Home Services Marketing: Best Strategies for Success

Competition can be stiff for home services businesses looking to grow in their communities. There are many providers out there vying for the same pool of clients. It can be tough to find ways to stand out and build trust fast.

Plus, how homeowners search for home repair and home remodeling solutions has changed a lot in just the last few years. It’s important that home services companies, like plumbers, roofers, general contractors, home cleaners, and more, learn how to capture the attention of today’s modern consumers.

You’re not alone in this work, though. We’ve gathered the most effective home services marketing tips, strategies, and creative ideas to help you find more leads and repeat customers. They’re a mix of tried-and-true tactics and newer strategies designed to meet buyers’ modern search behaviors.

Contents

• General home services marketing tips
• Home services marketing strategies to try
• Creative home services marketing ideas for faster growth

General home services marketing tips

Let’s kick things off with some foundational marketing tips you can apply across all the strategies and ideas in this guide.

Showcase your expertise

Showing off your expertise isn’t about bragging. It’s about making people feel comfortable that when you’re hired for the job, it’ll be done right—and that’ll generate a lot of trust in a hurry.

That’s why our first home services marketing tip is to always be on the lookout for ways to show what you know (and what you can do)

This tip is useful for all sorts of strategies, but especially in email and social media marketing.

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Go heavy on social proof

Social proof is anything that proves your business is qualified and trustworthy. That can be reviews, milestones (“1,000 trees trimmed), and awards (“Voted best plumber in Dallas”).

User testimonials are a particularly helpful version of social proof because they tell a story that’s relatable to your ideal next customer.

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Whatever it is, the key is to use it…a lot. That means adding social proof to your website, social posts, and even invoices.

Always be building brand awareness

Small business success is often a combination of familiarity and timing. If someone remembers your business, and your branding happens to show up when they’re in need, you’ll be at the top of their list.

So, if your home services business doesn’t already have your logo and branding wherever you can get it, now’s the time. Home services marketing lends itself well to branding on vehicles, uniforms, equipment bags, and more.

Make sure that your branding includes a link to your website and your phone number so it’s easy for people to find more information about your business when they see your brand out and about. Use this guide to learn more brand awareness strategies.

Establish your value proposition

Your value proposition is part promise, part marketing differentiator. It tells prospects why they should choose you over your competition and lets them know what to expect when they do.

Your goal is create a value proposition that includes whatever is unique about what you do and the most important characteristics your customers need.

Here’s an example of a value proposition from an electrician based in New York City.

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They state their ability to respond to emergency calls and explain why they do it better than the rest.

Make your value proposition statement is clearly shown on relevant landing pages and include it in your local SEO and search ads.

Respond to every lead quickly

For most homeowners looking for help from home services professionals, time is of the essence. You’re generally calling a plumber with an emergency need, not something that can wait a few weeks. So if you don’t get an answer from option one, you’ll go to option two.

For busy pros in the field, that presents a huge challenge. Luckily, there are tools to help. AI agents can work like an assistant, answering texts and taking calls immediately so your would-be customer doesn’t go on to option two.

Dash by LocaliQ will transcribe your incoming messages so you can scan them as time allows.

AI agents like this will also record, organize, and triage incoming requests so you can answer them by priority and turn more leads into customers.

Home services marketing strategies to try

With those big-picture tips covered, here are the most effective home services marketing strategies available for growing awareness, gaining leads, and getting customers.

Invest in local SEO

Nearly half of all Google searches are for local businesses, and that includes home services providers.

Searches with phrases like “electrician near me” are a regular occurrence. After all, an electrician five states over is not going to do you any good! That’s why it’s critical for home services professionals to have a presence in local search results.

This means that your home services marketing must include a local SEO, or search engine optimization, strategy that helps you get found in search results when potential customers are looking for your services in your area.

These businesses show in organic search results for “roof repair Oklahoma City.”

Local SEO is just SEO that optimizes your website and online presence for local searches. This includes adding location-specific keywords to your website, optimizing your web content for the right keywords for your services, and managing your local listings (which we’ll talk about more in a bit!).

Run search advertising

Another way to get your home services business found on search engines for relevant searches is to run paid search advertising, also known as pay-per-click (PPC). PPC ads show up at the top of search engine results as a way to quickly capture searchers’ attention.

Sponsored results, aka PPC ads, show up at the top of many local search results.

In order to run PPC ads for your home services business, you choose keywords or key phrases to bid on and set a budget. Your budget is spent only when your ads are clicked–hence, the name pay-per-click ads.

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Add Google Local Services Ads

To make your paid search advertising even more effective, you can also run Google Local Services Ads as part of your home services marketing strategy.

Local Services Ads are only available for a handful of industries, and home services is one of them. These ads show above Google Ads and are meant to provide all the information a searcher would need to contact your business, so your budget is only spent when a user converts rather than clicks.

In order to run Local Services Ads, you have to go through a special verification process to become Google Verified, which basically means that Google will verify your information (and in some cases perform background checks) and let searchers know that there’s an extra layer of trust and protection that comes with working with your business.

