Offers and Calls to Action
There are different ways to market your building or remodeling business. But whether you employ traditional methods (such as direct mail) or online tactics (such as blogging or landing pages) you want people to do something. It’s not enough to put information out where people can get at it. You want them to take action. But what exactly is it that you want them to do?
Many businesses confuse marketing with selling. They’re not the same thing. Marketing is not selling—it’s about generating leads. It’s about finding out who is really interested in your goods or services. And it’s about getting them to “raise their hands” and ask you to tell them more. And it’s about qualifying your leads so that you’re not wasting your time (or your audience’s time) trying to convince them to do something they’re not interested in doing.
So how do you get people to “raise their hand” and let you know that they are interested? You need offer them something they really want and make sure they know how to respond. As a builder or remodeler, your audience is facing a significant financial decision. They need information that will help them make that decision. Give them that information! That might be a white paper or a special report such as 5 Common Remodeling Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, or The Seven Questions You Should Ask Before Building a Custom Home. Maybe you offer them a tool like: How to Calculate How Much Home You Can Afford. Perhaps you pull together An Expert’s Opinion on Which Countertop Material is Right for Your Kitchen?
Think about the topics that people who are serious about building or remodeling are interested in. Then offer these papers and reports on your website, in your blogs, and in your direct mail—but make sure you drive interested people to a specific landing page where they can fill out a very simple form (name and email address) and download the information.
How does this help your business? People who respond to your offer (if it’s a good one) are more likely to be serious about taking the next step. Keep track of who requests this information. Give them a second opportunity to request additional information. If they ask for more information, they’re probably ready for a phone call from your sales staff.
There are a couple of things that are key to making this work. First, you need to make sure your offer is something they really want. Make the information helpful. Second, you need to make sure it’s crystal clear how to respond.
So what’s your offer? What do you think your potential customers want to know?
