Lead Generation is a Numbers Game – Take Steps to Increase Your Odds

The law of averages is a real thing. It’s a simple concept, really; the more times you attempt something, the more opportunity you have to achieve the goal you are after, whatever that goal may be. When it comes to driving leads for contractors who invest their money into various marketing mediums, there is a lot of trial and error involved to reach the goal of generating a solid, prequalified lead.

As we discussed in a previous blog post, driving web traffic via paid search is very effective, yet costly and competitive. While PPC advertising is certainly the simplest concept when it comes to direct response advertising, it definitely isn’t the only way contractors can build their brands and drive traffic to their websites. Regardless of the marketing channel, advertisers need to have a few things worked out before they launch a campaign and commit valuable ad dollars into it.

We’ve spoken with lots of contractors from all different industries and there is a very specific commonality amongst them when it comes to advertising – “I just want the phone to ring!”. The idea of getting the phone to ring is slightly broader than that, though. Rarely will a business owner scoff at the idea of having a potential customer looking to book a home improvement project submit a form through their website or send them an email. If that were the case, then far fewer contractors would even have a contact form (or several contact forms) on their websites. The real point is that there are several different types of shoppers. Some like the idea of communicating over the phone. Some like to communicate via email. And some like to do all of their due diligence prior to ever having a conversation with anyone.

Before we get into the different types of characteristics homeowners have when shopping for a project and how contractors can cater specifically to them, let’s first take a look at how a contractor should view engaging in a comprehensive marketing plan and what it can mean for their business.

All marketing channels should work synergistically

Marketing is a very cyclical process, more so now than ever. Traditional brand advertising like television, radio and billboards are still extremely effective when utilized properly. A homeowner sees or hears a commercial and then becomes familiarized with a brand, but the path always leads them back to the internet. Just because a person saw a billboard with your name on it, doesn’t mean they’re going to specifically go online and seek you out. More likely, they’ll conduct a search online pertaining to the same service you provide in the area you offer it (i.e. Philadelphia roofing companies). It’s then when they see your paid ad or organic listing that the connection is made between the traditional advertising medium, and the digital one. Cross-channel and cross-device marketing has never been more prevalent or important.

It’s because of this type of behavior that it is so important that residential home improvement contractors have a great website, in addition to a great billboard or radio commercial. Eventually, your targets will end up back at your website to learn more about you and hopefully convert into a lead. Having a great website to support all of your forms of advertising is absolutely a great step in the right direction to increase your odds of generating a lead and to giving yourself an opportunity to get more business.

Home improvement lead generators are everywhere

There are dozens of lead generators built specifically for home improvement contractors. If you’re reading this and you own and operate a residential contracting business, you’re most likely well aware of this fact. While some are better than others, and many are actually part of the same network, it’s a savvy marketer’s job to get information on as many of these sites as they can. After all, they’re in business for a reason. Someone is benefiting from their efforts at least a little bit. Right? Maybe.

Depending on the type of service you offer, some of these sites can be a great addition to your marketing mix. But be careful, because in most cases multiple contractors are paying for the same lead. Some of our contractors have told us that upwards of 10 contractors are competing for one homeowners’ business at times and are paying upwards of $100 for a lead. Scary thought. It’s very important to choose a specific budget before committing to an online lead generator that has high lead costs and even more important to monitor the results of the leads very carefully.

With all that being said, allocating some budget to a home improvement lead generator will contribute to the overall number of opportunities needed to get more qualified leads. And again, don’t forget that even though a homeowner may find your business through another website that you are affiliated with, they’ll still most likely check out your website also, amongst several of your competitors’.

Add a new layer of conversion to your website

By this point, it should be pretty clear that A) there are lots of options of marketing your business B) having a comprehensive marketing plan can be expensive, and C) there is a lot of competition in the residential home improvement space.

Let’s now go back to the beginning of this post when we mentioned the behavior of a homeowner shopping for a major home improvement project. As much as we know that a marketing plan shouldn’t include just one medium, we should also know that a website shouldn’t just include one way to convert traffic into leads because there is one more thing that all homeowners want and need that we haven’t mentioned yet. Prices.

Think about it – how can anyone buy anything without getting a price? It’s now so easy to shop for basically anything there is to buy. Whether it be a car, a TV or even a vacation, the internet has made shopping so easy. Yet, it is still a painful process for homeowners to shop for home improvement. Contractors have to go through several steps just to get a lead, but homeowners have equal pain in getting a price for their project.

MyServiceWhale is the answer to this problem. Our patent-pending technology allows contractors to give interested shoppers instant, custom prices on home improvement projects without the need for an onsite estimate. Homeowners just answer between 6-12 simple questions about the project they’re interested in, provide you their email address and phone number, and are then displayed a customized quote on the spot. The whole process takes about 2 minutes on average. All quotes can be tentative, so contractors can review them before ever agreeing or committing to any project blindly.

Each quote generated saves a contractor about 3 hours of their time (think of all those estimates you go to for a homeowner who is just kicking tires) and upwards of $300 after factoring in lead costs, wear on vehicles, gas, tolls, miles, and again, time.

MyServiceWhale helps contractors boost their website conversion rates up to 5%, while saving them thousands of dollars a month.

As we already know, the law of averages has a lot to do with getting more leads and ultimately more customers. Many contractors hire salesman for this reason specifically. MyServiceWhale is your online salesman who never sleeps, takes a day off, is never late, and consistently proves his value.

For more information on MyServiceWhale, visit our website and request a demo. There is absolutely no cost or obligation to you.