Many contractors don’t know how to create a marketing plan.
They either rely only on referrals (which isn’t a plan!) or they throw money at all kinds of different platforms and lead generation sites without any real strategy.
There are better ways to market your business.
Hoping something will work and wondering why they’re wasting so much money and not getting any real, quality leads.
So if you’re a contractor who doesn’t know how to promote your business, I’m going to give you an epic marketing plan!
What Is Marketing?
It’s really helpful to understand the purpose of marketing.
If we can make the topic of marketing really simple, it will make the whole process for finding and attracting quality leads really simple. And it will make your whole marketing plan really simple.
And I’m all about simple...
At its foundation, marketing is just communicating with people.
It’s just talking to people. And talking to people isn’t that difficult, you probably do it all the time.
So if it's just talking, then your process for creating an epic marketing plan becomes much simpler.
Because then it’s just a matter of talking to the right people, at just the right time, with just the right offer.
That’s not so hard.
How does this simple approach turn into an actual plan? You have to take 5 simple steps.
Step 1: Who do you need to talk to?
To start your epic marketing plan, you first have to know WHO you need to talk to to pay the bills.
Who is your perfect customer?
Who is that dream person you want to work with?
The person who’s not going to question your prices
Who’s going to see the value in your services
And who’s going to pay you what you’re worth
I recommend you hone in on 1 answer to this question.
For example, if you’re a roofer you’re WHO shouldn’t be just anyone who owns a home.
You want to tighten that down to a niche. For example, you might describe your that person as:
A homeowner
In a specific zip code
With an annual salary of 70k or more
Who’s home is over 25 years old
And has an asphalt shingle roof
That’s a very specific demographic.
And getting this detailed and this specific will make your entire marketing plan easier to create and more effective.
Step 2: Where do you need to talk to them?
Next you need to know WHERE to talk to these people.
Where do you approach them? Where do they find you? What marketing channels do you need to use to reach them?
So you need to think about that specific person and WHERE they spend the most time.
Is this on Google? Probably.
Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram? Yes, they’re probably on one or more of those platforms.
Got no time for social media? This article will help you manage social media with limited time and budget!
Is it in the community? Do they live and work in a certain neighborhood or city where your business needs to show up?
Or are they part of certain organizations or groups that you need to get into to connect with them? Do they volunteer somewhere you can volunteer, sponsor, or support in some way to get access and exposure to this dream customer?
Once you know WHO, then you’ll know WHERE to talk to them.
Step 3: When are you going to talk to them?
Now it’s time to determine WHEN you are going to talk to this perfect customer.
At first glance, you might think of certain times of the year (like when you have a slow season and need to fill out your schedule).
Or you might think that the WHEN is referring to that person in a certain stage of their life (like right after tax season when they have extra spending money).
But I’m going to say that the WHEN is year-round.
You should NEVER wait to market your business until you hit a slow season.
At that point it’s too late.
Marketing takes time and testing.
Generally, if you don’t have customers right now it’s because you weren’t marketing your business 3+ months ago.
Plus, statistically it takes the average person 7x of being exposed to your brand and your business to finally remember who you are, recognize that you can solve their problem, and actually hire you (it's called the rule of 7 in marketing)
So you need to be in their life and in their face constantly.
Regularly showing them how you can transform their current situation into something better.
And that brings us to the WHAT...
Step 4: What will you talk about?
The WHAT is going to be your offer. Your solution.
And you should find a way to explain it so that it appeals to their emotional needs and shows the transformation of what their life will be like AFTER they hire you.
Because you’ve gotten very specific about WHO you’re trying to talk to — you should know exactly what their problems are… You should understand what pains them.
And because you know their pains, you’ll be able to describe your service in a way that shows the silver lining. Show them what life could look like after you solve their problems.
Going back the roofer scenario; your solution is NOT that the customer will have a new roof.
Instead, you would describe your services as providing comfort, safety, and warmth for their family, while protecting their investment (the home) for generations to come.
People buy with emotion, and justify with logic.
So you want to have a very compelling offer that appeals to their emotions, and is justified with MASSIVE value for the price you’re charging.
Step 5: How many people do you need to talk to?
Finally the HOW.
And I want you to think of this as “how many.”
This is where knowing your numbers becomes very important.
You need to know how many customers you need to talk to each day, week, and month.
These are your leads.
And then you need to know how many of those people that you talk to actually become paying customers.
That’s your conversions.
Want to convert more leads? Read this: Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid if You Want to Convert More Leads
Knowing your leads and conversions will help you set goals for HOW MANY of these people:
You need to reach with your marketing
You need to contact or that need to be contacting you each month
You need to schedule
You need to convert to sold jobs (paying customers)
Follow Your Marketing Plan Consistently
The key with any marketing plan is CONSISTENCY.
So many contractors struggle with this.
They haven’t gotten specific about who they’re trying to talk to, they are not trying to talk to them throughout the year, they don’t have a clear and compelling offer, and basically they’re throwing spaghetti at the ceiling and then wondering why nothing sticks...
So consistency is key with all of this.
You have to get specific with these 5 steps, and then stick with it.
I’m looking forward to hearing what you think about this Epic Marketing Plan. Be sure to leave a comment telling me what you like and what you’re going to implement. I read every single comment!
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