Since service review websites like Yelp and Amazon have developed a large consumer base by offering their basic services for free, Angie’s List has had to up the ante by promising in March that it would join its competitors in the realm of free basic reviews. On July 1, 2016 Angie’s List came through on that promise. While this development gives clear advantages to homeowners, will business owners reap the same benefits? Here is what you need to know. 

While websites such as Thumbtack.com and homeadvisor.com have been known to work for connecting consumers and services, the high volume of inquiries versus low close rate has many of our clients wondering if there is a better option. With its beta release in the summer of 2015, Google Home Services hopes to provide a streamlined platform for business/consumer interfacing. We're here to give you the scoop on this platform, still in the early stages of its development.

In the past, referrals were considered the best way to get leads for a home improvement business. Whether your company relies on referrals as a primary or secondary source of leads, referrals are a critical part of maintaining a sustainable landscaping, remodeling, or general contractor business. But what happens when the referrals stop coming in? What went wrong? Are your customers unhappy? Perhaps disappointed in  the quality or service? Or maybe, just maybe, they're incredibly happy but just forgot to recommend your company to their neighbor during a conversation about a service you do.

Home services lead referral websites such as Angie's List, Home Advisor, Yelp, and now, Amazon Home Services, have become the unfortunate norm in contractor "marketing" today.  Turn on the service and the inexpensive leads come flooding in right to your iPhone. Trust me, I understand. I remember receiving leads from HomeAdvisor— called ServiceMagic.com back then—while I was in a sales/project management role. And once the service was turned on, my calendar would almost instantly book up with late evening appointments with homeowners that were less than ready to buy. That is if the meeting even took place. 

Many contractors rely on pay-per-lead services to deliver the construction leads they need. but are services like thumbtack the best option? here we take a look at the best ways to drive home improvement leads today.

As the beginning of the next season gets closer, outdoor living professionals put their marketing efforts in overdrive. Rightfully so, this is prime-time pickings. Successful landscaping, pool-builders, and really any home improvement professional that is dependent on good weather looks to (and can) book up a good portion of the season by the end of March. And if you have all the right things (content/blogging, social media presences, good photography of past work) in place, its possible. For those struggling to get the right boost in enough jobs, Google AdWords can be a good additional to your overall marketing approach - but before you jump in, make sure you know the tool inside-out. 

Ah, the good ol' landscaping business cards. Spend hours designing them, leave one behind after every conversation.. sounds familiar? It seems like business cards have been around forever. Have you ever tried to figure out how many customers they bring in? I'm sure you'll agree they might have served their purpose well in the past, but there are other solutions out there better equipped to keep you at the forefront of your customers' minds. We've got some ideas to help you get your creativity juices rolling and finally say goodbye to business cards.

The number one way to getting leads for projects you want to design and build is through your website. Period. Yes, there are numerous other ways to bring in some leads - referrals, home shows, PPC, print advertising, you get the point. But in terms of return on your time and money, your website is your best bet.

Before we discuss why you're not getting enough traffic to your site, how do you know whether or not you're getting enough traffic? What is considered enough traffic? Easy: ask yourself these two questions:

The 2016 Houzz report on the state of the industry is out and we couldn't be more excited about the info and based on the content - majority of general contractors, home remodelers, builders, and landscapers feel the same. 

2015 proved to be another year of growth for the industry - year over year as well as compared to the pre-recession times. 

Old habits die slowly, very slowly. We often hear landscapers and home builders/remodelers say that they've been doing home shows for 10, 15, and more years. And what we hear just as often is that generating business from a home show is nothing like it used to be. That's not a surprise and it shouldn't be because of one major reason: our global culture has created research junkies.

Lets take a step back together. You've been hearing this acronym for years now. You know that you need to make sure your website is SEO'd and all that good stuff. Heck, everyone's paying a lot of money for this stuff. Maybe you're even thinking that its been a while since your website was redone so you need a new website to help with SEO. But what exactly is SEO? It's really not all that mysterious. 

SEO, Search Engine Optimization, is indeed something you need to make sure is at the top of your priority list, when it comes to driving leads. We'll help you understand why.

SEO is...

If you ended with a possible yes from part one of our Home and Garden Show series,  Should Your Home Contracting Business Participate in the Next Home Show?, then you'll want to outline your budget details. A very important outcome of this will be determining your promotional budget - part three in the series. No one wants to build a beautiful and costly booth, and have no one see it. 
 

Custom home builders, landscape contractors, its almost home and garden show season! In preparation for this annual chaotic time, we've lined up a series of topics to help you get the most out of your experience. After all, every marketing tactic must come with some kind of ROI! To get started in this series, lets make sure that your business should really participate in this year's show or two.

As you ask yourself the below questions, be honest with yourself - allow yourself to step outside of your comfort zone and really provide honest answers! 

If you end up with a yes or need more consideration, read part two in this series: How Much Does a Booth in a Home and Garden Show Really Cost? 

With all the marketing options out there - from content, inbound, outbound, print, radio, tv, its hard not to depend on the tried and true advertising options that have existed for what seems like forever. Its probably easier to choose an approach that you know has been around and is familar to you.

Still, no matter how familiar, with all the industry changes as well as marketing changes, now might be the perfect time for you to evaluate print advertising. To help with your decision, you should do print advertising if:

Media Coverage of landscaping or design work is a top need for many marketing executives or business owners in this industry. Of course there are other key marketing essentials (like inbound marketing - which includes blogging and social media). There is however something special about building your reputation in quality work using previously completed projects.

Sure, professional photography is non-negotiable. Whether it costs several hundred dollars or a thousands, its a must. But what happens after the photos and what can you do with them to make sure you're promoting your best work and increasing your chances of media coverage? It starts with getting the right story. A story behind the photos. Something that connects readers and viewers to the work. Words that bring it all to life. 

It's hard for many folks to switch over from display advertising (magazine, billboards, etc.) to inbound marketing (content king). The new can be scary. Here is the secret: it doesn't have to be a switchover. There are reasons to maintaining both approaches without sacrificing efficacy of either. The trick is to make sure that each approach is designed to complement the other.