5 ways a website can help local contractors build relationships

Strong customer relationships are at the core of every business. As a local contractor, your customer relationships are a big driver of your business. When you do a good job, your customers tell their friends and neighbors. More work comes in, and the references continue. Those same existing customers also call back when they need more work done. As a contractor, sometimes the projects need to happen quickly. Other times, they’re improvements that can be scheduled at your leisure.

In both cases, you’re getting more work. While you can’t legitimately increase the ’emergency’ work that needs to happen quickly, you can help your customers see the value and entice them to jump on improvements around their home. One of the best ways to do this, is by engaging with your customers using your website.

Build your relationships and increase your sales

1. Make sure your website can convert – Your website is the hub of your online presence. Because of that, it needs to be set up to convert. That means you need to have your contact info at the top of every page. Your hours of operation should be easy to find. And you should have a contact form with a clear message like ‘Schedule a Consultation’ or ‘Get a Quote’. Link to your social media accounts and make it easy to share your content. Giving your visitors several ways to easily get in touch with you allows them to choose the communication method that best suites their needs.
2. Start a newsletter – You already have an audience that you can tap into. As you work on jobs, make gathering email addresses a part of your normal sign up process. Simply add this as an option on the regular paperwork that customers are already filling out when you’re creating estimates. One great way to begin this regular correspondence is to email your estimates and contract details at the beginning of each job. From there, you can continue to update customers with new project ideas, great opportunities to upgrade things around their house, as well as any promotions that you may be running at the time.
3. Create a private Facebook group – The concept is very similar to a newsletter. The biggest difference is that many people spend a lot of their spare time on their social media accounts. By setting up a private Facebook group, you not only give them a reason to follow your page, but you also make them into a member of an exclusive club. You’ll want to make the private group something that is appealing and brings some additional value. You could do monthly contests, exclusive promotions, or simply encourage your customers to interact with one another about new projects and ideas.
4. Run a contest with a promo – An email list is a great way to reach customers with new offers. One great way to grow that list is to run a contest and give away something that your customers value. This could be a coupon on their next job, a small appliance, or a free consultation to discuss future work. KingSumo is a great platform that lets you set up contests for free, confirm entrants, and select a winner quickly and easily. The biggest thing you’ll need to do – is determine what they’ll win!
5. Encourage people to share their feedback – This can take a lot of different forms. It might be asking them to follow you on Facebook, share a post of your work on Instagram, or leave a positive review on HomeAdvisor or another review site. This can be a hard thing for many local contractors to get in the habit of doing. But really all you have to do is ask. We like to recommend framing it as a post-job feedback session. Find out what the customer liked about your service, find out what they would like done differently in the future. If you sense that they are very satisfied with your service, simply ask them to provide feedback in whatever way benefits you the most.

Your existing customers are your best advocates. These 5 strategies can help you increase your engagement, and turn them into raving fans. The more fanatical support you have, the more your company will grow. So don’t wait, start capitalizing on the goodwill that you’ve already built. The steps can be easy, and you can leverage on or several of the options above. Find the ones that are right for you, and then double down on what works.

As your business grows, check back to our site for tips on how to manage that growth. Or contact us to set up some time to chat.