Now that you've gone through the expense and time of acquiring a prospect or customer, it's time to consistently nurture that relationship.

Besides, the cost to do this is extremely low when compared to the expense you paid out to get them to raise their hand in the first place.

Not surprisingly, most home improvement companies drop the ball big time here.   There are TWO groups of people you should stay in contact with.  One is obvious, the other is often forgotten

1 - Your Current/Past customers:  If you're not consistently touching these folks  -and I don't mean  "buy more of our stuff" -then you're leaving a whole lot of money on the table. 

Use your tactic to continue to build your establish relationship, stay in front of them and remind them of Up grades - Back End Sales - Referrals - New products & services.

 2 - Prospects that didn't buy:  Yes!   If you have their contact info, you should continue to market to these people on a regular basis as well.  You know they have a need for your service and for whatever reason they didn't buy.  Or maybe they bought from someone else, but that company screwed it up.

I had one remodelling client who told me that a fair percentage of his "new" business was coming in to fix problems that the homeowner had with somebody else.  It wasn't a huge number, but because he was there in front of them, guess who they called to solve their problem.

What to send them

We've had great success with our clients with something as simple as a short letter.   I came across a guy who puts out a "fun" newsletter for his clients in the plumbing industry and his client's LOVE it becaue their customers LOVE it!

This is NOT one of those sterile, four color templates that you slap your logo on and send it out just to get something out the door.  These are all over the internet and, to be honest, in my opinion, while it is something to send out, and you don't have to really work at it,  they just come across as sterile.

Think how you can stand out, have some fun with it.

And notice I suggest SEND it to them, via mail.  I know email is "easy", but what I'm figuring out is that a physical piece of real, post office delivered, mail is now "unique" and will get you noticed.

How long should you stay in contact with them?

There's an old saying in that goes something like this:  If someone has contacted your business - for any reason - you must market your business to them until two things happen: 1. They Tell You To Stop or 2.  They Die!   Now that may be a bit extreme, but you get the idea. The longer the better and the more consistant the better.

Real Life Fact:   It doesn't happen overnight. But when they do call you, it's like finding bags of money on your doorstep.

Until Next Time, I Wish You Much Success

Mike Jeffries

866-926-5100

Let's quickly review where we've been and how to move forward as I finish up this overview of the websites.

1. Visitors to your website - or any website for that matter - are very active, alert and looking for specific information.

2. Your website must convey to the first time visitor, within a matter of moments, that yes, indeed, you have the information they're looking for.

3. You need to structure your message on your site so that it gives the visitor the information they're looking for AND so that the search engines, not only find it, but rank in high on their listings for the key words a prospect is looking for.

Okay, those are the basics.

Now a little dose of reality.

Getting your site to perform well does not happen overnight.   It doesn't happen in a week, or even a month.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is a snake oil salesman.

I started out this series with an example of one of my clients who is now reporting that most of his new leads are coming in via his website and because of that, he has been able to reduce is advertising budget by 75%, and that is true.

But we first revamped his site over 2 years ago.  The first few months, he saw little change.  But then, at about month 3 he started to notice some leads coming in from his site.  By month 6, his site had become a reliable and steady source of good, quality leads.  By month 9 things started to snowball.

And today, as I said, most of his leads are coming in via his site. 

Here's the lesson in this real world example.  If you're serious about turning your site into a lead generation tool - and not just a pretty brochure for your company - you need to start NOW.

Here's why I say that. 

As I write this, it's mid July.    The "busy" season for most home improvement contractors - when prospects are actively looking and phone begins to ring - starts in February and runs through the Spring. 

If you get your site updated by say Mid August you should start getting measurable results in February and March, the same time a lot of people are looking for someone for a Spring/Summer project.

If you wait until October or November - you will miss the spring rush.

As I like to say, it's like starting the 100 yard dash from the 50 yard line but only if you do it now. I know you are busy in the field now. I know that if you want to get something done - give it to a busy person.

Last point - You are an expert in your field and you expect your prospects to hire you because you know your craft inside and out. If they want a professional job they will hire a professional.

In your company, if you don't have the talent in house you find an expert to do that. Most remodelers sub out electrical and plumbing for example.

If a homeowner does choose to do it themselves the results just won't be the same as if they hired you.

If you are serious about your website - hire the right people to create the content and hire the right people to execute SEO - these are not the same people. Content is marketing, SEO is technical.

If you do want our specific help, call me and we can get it done quickly. If you have someone in mind that you are already working with, have them follow our guidance so you can maximize your results.

Until Next Time, I Wish You Much Success

Mike Jeffries

866-926-5100

I apologize that this is a bit longer than usual. In fact, there is so much to talk about that there will be a bonus one next week so stay tuned.      

I said at the very beginning that this series wasn't going to be a techno or geek discussion about websites.  However there is one techno geek topic you need to get familiar with if you want to find your website and generate leads.

Search Engine Optimization.  (SEO)

The concept is simple enough for us mortals to grasp.   When people are looking for your services they type in "key words" like painter or landscaper or remodel my kitchen. If you have those key words and they are "optimized" then your page comes up near the top of the results page (Page ranking).

These are the listings on the LEFT side of the page - called organic rankings, and not the paid ads on the right. 

