Any real estate mogul or home service professional knows that the bread and butter of their business are local clients.
Afterall, your business literally exists to serve those that live nearby or within your service area(s). Anyone outside of this region is pointless to resonate with.
Think about it: if you’re a locally owned pest control company in Louisiana, having a homeowner in California find your social media accounts wouldn’t do your business any good. But targeting a Louisiana homeowner living fifteen down the street on the other hand…
If you’re at a standstill in your business or feel like your marketing efforts aren’t reaching the right people, then it sounds like it’s time to give neighborhood marketing a try.
This strategy helps you create a hyper-focused approach to finding the right clients and building a community brand so you never have to hunt for customers again.
What Is Neighborhood Marketing?
Also known as “local marketing,” neighborhood marketing is all about creating a strategy that targets clients in the same area(s) as your business. Whether your business is purely digital, brick and mortar, or hands-on with in-home visits, marketing to a local clientele is best for home service companies.
One major failure in business is marketing to the wrong audience, which starts by not knowing who your business’ ideal audience is in the first place. With neighborhood marketing, you never have to guess who you should sell your services to.
This strategy helps you to get specific in who you’re targeting so your business resonates with the right audience. Instead of marketing to anyone and everyone and accidentally reaching people outside of your service area, local marketing helps those in your community become familiar with your company so they know who to call when the situation for your services arises.
How Does Neighborhood Marketing Benefit Home Service Professionals?
Still not sure if a neighborhood marketing strategy is for you? Here are some of the top benefits your home service company can see from this marketing tactic.
Increase in Revenue
More money. Sounds dreamy, right? Well, with this strategy, an increase in company revenue doesn’t have to sound like wishful thinking.
Neighborhood marketing establishes your company within the community to position you as an expert of your service. Residents are constantly looking to buy/sell a home or needing something repaired, so the demand for your business is endless.
The only way to ensure you never run out of business is to make sure those in your community, 1) know you exist, and 2) know what you do.
Neighborhood marketing helps you accomplish both and continuously remind local homeowners you’re always there for them.
Higher Customer Retention
Along with an increase in revenue comes the benefit of higher customer retention. With continuous marketing and performing stellar work comes repeat customers. You’ll also gain newer clientele through word of mouth marketing from previous clients, or from sharing customer testimonials on your social media accounts for others in the community to see.
Reduced Advertising Costs
Every business needs to take advantage of paid advertising on social media accounts, but with a successful neighborhood marketing strategy, you’ll no longer have to spend so much on said ads.
That’s because local home services aren’t as dependable on the wide outreach from social media as franchises are.
Since your target audience are those in the community, your best bet at gaining more clientele is becoming known as a local expert, which is what neighborhood marketing helps you achieve.
Having residents in your service area simply know exist and do good work does wonders for your business instead of draining your marketing budget into social media ads.
Tips for Creating Your Neighborhood Marketing Strategy
So, how do you go about creating a neighborhood marketing strategy for your business? Try these 8 tips below.
1. Identify Your Audience
Remember when we said most businesses fail from marketing to the wrong clientele? Well, we don’t want you to make the same mistake.
The first step in creating a successful neighborhood marketing plan for any home service or real estate business is to identify your audience. You have to know your product and who you’re selling to prior to creating a strategy that resonates with your audience.
To find your target audience, ask yourself the following questions:
- What product/service(s) do I offer?
- Who does my product/service(s) best serve?
- Who is my competitor marketing to?
- What do my current customers look like?
Finding your target market requires you to do your research into who your business is currently serving, who you want your business to serve, and how other related companies are winning in their efforts.
Once you’ve nailed down your ideal customer, you’re ready to start curating your neighborhood marketing tactic.
2. Go Door Knocking
Part of creating a successful neighborhood marketing strategy is becoming a known figure in the community you serve. Residents in your area need to be familiar with your face, your name, your company, and your services.
One of the best ways to grow your business in your service area is to go door knocking!
Door knocking is a highly effective strategy that immerses you into the community and allows you to meet potential clients face-to-face.
Nervous about the thought of door knocking or not sure how to go about this tactic? We have a whole guide designed to help you make the most of your local marketing efforts with a door knocking campaign.
3. Hand Out Business Materials
As you set out on your local marketing adventure, remember to carry business marketing materials with you to pass out to prospects. Design memorable business cards, flyers, or door hangers that contain the following information:
- Your Name
- Your Company’s Name
- Your Services
- Your Website
- Other Contact Information
These materials are short, sweet, and to the point with their copy. The more materials you pass out, the more you’ll spread the word of your business and what you do.
If homeowners don’t answer the door or aren’t home as you door knock, it’s perfectly fine to leave a copy of your materials behind for them to see later.
4. Create Social Media Accounts
An effective neighborhood marketing strategy contains a mix of in-person and online systems. Before you start to market in-person, have Facebook and Instagram accounts up and running for customers to find and stay connected to your brand.
From these accounts, you’ll be able to create advertisements through posts or photos to share previous work or customer testimonials that act as “proof” your business is legit and does good work.
5. Set Up a Website
Once residents in your neighborhood strategy interact with your social media channels or the business cards you hand out, make sure you have a website they can check out next. Your website should have a contact form for clients to fill out as the start of their journey in working with you.
6. Post Flyers & Signs Around Town
Not all neighborhood marketing strategies involve going door to door. You can create business marketing flyers or signs to display around town after researching your local jurisdiction for permits to advertise legally.
7. Advertise With Client Testimonials
One of the most winning advertisements for business is positive customer testimonials. In fact, 93% of people read reviews before deciding to work or buy from a business while 81% of prospects search businesses on Google.
So needless to say, you should show off previous clients’ happy words!
At the end of every project, ask your clients for feedback or a review that you can put on Google, social media, or business materials for prospects to see.
8. Host or Attend Community Events
Immerse yourself in the community by hosting or attending events that allow you to meet residents who could benefit from your services. Community events are key to gaining a wider audience and letting those in your business’ backyard become familiar with your services before taking the next step in working with you.
Start Your Strategy Today
Neighborhood marketing is a gold mind for home service companies, and is very easy to implement in your business. Combining these tactics with data from the help of Cole Information, you can sit back and watch your local brand soar to new heights.
