With 140 million homes in the US, there is no shortage of people out there who need basements refinished, driveways paved, cabinets replaced, and plumbing fixed.
But there’s also no shortage of home improvement businesses out there. Competition is fierce, so how do you get all those homeowners to find out about you and choose you? This is what marketing your business is all about, and the first step in this process is lead generation.
Read on to find out:
- What leads are
- Why they’re important
- The top 10 ways to generate leads for home improvement business
What are leads?
Leads are individuals who have expressed interest in your business and provided their contact information. So in this case, they’re interested in some sort of home improvement project, whether that’s remodeling, roofing, additions, repairs, and more.
Leads can (and with any good marketing strategy, should) come in from multiple sources. For example, a person might:
- Call your business from a listing.
- Fill out a form on your contact us page.
- Fill out a form elsewhere on your website to download a piece of content, register for an event, or request a quote.
- Click on a search ad and fill out a form.
Here's an example of a lead capture form for a free estimate.
Leads vs customers
Leads are potential customers for your business but they’re not yet ready to buy. They’ve expressed interest in something you have to offer—whether that’s your actual product or service, or something related to it (like an ebook, case study, free tool, etc.). Since you have their contact information, you can now follow up with them to establish a relationship and eventually (hopefully) turn them into a customer.
For some businesses, following up is as simple as calling and setting an appointment, for others, it may mean sending a series of emails that provide more tools or information to build trust. It all depends on your sales cycle.
Why is generating leads important?
In plain speak: because leads turn into customers! A person searching to get their driveway paved or kitchen remodeled is not going to jump on the first business they see. They’re going to do their research, get quotes from multiple providers, and ask around. With a proper lead follow-up and nurture strategy in place, you can win them over during this time period so they choose you over competitors.
This is also why it's important to focus on generating qualified leads to your business. Having a high volume of leads isn't going to help you out if they're not going to be likely to buy. The time and resources you put into generating and nurturing them will just be a waste. So you need to make sure you're using the best strategies so you get the best leads possible.