The higher a site is on the page, the more likely it is that the site has information relevant to your search words.  (How this is done is a mega super geek discussion).

Those sites listed toward the top, get clicked on more than those below it.  I do that. you do that. we all do that. The best place to be is on page one or at worst page two. If you are on page 3 or farther back - it is like printing a brochure and never handing it out. People just aren't going to keep searching for a company when there are plenty on the first page or two.

So the goal is to get your site "optimized" to the key words prospects are searching for, with the result being your site achieves a high ranking. 

Here are some general guidelines I've used when determining what those key words should be:

Think like a prospect, not like a business owner. Remember from past articles it has everything to do with what the prospect wants to buy.

What words & phrases would a prospect use to find your service on Google?

There are dozens of online tools and software that claim to help with this BUT in a most searches there are about 5 ways that people will use (painter, house painter, painting, painting services etc.).

Let me give an example of what not to do - paperhanging is a term that is often used by one painting contractor talking to another painting contractor. Most homeowner will say "I want new wallpaper". They aren't going to say "I want a paperhanger to put up new wallpaper".  So if you optimize paperhanging instead of wallpaper that would be a mistake.

Another example would be "plantings". This is a term used in the landscaping trades but most people are going to type in "install new plants" or "new landscaping" not "new plantings".

Be specific.   If you're a house painter in Madison Wisconsin, and you use that as a key word phrase, you're just one of 127,000 in the search results.  But if you also specialize in faux painting in Madison Wisconsin, and you optimize a page on your site to that phrase, you're now one of just 8,000, and the odds of getting a higher ranking go way up.

Use the towns/cities you service in your key words.  I've discovered, working with my client's sites that prospects almost always type in their town or city when searching for a home improvement company.  They want to deal with someone in their area. Like "landscaping Summit New Jersey".

WARNING:  Don't sacrifice the content and copy of your site - as covered in Part 2 & 3 - for Keyword Optimization.   ALWAYS write your site with the reader as your first priority and not the search engines.   Yes. It's a balancing act.

Honestly, SEO is a maze, puzzle and a moving target all rolled into one.  I really don't advise my clients to try and do it on your own.    If I'm redoing a site for a client, I have a guy who really knows how this game is played, while at the same time; understands the purpose of our client's sites. 

You can have the highest ranked site, but if a prospect clicks on to it and there's nothing there but the same ol' same ol', their gone forever. 

If you decide to look for an SEO company, I've put together a questionnaire you can use to "interview" SEO providers. 

Click Here To Download.

Until Next Time,

Mike Jeffries

866-926-5100

. 

When someone comes to your site, I'm willing to bet that what you're saying on your site is pretty much what most of your competitors are saying as well. 

Don't feel bad - just realize that you can change it pretty easily so you can start to stand out from the crowd. Kind of like being 6"8" (and no I am 6'1") 

And just like any other marketing tool when all the sites pretty much say the same thing, there's no way for that prospect to tell who's any better or any worse or any different.

I want you do try a little experiment.

Find 3 websites for companies in your industry.  If you don't know one off the top of your head, Google your industry & city.  (i.e. remodeling Arlington, VA)

Now evaluate their home page and the message on that site using these questions:

1. Who Else Can Say That? 
2. I Would Expect You To Say That.
3. Well, So What?

Here are some examples from real sites (changed the names because the world if filled with lawyers that have time on their hands).

Who else can say this?  (Hint:  EVERYBODY! )

XYZ Bros has developed a very straightforward set of steps to turn your remodeling dream into reality:  Project Definition Phase - Project Design Phase - Project Preparation Phase - Project Construction Phase

I expect you to say that (and I would hope you'd be there until the end.)

"XYZ Brothers will work with homeowners from beginning to end and will provide all required services

Ah.. So what.

Founded in 1985, XYZ Bros. has evolved from a small handyman business in the early 1980's started by Joe Hammer to help pay the bills during his college education.

Now look at your site.  How do you measure up to these quick evaluation questions? 

To keep someone on your site, don't fill your message with generalities, platitudes and other information that doesn't help them find the answers they're looking for.

Let me go back to what I pointed out in Part 1 of this series:

When it comes to Remodeling, Painting, Landscaping or any other home improvement website your prospect is actively looking for your service. And they're biggest concerns at this point are:

• Reputation & Stability of the Business
• Experience with a Project Like Theirs
• Follow Up Service & Guarantees

Your job, whether you're meeting with them in person or on your site, is the same. You must prove to them that your business overcomes those concerns.

The simple fact is that your site really has nothing to do about you or your company.  It should have EVERYTHING to do with the visitor & prospect.

So before I wrap up today, let me take a swing at fixing the first example above - I want you to realize that we often can't just tweak existing copy - it is just better to rewrite it. What I have added was specific experience plus I brought in 3^rd party proof (testimonials).

XYZ Bros has successfully completed over 520 home remodeling projects since 2002. We've used that experience and developed a very straightforward set of steps to turn your remodeling dream into reality:   Definition Phase - Design Phase - Preparation Phase - Construction Phase - Customer Satisfaction.

We believe it is much better for you to learn about our process from our clients. We invite you to read some of the more than 50 testimonials we have received in just the last 18 months.

I apologize for taking so much time this week. This is such an important topic that I could go on for a lot longer.

Until Next Time,

Mike Jeffries