You’ve gone through the whole process of setting up your own home inspection business, but you expected to have more clients by now. You’re still struggling to generate more business and you aren’t sure what to do next. Here are some tips on how to market your home inspection business to go from the red to the black.
Are You Confusing Branding and Marketing For Your Home Inspection Services?
When you started your business, one of the first things you should have done was create branding. Branding involves creating a recognizable look and approach to promoting your business. That could mean logos, brochures, a website, and keeping your promotional materials consistent in color, design, and voice. Potential customers should immediately recognize your brand — think about brands like Target or McDonald’s. Their ads and promotional materials all feature the same distinctive logo, colors, and tone.
Creating a distinctive brand is important, but it’s not marketing. Furthermore, marketing is not only advertising — marketing is your approach to promoting your business. While advertising may be one component of your marketing, there are other ways to promote your business that will bring in clients and create recognition for the services you provide.
When you started your business, you likely created a website. Your website is like an electronic business card and creating one that looks professional and functions well is critical to your branding and promotion. This is not a place to hire someone inexperienced or try to do it yourself unless you’re very skilled in website design.
The same applies to any printed materials that you use for business. These make great marketing tools but be sure they are professionally designed. A professional design inspires confidence in potential clients and an amateur-looking website or promotional materials has the opposite effect. Make sure yours are up to par.
Re-evaluate your marketing plan and make sure you aren’t making any mistakes.
Networking With Other Businesses
Networking with other businesses is important for any company, but it can be particularly critical for a home inspection business. Real estate agents can refer a never-ending supply of clients needing home inspections when buying properties.
If local real estate agents can offer promotions and incentives from your business to property buyers needing a home inspection, it creates a win-win situation for both businesses. If you haven’t tapped this source for client referrals, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
Don’t forget about real estate investors who will need frequent inspection services and can offer repeat business. BiggerPockets.com can connect you to the big investors that can boost your home inspection business’s income and stability.
Consider attending real estate events for networking opportunities or offering to write an article for a real estate trade publication, educating realtors on home inspection issues. You can also pitch story ideas to local media, but trade publications are more targeted. This helps promote your home inspection business to the people who can refer the most customers.
Giving presentations at trade shows and seminars establishes authority as well as great networking opportunities. Be sure to give out promotional materials and business cards to anyone who inquires.
Do You Really Know the Local Market?
Do you need to make some changes to how you’re marketing your business? You might need to reassess and tweak how you’re doing things to be more effective in your local market.
Make a list of all your competitors locally, then visit websites and storefronts to collect any brochures or promotional materials to compare to your own. Are your prices competitive? How do they compile their reports and how do they deliver them? Do they have certifications or credentials that enhance their authority in the home inspection business? Are they getting referrals regularly from local realtors?
All of these questions can help you assess what areas are strongest in your business and weakest. Then you can target those weak areas to be more competitive with other local home inspection businesses.
Are You Growing (and Contacting) Your Customer Email List?
If you didn’t set up an email list and newsletter when you started your business, do it now. Many small business owners report that one of the greatest generators of customers and income is their email list and newsletter. You could create a monthly newsletter, especially for realtors or you could target local landlords.
If you have an email list, are you keeping in touch with those who signed up? Don’t let them forget about your service and you can include tips such as helping clients evaluate a house’s condition.
Search Engines and SEO
If you’re not getting the traffic you want to your website and it’s not showing up on the first few pages of search engines like Google, consider hiring an expert in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to increase your page ranking and help people find your business. Create a Google My Business listing to make your business more prominent locally.
Keeping Track of All Your Leads
These tips should help increase your leads for new customers. Make sure you track all of them with software like ServiceWorks, but this software does so much more. Take bookings directly from your website and automate scheduling and appointments efficiently. As your business grows, ServiceWorks helps you with other aspects of business, such as tracking employees and bookkeeping needs. To see how it can help manage your home inspection business, try it free for 14 days!
