Whether you’re a contractor, handyman, or an expert DIYer, there’s truly never been a better time to be a professional in the odd job field. The economy is growing, society is becoming less handy each year, and houses and machinery are becoming more complex. In turn, more individuals are outsourcing common jobs and responsibilities, creating an all-time high in demand for handy services. However, that’s not necessarily good news for the outdated sector. In order to survive and thrive in an increasingly digital world, DIY and odd job businesses will have to prepare for the future of the industry.
Finding new marketing opportunities
While the demand for handymen and odd job services only continues to increase across the globe, finding reliable service providers is still challenging for many consumers. This is likely due to the fact that the industry is among the least digitized sectors, mostly relying on word-of-mouth marketing and traditional ad placements to raise brand awareness. Unfortunately, these methods simply won’t be sustainable in the future, especially considering the fact that most customers today leverage the internet in an effort to find necessary services.
For that reason, it seems like it’s high time for the DIY sector to finally embrace digital marketing opportunities as well. This means building an attractive website, focusing on search engine optimization, expanding on social media platforms, and even investing in online advertisements. All of these tactics are quite effective at boosting brand recognition, reaching a wider audience, and attracting new clients. This will be vital for increasing profitability and finding new opportunities for growth and success in the future.
Reaching customers in a better way
Even if you can’t invest in expert help and elaborate digital marketing strategies, there are still some ways you can advertise your handyman business and reach customers more effectively. Of course, they involve the use of technology and the internet as well. As long as you devote some time to learning these strategies, it will be easy to stand out among the competition and reach higher levels of success in the odd job field.
This could be as simple as creating a good newsletter strategy. Develop a mailing list of past and potential clients, sign them up for a newsletter, and send out monthly emails that are short yet compelling enough to engage customers and keep your brand relevant in their minds. Similarly, you could also develop a referral program that grants special promotions and discounts to consumers once they recommend your services to their friends and family members. These are inexpensive ways to acquire new customers that can yield high profits in the future as well.
Getting on board with the gig economy
Customer success simply can’t scale internally. It’s likely that you won’t have the budget or the manpower to support the customer success of the future, forcing you to choose only the top accounts and focus on their objectives to justify expenses. The alternative is much more sustainable. There are already a number of DIY and odd job professionals in the gig economy, all of them helping people with more specific goals in order to monetize their skills.
For instance, plumbers aren’t marketing the entire scope of plumbing work anymore. Instead, they are focusing on niches such as blocked drains to build their brand and accelerate success. In fact, a significant percentage of the current freelance population are handymen gig workers providing their specialized services in a similar manner. In order to scale your business and prepare for the future, focusing on a more specific niche and offering it to customers through suitable digital platforms seems like the best solution.
Listening to the needs of customers
When attempting to build any relationship, active listening is one of the most important aspects, and the same is true for consumers. Focus on the people that are interested in your odd job services and their intended outcomes. Consider whether you truly understand what they wish to accomplish with handyman services, what their list of necessary jobs to be completed is, as well as what their wants, needs, and common issues really are.
Businesses can advertise without listening authentically, but that rarely leads to expected results. To reach success and maintain it in the highly personalized future, you need to develop an efficient method of digital listening. This will enable you to deliver more customized experiences and desired outcomes to consumers, both of which are key drivers of future growth and success.
Connecting clients with the community
It might be wise to look beyond traditional success metrics such as cross-sell revenue and new account sales, as they are nothing more than sales drivers. Rather than focusing on these aspects, explore how you can boost customer success through community and partner ecosystems. Begin by asking yourself what you offer and how exactly you could help.
Think about what your clients want you to accomplish and compare that to the expertise that’s offered by your community. Then, aim to match the needs of your clients with the professionals from your community, whether they require mechanical or woodworking services. If the program works as intended, experts in the community will return the favor, thus creating a mutually beneficial relationship that supports collective success. This will be key to growth.
The DIY and odd job industry will likely continue to prioritize outcomes, not tools or types of services. If you listen to your clients, identify their needs, and fulfill their demands, you will manage to find new opportunities for high performance in the future as well.
About the Author:
Keith Coppersmith is a business and marketing expert who has experienced both the rise and fall of many businesses. As a regular contributor at BizzmarkBlog, he enjoys writing and providing insight of the industry based on both practice and theory.
