Contractor Marketing: 8 Smart Ways to Generate More Contractor Leads
Whether you’re just starting out, or if you’ve been contracting for quite some time, learning how to get work as a contractor isn’t always so cut and dry. Lead generation for contractors is one of the most crucial factors for their successful operation, and today the methods of creating contractor leads are more diverse than ever.
With more complexity comes more opportunities for contractor lead generation. Now is the time to step your contractor marketing game up to the next level! Keep reading to get the full scoop on the 8 best ways to get contractor leads.
What is contractor marketing?
Have you ever asked the question, “how can a contractor get more business”? The answer: contractor marketing.
Contractor marketing is the process of generating leads with the goal of bringing in more clients and more business for a contractor. Contractor lead generation can be done online or offline, and can be done via broader advertisement methods or by communicating on a more personal level with both potential and existing customers.
Of course, the type of business will affect the kind of industry loans a business needs, as well as the specific circumstances that business finds itself in.
Whichever contracting industry you’re in – finding ways to develop contractor leads can help boost your profits. Learn how Become can help contractors obtain construction loans, plumbing loans, or any other sort of loan that can help them improve their lead generation.
The best way to get contractor leads is to develop an effective contractor marketing strategy; that means being able to reach your target audience and convey a powerful message of why they should choose your service over all others. Now that you know the basic concept of how to get work as a contractor, the question still remains: what are the specific ways you can create a strong contractor lead generation plan?
8 ways to generate more contractor leads
Hopefully you’ve already gotten some of these pointers taken care of, but what’s important isn’t necessarily having each and every method covered. The more significant question is whether you put the contractor lead generation method(s) into action the right way.
Top 8 contractor lead generation strategies:
- An easy-to-navigate website
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Social media accounts
- Customer reviews
- Video ads
- Business loan
- Unique story
- System to handle incoming leads quickly
Here’s the detailed guide on contractor marketing:
1. An easy-to-navigate website
We don’t want to be too harsh about this, but, if you don’t have a website at this point then you’re doing something wrong. In this age of widespread digital communication, not having a website severely limits the amount of exposure you have to potential clients and your ability to generate contractor leads. You can use a service like Wix to help you develop a sleekly designed website that will illustrate your professionalism.
Top tip: Simplicity goes a long way. Customers don’t want to be distracted by unnecessary fluff – keep it concise and informative. There are other avenues to develop your personality which can help lead generation for contractors, which we’ll touch on below.
2. Search engine optimization (SEO)
SEO is the process of improving the quality of your content in such a way that it improves the ranking of your website on search engine query result pages. After you’ve established a foundation for your website design (that includes your contact info and basic ‘About’ section, for example), you’ll want to begin adding content. This can include a blog, landing pages for your products and services, feedback from customers, and so on. When it comes to contractor marketing, SEO is one of the key parts of a successful strategy.
Top tip: Once again, what matters is not so much the quantity of content as much as it is the quality of content. Take some time to have a more in-depth look at how to improve website SEO ranking.
3. Social media accounts
How can a contractor get more business WITHOUT social media these days? Okay, perhaps we’re exaggerating a tiny bit. But the fact is, millions of people are on social media every day, offering up a huge pool of potential customers for your services.
The top three social media platforms are, of course, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Besides sharing pictures of your work and yourself, you can share informative articles, which helps demonstrate your active status in the industry. You should also join social media groups where your local community members congregate in order to get your name out. The bottom line is that, regardless of the specific platform you’re using, you’ve got the ability to essentially advertise yourself for free. That’s certainly not an opportunity you should let pass you by!
Top tip: For more a professional platform where you can focus your interactions on building your business network, create LinkedIn profile. Additionally, the top three platforms mentioned above also offer paid advertisement programs which you can aim at specific audience types – a great way to boost your contractor lead generation.
4. Customer reviews
This is a delicate method for obvious reasons: customer reviews can (and do) go both ways. And the unfortunate reality is that people with negative experiences are more likely to leave reviews than people who had positive experiences. But that actually creates an incentive for contractors to get involved with customer reviews where they can, since there are plenty of places for customers to report their thoughts and not all of them allow for the business to remove the reviews.
Top tip: Create your own review section on your website so that customers have a direct route to express their opinions with you (as opposed to the public). Respond to feedback wherever you can and say sorry when the situation calls for it. Potential clients will look you up, and they’ll likely be impressed by your diligence in responding to customer complaints.
If any of these contractor marketing methods are out of your budget, you can look to Become for help in obtaining additional business financing. With their advanced algorithms and lender-borrower matching technology, applying for contractor loans has never been easier!
5. Video ads
This one is pretty self-explanatory, although it definitely takes a bit more investment of resources than the other methods of lead generation for contractors. That being said, anyone wondering how to get work as a contractor should strongly consider video ads. Research shows that 72% of agencies say that online video ads are either as effective or more effective than television advertisements – a percentage that nearly tripled between 2011 and 2015.
Top tip: You can (and should) integrate your video advertisements with your social media platforms. Make sure to take a closer look at which sorts of videos perform better on different platforms and format them accordingly. In this touch-screen and swiping culture, shorter ads are more likely to perform well.
6. Utilize business loans
Many methods of boosting lead generation for contractors are available for free – but not all. You may be able to open up social media accounts without paying, but there are additional services for businesses (such as Google ads and analytics) that come with a charge, and for a good reason! You’ve likely heard it before, but it takes money to make money. And when it comes to generating leads as a contractor, business loans are well worth the investment.
Top tip: Business financing solutions come in many different varieties depending on the intended purpose of the funds, the specific industry your business operates in, and so on. Be sure to read up on the different types of business loans before applying!
7. Unique story
Chances are you’re not alone in your industry – there’s going to be competition, and your goal should always be to stand out from the crowd. Fortunately, everybody has a unique story of how they got to be who they are and where they are in life. While lead generation for contractors may sound a bit bland of a task on the surface of it, you can add flavor by mentioning what makes you special. Particularly since you may be primarily working for yourself, presenting yourself in a new light will take your contractor marketing effectiveness to new heights.
Top tip: Contractors often times conduct their business within the community in which they reside. Be sure to include examples of how you’ve contributed to the local community in your contractor marketing strategy.
8. System to handle incoming leads quickly
All of the above methods for contractor lead generation were aimed at exactly that – generating leads for contractors. But what good is the generation of leads without an effective system for processing those leads? This pointer is not so much about how to get work as a contractor as much as it is about how a contractor can avoid losing out on opportunities that they’re presented with.
Top tip: Develop a daily routine of following up on incoming leads that you stick to without question. Check emails, missed calls, social media messages, voice mails, and so on. Once you get into the swing of it, you’ll begin feeling the impact an effective system of handling leads can have on lead generation for contractors.
Get started today
We’ve provided the top tips on how to get work as a contractor, now it’s up to you to use the tools and methods explained in this article. Take your contractor lead generation strategy up a notch with these pointers and start bringing in more business today. We hope you find the information in this article useful – please feel free to share it with colleagues and on social media!
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