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Use video to up your game

There’s no question that video marketing delivers messages more effectively in a shorter amount of time.

Consider these stats:

• 80% of viewers can recall video ads they’ve seen in the last 30 days.
• Video watchers retain 95% of a message compared to 10% for those who read text.
• Adding a video to your email marketing can increase clickthrough rates by 200-300%.

These stats illustrate why adding video to your home services marketing mix can help you reach and convert more consumers.

You can use video marketing to educate your customers and prospects on the best ways to take care of their homes, showcase your trusted employees, and run YouTube ads to get in front of even more potential customers.

Here, a tree service business shows how to trim trees like a pro. Videos like these are helpful to potential customers while showing off your expertise.

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Related: Get YouTube video ideas that will work for your business.

Get more and better reviews

Most people (nearly 90% per this study) say they trust online reviews. So, once a potential customer finds you online, the next thing they should see are your glowing ratings and reviews.

That means, as a home services business, your job goes beyond promoting your business to new customers; it’s also about getting existing or former customers to publicly sing your praises in online review sites.

There are lots of ways to get more reviews. You can even just ask for them. Try to get some on all the relevant review sites like your Google Business Profile, Yelp, and Angi. And, make sure you’re responding to reviews so happy (and potentially unhappy) customers know you’re reading and considering their feedback.

Build a user-friendly website

Once you’ve caught the eye of prospects and gotten them to visit your website, you want to make sure your site is ready to dazzle them. The majority of today’s searches are happening on mobile devices, so it’s critical that you have a site that looks great and loads quickly on mobile.

See more of the best plumbing marketing ideas here.

You also want to make sure your site is clearly laid out and that your contact information is front and center. You’d be surprised by the number of home services businesses that hide their address and phone number away on their site. Instead, make sure that your contact details are in the header or footer of every page, so someone who’s looking for home services help in a rush doesn’t have any trouble getting in touch!

As a bonus, use the tactics in this guide to set your website up to capture more leads.

Add live chat to your site

One way to take your website to the next level is to add live chat. Live chat can help you quickly answer questions, provide details, and collect lead information so you’re able to provide a positive user experience for potential and existing clients on your website.

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People often prefer to use chat and messaging rather than calling a business, so if you provide live chat as an opportunity for them to reach out, you have a higher chance of converting them into a customer.

Claim and manage your business listings

For home services businesses, business listings are extremely important. Not only do they help you get seen on search engines and help your local SEO, but they also provide an additional place to collect and manage your reviews.

Start by claiming your Google Business Profile so that you appear in Maps results, have a shot at getting featured in organic search results, and land in the Google 3-pack. Business listings can be tricky for home services providers–especially when you don’t have a specific business address. So it’s important to include the most accurate service area for your business to increase your chances of showing up on Google for local searches.

Sites like Yelp, Angi, and others are places where consumers turn for assistance in finding local home services providers, so you want to make sure your business is listed in these places as well.

Well-managed listings will land your businesses at the top of sites like Yelp.

It’s also important that your home services business information is listed accurately and consistently in local listings to provide a positive customer experience. Google looks at your business information across the web to determine the trustworthiness of the information it can find about you–the more sites have consistent information, the more credible Google finds said information, which, in turn, can give you a boost in search results. So make sure you have a business listings management plan in place.

⚒️ Are your listings losing you customers? Use our Free Listings Grader to find out.

Launch a referral program

Referrals are a great asset for any business, but can be especially powerful in the home services industry. Customers are looking for a business they can trust that they know will perform the work correctly, so many turn to friends and family for suggestions.

You want to be that recommendation. This means that you need to incorporate asking for referrals into your home services marketing.

Of course, you can simply ask each customer to refer you. But there are ways to scale the results by creating a referral program. Then, promote the program through your website, social media accounts, and emails.

Promote through local forums like Nextdoor

Nextdoor is a website (with an app) where people can connect with their neighbors, share items for sale (like Facebook Marketplace), and, lucky for you, ask for recommendations for home services professionals. This is a great way for people to discover your business from clients who have been happy with your work in the past.

You’ll first want to claim your business page on the app. Anyone can mention your business regardless of whether you’ve claimed your business page, but this will give you more control over what people see about your business.

Then, you’ll want to ask your happy clients to mention you on Nextdoor and make sure you’re always providing the best possible service to increase your chances of getting mentioned.

While Nextdoor is a great place to start, don’t stop there. See if local HOAs allow businesses like yours to promote themselves on their community boards. Look for sites like your town’s chamber of commerce or local Facebook groups. If possible, have a few past customers mention their positive experience on those forums.

Use email marketing to nurture leads

When you run a home service business, beating out 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 that struggle to manage their communications.

Email marketing is a great way to do this. You can use email marketing to nurture leads by sending messages about specials you’re running, tips for homeowners, and more. This helps you stay in front of your customers and prospects so you’re top of mind when they might need your services.

This moving company sends a regular newsletter called “Smooth Moves” filled with content that would be relevant to its audience.

