No matter the size of your contracting business, we highly recommend starting a blog.
Simply put, a blog is an educational article (usually on your website) that helps educate those reading your article on whatever the topic is. For example, if you want to research the most popular kitchen designs, you’ll most likely head to Google to find a blog that discusses the topic.
By creating informative and keyword-rich blog posts, your business can attract new website visitors, educate prospects, and generate more leads.
In addition, this (and marketing tactics like it) provides businesses with a platform to build relationships with their customers and establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry.
Furthermore, blogging helps boost SEO efforts and drive traffic to other marketing channels, such as social media and email marketing. By educating prospects on your industry, Google will look at your company more favorably.
One important piece of information to know about blogging: it takes time to work. Depending on your investment, you may have to wait anywhere from 6 months to a year and a half for your blog posts to start bringing in a lot of traffic.
But once they do, they become one of the most powerful marketing tactics in your marketing toolbelt. Just be sure to publish content on a regular basis, such as weekly or monthly.
5. Use The Facebook Live Feature
This is where you stream live videos to your Facebook page. Doing a live video on Facebook is one of the marketing tactics that allows your business to connect with your audience in a more personal and engaging way.
By doing this, your contracting business can show a more human side, helping to build trust and credibility.
People buy from businesses that seem more human and relatable, and people need to trust you to buy from you
Additionally, Facebook Lives give customers an inside look at your business. You can unveil new projects or services, host Q&As, allow people to see and “meet” you and your team, and provide valuable tips and advice. You’ll look like a thought leader and expert in your industry. You’re building trust through which you can make more sales.
Overall, Facebook Live is an excellent marketing tactic that can help your business to better connect with your audience and boost your bottom line.
*It’s a fantastic idea to post to other social media channels too. Instagram and other highly visual social media platforms are ideal marketing tactics for contractors to use
6. Create A YouTube Channel
These days, it seems like everyone has a YouTube channel. While some people use YouTube to share personal thoughts and experiences, many contracting businesses have found that it can be a powerful marketing tool.
By starting a YouTube channel and regularly posting engaging videos, your contracting company can reach a wider audience and build brand awareness.
In addition, YouTube is one of the marketing tactics that allow businesses to interact directly with potential customers. By responding to comments and questions, businesses can create a rapport with viewers and establish themselves as industry experts.
You can also use your YouTube videos in your blog posts, other parts of your website, and on social media. People and Google both love video, and as such, this tactic can help your post and your website rank higher and faster.
The hardest part is knowing how to get started with video marketing.
7. Generate Customer Testimonials
Testimonials are one of the oldest marketing tactics in the book for a good reason – they work. When done well, testimonials can be an extremely effective marketing tool.
Testimonials help to build social proof and are a powerful way to build trust with potential customers, and trust = more sales
There are a few things to keep in mind when using testimonials as a marketing tactic:
- Make sure that the testimonials are from real people with relevant experience
- Use testimonials semi-sparingly – too many low-quality testimonials may actually hurt you
- Don’t be afraid of customers saying there were some hiccups during the project – every business has them. Just make sure the customer also discusses how you resolved the problem
8. Create A Case Study Or Project Profile For Your Projects
Case studies are one of the important marketing tactics you should use to promote your residential contracting business.
They allow potential customers to see the tangible results of using your services. Additionally, case studies provide social proof that can help to build trust and credibility.
When done well, case studies can be an effective way to showcase the value of your offering.
However, it’s important to avoid making exaggerated claims or using too much marketing speak. Instead, focus on highlighting the specific benefits that your customer experienced as a result of working with you.
By sharing realistic and relatable stories, you’ll be more likely to win over new business because prospects can see themselves in your customer’s shoes.
9. Create An Email Campaign
Many construction companies use email marketing campaigns as one of their marketing tactics to reach out to their customers and promote their services.
Some tips for using email marketing effectively include:
- Segmenting your audience
- Personalizing your message, such as by using each person’s own name in the emails
- Have a point in mind on what the email recipient should do next
Additionally, make the content beneficial to your audience. Sending out an email highlighting an employee on your team may feel nice to you, but when was the last time you cared about who won employee of the month at your local restaurant?
