How to Review Your Contractor Marketing Plan and Success

When you're operating a small business, you wear many hats. It's not uncommon for the same person to take care of work on the job site + taxes + marketing + payroll + cleaning out the trucks. We don't want to give you another task to do – but there are some very important parts of running a business that can fall to the wayside if you're not paying attention.

It's important to have a strong understanding of your current marketing and advertising situations – and part of that is maintaining a record of what is working and what isn't working.

Let's talk about some simple ways you can keep an eye on your marketing efforts without adding too much more to your workflow.

I'm Already Busy With Work - Why Should I Care?

Busy is a good problem to have! I get that it feels strange to actively think about your marketing efforts when they are working. But really, that is the best time to track your marketing-related information because you'll have good data to work with.

It is much harder to track problems when you're already in the middle of one. You won't have a point of comparison to see what has changed and how you can fix it.

Marketing Review Part 1 – Visual Inspection

From a Prospective Customer's Point of View

This is the easiest part of the review process. Take a step back and forget everything you know about your business. Let go of technical jargon and the proper terminology – and think like an average homeowner.

• Why would someone need to use your company?
• When they get to your website, what information are they looking for?
• How easy is it to find that information and get to the next step?

For service-based contractors (like plumbers, HVACs, electricians, etc), most customers are coming to you because something is broken and they need help to remedy the situation. Those users need a clear call-to-action that they can identify and interact with to reach their goal of getting you to their home or business.

For project-based contractors (like remodelers, painters, etc), most customers don't have an immediate need, but they have specific goals in reviewing a company before taking the next step. That means they'll want to see your previous work and your pictures to learn about you before they consider your consultation and estimate processes.

Does your website make it easy to get those things done? If not, talk with your current marketing folks or start with Footbridge Media to create the common pathways that customers will use to find your business and interact with you as easily as possible.

Marketing Review Part 2 – Checking The Stats

Reviewing Effectiveness Through Concrete Data, Not Emotion

While you most certainly can get pretty detailed when it comes to keeping data on your business (and we welcome you to if that works for your company size and operations!), our goal is here is really just to have a good idea of what is working and what is not working for your business.

Keeping track of where your customers come from can be a tedious process. For every client, asking the "how did you hear about us" question can help to highlight your marketing strengths. At the very least, you should be tracking your sales numbers.

Judge Success With Your Head, Not Your Heart

Whether your not your business is successful or your marketing is working well should not be based on how you feel about the business. Success should be based on data points that can demonstrate your success. When you gather information like sales numbers and where customers are finding you – you can take more action and plan more effectively. This becomes more valuable over time.

If you know that January is a slow month every year, you can prepare your budget and staffing levels accordingly. If you know that people are contacting you because they see your Google Ads immediately before contacting you, you know that is money well spent.

In the end, taking some time to review your marketing (the visuals and the stats) will help you to better understand how your marketing operates and how well your efforts are working. Take some time to set up routines in your business, so that you can have the information you need to grow the company tomorrow.

About Footbridge Media

Since 2004, Footbridge Media has worked exclusively with contractors just like you to help them achieve their goals. Your success is our business.