The busy fall season is upon us, and we understand how important it is to maximize every bit of your calendar so that you – and the business – are working most efficiently. And although you may not be thinking about keeping your team busy right now, the slower winter months will be upon us soon. Here are six ways we recommend maximizing your marketing potential today so that you’re ahead of the game once the busy season is over.
Did you know that, according to statistics, over 50% of consumers expect a response to an inquiry within 1 hour? When consumers are searching multiple places for services, obviously you want to beat your competitors to a response. So how can you do that without adding to your already full plate?
As soon as a lead hits your system, you should be notified by text, email and within your CRM. What happens next varies by the contractor but it should involve some combination of phone, text, live chat and email (all in compliance with the law on consumer contact). If you need some support, try The Hatch App, a Home Appointments partner, which is a great way to automate your marketing and sales strategy.
And don’t forget about your social media channels. A “very responsive” message badge is good P.R. for your Facebook page, but Facebook will also use this as a signal that you have an active page, and therefore, promote your posts higher in people’s feeds. It’s like double-dipping your marketing efforts! Here is an example of a helpful autoreply on Facebook:
Thank you for your message!
If you’d like to see some of our recent projects, go to X on our website.
If you’d like to see what our past clients have said about us, check out our Google reviews here.
If you would like a quote for a project, please call Y or email Z and we will get back to you within one business hour.
Today, there are many widgets that can adapt to almost any web platform so that your leads are converting. Simplify the customer experience with a live chat feature that converts existing website traffic to leads. A great resource for this is ApexChat. Simply plug in the widget, and you have a lead developer built right into your website.
When you’re looking to close more deals, the scarcity mindset is a helpful tool. Create limited-time special offers to help generate leads, to post on social media, and give salespeople more ammo to close deals. Special offers could include financing deals (zero down, no interest for 12 or 18 months), X dollars or Y percentage off a project, and product giveaways can incentivize customers to get on your schedule sooner rather than later.
Social media is the engine that keeps on running (even if we’re not using it). Make sure you check your social media pages a few times a week and re-post or re-share content that is relevant to your audience so that your business name stays in front of your audience. Even though you might not need the business now, invite friends and connections to follow your pages. You never know when they’re going to need you in the future!
With a lot of holidays coming up, make sure that your business profile reflects your true working hours. Double check that your contact information is still correct, and, if you haven’t had any recent Google reviews (or even if you have), ask a few happy clients to give you a review. You can ask in a direct email, or include the Google review link in your email signature or at the bottom of your business receipts for a more passive approach. Most people are happy to do it, and their review will help legitimize your business sooner with future clients.
Finally, if you are only going to do one thing with your marketing during the busy season, consider building a leads strategy with a trusted partner. With exclusive leads, these tend to convert to appointments and sales better than shared leads. They also tend to be less competitive as a shared lead is sold to 3-4 contractors contacting the homeowner. Whether you are coming up at the end of the quarter, or you are looking to increase profitability during the busy season, working with a team like Home Appointments can produce quality leads within 2-3 weeks of launch.
As business owners, we know that it takes more than one arrow in your quiver to hit your sales target for the year. Wherever you can combine resources and automate your marketing and customer service experience, as well as hone in on quality leads sooner rather than later, you are setting your business up for a successful fourth quarter – and beyond.
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Interested in adding an exclusive leads strategy to your marketing plan for the fall? Schedule a discovery call with our team.