When you focus on educating prospects on the ins and outs of your industry, you’ll be seen as the expert
Building your email list is important when it comes to marketing tactics as well. If you send an email newsletter to an email list you purchased, the recipients have no idea who you are. You’ll most likely get more spam hits and unsubscribes than sales. It can be better to build it yourself.
To get the most out of email marketing, you want to segment your list. This means dividing them up based on one or more criteria. Then you can send more specific emails that can convert prospects to leads more easily.
How you segment your email list will not only help your email stats, it should make you feel that your email will make a positive impact on your business.
Physical Marketing Tactics
10. Invest In A Truck Wrap
This is maybe the most popular of all marketing tactics among contractors. By wrapping your trucks, you can effectively advertise your contracting business to everyone you’re driving by. So if you’re actively working in areas you want to have more work in, having your truck wrapped should help to show the local homeowners you’re around.
While a truck wrap can produce leads, it’s more of a branding play, similar to a billboard.
So be sure to wrap your truck in a way that helps position the brand in a great light instead of trying to list out every service possible.
11. Put Out Yard Signs
Yard signs are one of the more underrated marketing tactics for residential contractors. In addition to being relatively cheap and easy to produce, yard signs can be highly effective in marketing your business to potential customers.
Studies have shown that people are more likely to notice and remember a marketing message when they see it in a physical format, such as a yard sign
You should place a yard sign at every home when working on their project. This works extremely well when paired with distributing door hangers since everyone will be curious about who is getting the work done in their neighborhood. Your yard sign will help answer that question for them!
Remember, people can’t contact you if they don’t know who you are or that you even exist. This makes marketing tactics essential for any business today that wants to succeed.
12. Distribute Door Hangers
Door hangers offer several advantages over other marketing tactics for residential contractors. This makes them a great choice for businesses that want to get their name and information in front of potential customers.
One of the main advantages of door hangers is their high targetability.
Contractors can choose to distribute door hangers in specific neighborhoods or target homes that are likely to need their services.
This ensures that the door hangers are reaching the right audience, which increases the chances that they will result in new business.
You can also put them on neighboring homes when working on a job site. This generates interest and gives people a “keeping up with the Joneses” mindset. It can also help to establish you as the “neighborhood contracting company,” which will lead to repeat work.
Door hangers are also one of the highly visible marketing tactics. Since they hang on the door, they are impossible to miss, meaning that homeowners are sure to see them.
Door hangers are also relatively inexpensive to produce. Heck, if you sell even just one job from a door hanger, they’ve more than paid for themselves.
13. Partner With Related Businesses
Partnering with related businesses is one of the better physical marketing tactics for residential contractors. This is because it allows you to tap into a new customer base that may be interested in your services.
For example, if you partner with a home improvement store, you can reach customers who are already interested in home improvement projects. Another example is a home remodeler partnering with a residential painter. The home remodeler knows the paint job will be good quality and the painter gets guaranteed business.
In addition, partnering with related businesses can help you save on marketing costs. This is because you can share marketing resources with your partners, such as print and online advertising.
As a result, partnering with related businesses is a great way to reach new customers and save on marketing costs
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t partner with every related business. Make sure your goals and values align with each other. Otherwise, it will be a tough relationship.
14. Become Involved In Your Community
This is one of the more heartwarming marketing tactics. Establishing a presence in your community will create goodwill and build relationships with potential customers. Business is a long game, and the more goodwill you build within your community, the more it will come back to you in time.
Participating in local events, donating to charitable causes, and being active in your community will create a positive image for your contracting business.
As you know, generating work is much easier when everyone loves you.
When people see that a business invests in making the community a better place, they are more likely to use that business.
Community involvement can help you generate word-of-mouth marketing and learn about the needs of your target audience. You can also use it for your digital marketing tactics, such as in a blog post or different social media posts.
While community involvement has many benefits, you’ll want to choose your activities carefully. Select ones that align with your brand and appeal to your target audience.
15. Create Direct Mail Campaigns
Direct mail can be a powerful marketing tool when used correctly.
One of the benefits of direct mail is that it allows you to target a specific audience. For example, you can use demographic information to target homeowners in a specific area who are likely to need your services.
