Competition between professional home services businesses like locksmiths, cleaners, plumbers and electricians can be fierce! It can be hard to differentiate your offerings from those of your rival providers, which means that fast and fabulous customer service is critical if you want to come out on top. Making it easy for consumers to find your business online, keeping communication seamless and follow-up professional, will all help your business win jobs and build a loyal customer base.
Be Easy to Find Online
The first step to beating the competition is making sure that people know you’re out there. When searching for home service professionals, consumers are usually looking for a business local to them. Searches with queries like “emergency plumber near me” are a regular occurrence. After all, a plumber five hours drive away is not going to do you any good! That’s why it’s essential for home services businesses to have a presence in local search results.
Claim and complete your Google My Business listing so that you appear in the Local Pack results and have a shot at getting featured in regular search results. You also want to be sure that your business is accurately represented on other local listings sites like Yelp, TrueLocal and other places consumers turn for assistance in finding local home services providers.
Have a User-Friendly Website
Once you’ve caught the attention of prospects in search results, you want to make sure your website is ready to provide all the information they need. Most searches these days are happening on mobile devices, so it’s essential that your site looks great and loads quickly on mobile. Make sure your site is clearly laid out, and that your contact information is front and centre so potential customers don’t have any trouble getting in touch! Consider adding a live chat service to your site to help you manage inquiries that come through outside of your normal business hours.
Respond Fast & Keep on Top of Leads
For most consumers looking for help from home services professionals, time is of the essence. You’re generally calling a locksmith with an emergency need, not something that can wait a few weeks. That’s why it’s critical that your business responds quickly to any incoming requests. A lead management tool can help you stay on top of all requests that come through your website, via phone, social media or your digital marketing campaigns, and ensure that all of your leads get the attention they require. Once you’ve made contact with your prospects, make sure you follow through and deliver stellar customer service. From arriving on time to speedy and seamless invoicing, being on top of your game every step of the way helps impress customers and develop a long-term customer relationship.
When you run a home services business, beating the competition is all about getting seen first and staying in close communication throughout the customer journey. If you can do that, you can set yourself apart from other businesses who struggle to manage their communications. LocaliQ’s experts can help you build a robust marketing strategy to cover all these touch points. Contact us to discuss your businesses’ needs with one of our Digital Marketing Consultants.
Emma Reid