The challenge is coming up with a consistent flow of engaging ideas for a newsletter. This list of newsletter ideas will help.

Engage your audience on social media

If your home services business hasn’t jumped on the social media bandwagon, now is the time. Not only is social media marketing a great way to present your business to a large audience, but many people now turn to social networks to find local services.

If your home service business is absent from social media, you’re missing the opportunity to engage with this highly engaged audience.

You can use your social media pages to share:

• Updates about your business
• Positive feedback or testimonials
• Helpful videos you create
• Educational content you write or curate
• Local events or causes

Your social media posts don’t have to be fancy–they just have to be consistent and engaging.

Of course, we won’t leave you hanging for social media content ideas. This guide has a year’s worth of posts you can try and a handy calendar template.

Send direct mailers

Home services providers, like roofers, typically serve a specific geographic area, making them the perfect candidates for effective direct mail campaigns (and other offline marketing ideas).

Direct mail campaigns may seem a little old school. But that’s exactly why they work. They allow you to target the neighborhoods you serve and greet your audience at home with a compelling offer. Plus, a mailer with a scannable code encourages your recipients to take action and makes it easier for you to track ROI.

Direct mail has a few associated costs, from designing and writing the flyer to printing and postage. Typically, bulk discounts are available for printing and mailing to more residences.

Creative home services marketing ideas

Now, let’s level up with some creative home services marketing ideas.

Create a to-do checklist

To position your business as a resource, your home service business can create a branded to-do checklist around a relevant topic. Then share it via email, social media, or as a free download on your website to generate leads.

A fun version of the to-do checklist is the challenge. Pick a task or chore in your field—like spring cleaning—and put a time frame around it with a challenge for people to follow.

Cleaning businesses can clean up with a spring cleaning challenge checklist.

Run a contest or giveaway

Contests and giveaways are like business growth Swiss army knives. They can help you get a lot more social media followers quickly, boost your online engagement, and deliver lots of leads in a flash.

Facebook giveaways or Instagram contests are a good place to start since those platforms have huge audiences.

To run a giveaway for your home services business, simply identify a prize your audience would like (perhaps a discounted or free service), create your contest post including your timeline and how to enter, set the post live, and choose a winner when it’s time!

Here are a bunch of giveaway ideas ideal for growing businesses.

Partner with complementary businesses

Partnership marketing is a powerful tool that can multiply your results while splitting the workload.

Here’s how it works. Find one or two complementary businesses in your field. Co-promote an event, special, or simply your services across each other’s marketing channels. Share the leads.

For example, an HVAC business and an exterminator could promote a springtime offer for an AC tune-up and bug spraying. Or simply agree to post about each other’s business a certain number of times each month.

Highlight trends in your industry

No one knows the interior design, bathroom remodeling, or landscaping trends better than you. Let people know you’re “in the know” by posting about what’s new and hot in your field.

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Ramp up the engagement by turning it into a poll, and get people’s opinions on the top trends. Bonus: You’ll gather some free intel on your customers’ preferences.

Work with influencers

“Influencer” may be a word you associate with other industries, like retail, beauty and wellness, or fashion. But there are plenty of opportunities for home services businesses to use influencer marketing, too.

For example, if you’re a house painter, you could work with a local home improvement influencer and offer to teach her followers how to tackle a tricky job.

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Nano-influencers—people with followings of under 10,000—typically have particular niches and a loyal fan base that turns to them for recommendations in their area of focus. And that specificity pays off: Studies show higher engagement rates among followers of nano-influencers.

Partnering with an influencer who focuses on an adjacent or related area of home care can get the word out about your business to an audience already highly interested in this topic.

Home services marketing made easy

With the right marketing plan in place, your home services marketing can be a breeze. Focus on building an online presence and optimizing everything turn interest into purchases.

Here’s a recap of all the tips, strategies, and creative home service marketing ideas:

1. Showcase your expertise
2. Go heavy on social proof
3. Always be building brand awareness
4.  Establish your value proposition
5. Respond to every lead quickly
6. Invest in local SEO
7. Run search advertising
8. Add Google Local Services ads
9. Use video to up your game
10. Get more and better reviews
11. Build a user-friendly website
12. Add live chat to your site
13. Claim and manage your business listings
14. Launch a referral program
15. Promote through local forums like Nextdoor
16. Use email marketing to nurture leads
17. Engage your audience on social media
18. Send direct mailers
19. Create a to-do checklist
20. run a contest or giveaway
21. Partner with a complementary business
22. Highlight trends in your industry
23. Work with influencers

And if you want to really grow across all your marketing channels, contact us. We’ll show you how our home services marketing solutions can help.

Meet The Author

Rob Glover

Rob is a Senior Copywriter for LocaliQ and WordStream, where he uses his content marketing experience to write about all manner of advertising, sales, and adtech topics. When not turning phrases, Rob loves to travel, cook, and spend time outdoors (especially hiking and mountain biking) with his wife and dog.

Other posts by Rob Glover