When you send out a direct mail piece, you can include a list of the types of services you offer and the areas you serve. As a result, you’re more likely to reach homeowners who are actually in need of your services, making it one of the more targetable marketing tactics.
For example, if you send out direct mail postcards in a neighborhood where you’ve already worked, it’s likely to be better received. You’re going after a neighborhood you’re already semi-known in.
Direct mail is a great way to stay top of mind with your audience.
With so much competition out there, keeping your business name and contact information in front of potential customers is essential
By sending out regular direct mailings, your company stays on the radar of those who may need your services down the road.
Unlike some other marketing tactics, direct mail provides a tangible way for potential customers to learn about your business. Just make sure you go into your direct mail campaign knowing that it’s not a one-and-done tactic. It takes time to test everything.
16. Host An Event
A well-executed event is capable of generating buzz, building relationships, and driving sales.
When planning an event, you need to keep your target audience in mind and design the event accordingly. For example, Premier Ponds, a pond company in Maryland, hosts an event where they invite homeowners to come tour ponds they’ve built in the area. This way, their target audience can see what a backyard pond looks like in person and better envision it in their backyard.
Remodeling and home building companies host similar events as part of their marketing tactics, usually called Parade Of Homes. It helps to create the same feeling that spec home companies create by establishing a model home to walk through.
Hosting an event is a great way to build relationships with customers and potential customers.
This marketing tool can provide an opportunity to interact with individuals in a more personal setting, which can help to create a stronger connection.
Furthermore, events can also be used to cultivate new business relationships. For instance, your contracting company can partner with other companies to co-host or sponsor an existing event.
By partnering with another business, you can reach a new audience and build relationships with other industry leaders.
17. Sponsor A Charity Event
Sponsoring a charity event is excellent to include in your marketing tactics for many reasons.
You’re helping to raise awareness for the cause(s) that your business supports. This can help to attract potential customers who are looking to work with companies that share their values.
Additionally, sponsoring a charity event provides an opportunity for you to build relationships with other like-minded organizations.
This can help to create a network of allies that can be helpful in marketing and promotional efforts down the road
Finally, sponsoring a charity event is simply good PR. It helps to show the community that you care about more than just making money.
Remember that sponsoring an event is fantastic for building your brand but shouldn’t be seen as an opportunity to generate leads.
18. Send Out Monthly Newsletters
Monthly newsletters are very similar to email newsletter marketing tactics but done through physical mail. This is a great marketing strategy for several reasons.
Before walking through a couple of the highlights, the caveat to a monthly newsletter is that it needs to be high-quality. Sending out an email costs virtually nothing. Printing and mailing a physical newsletter is more time and money intensive, so make sure what you’re sending out is powerful.
The first benefit is that it allows you to stay in touch with your customers regularly. This keeps your business top of mind and increases the likelihood that customers will think of you when they need your products or services.
Second, marketing tactics like a newsletter are an excellent way to share new developments or promotions with your customer base. This helps to generate excitement and interest in your business and can help increase sales.
Finally, a newsletter provides an opportunity for you to continue to build relationships with your customers. By sharing valuable content and engaging with your readers, you can create a sense of loyalty and community that will keep customers coming back for more.
Very few contracting companies actually send out physical newsletters, so you’ll most likely be in a class of one in your local area.
19. Get A Billboard
Billboards are an effective marketing tactic that can reach a wide audience with minimal effort.
Unlike other marketing tactics that require a significant amount of planning and execution, billboards can be up and running in a matter of days.
They’re highly visible and impossible to ignore. This makes them an ideal way to position your company’s brand in front of potential customers.
Studies have shown that billboards have a high recall rate. This means that people are more likely to remember a message if it is on a billboard. This makes billboards a good way to promote products or services.
Thanks to their flexibility and effectiveness, billboards are likely to continue to be a popular marketing tactic for years to come.
Build Your Business Using Contractor Growth Network’s Effective Marketing Strategies
We know the best, most effective marketing strategies for residential contractors. Our years of experience helped us figure out what makes up a successful marketing strategy, even in the ever-changing landscape that is marketing.
Fill out our contact form today so we can talk about marketing goals for your residential contracting business.
