The Conversation
We recently had a conversation with a business owner about the most important technology tools to grow and manage her business. In this article, we are going to recap that conversation. We are excited to share with you the Top 5 Technology Tools for Home Service Professionals. Buckle up, here we go!
Tech Tip 1
Number One: An often overlooked resource is your very own Website. You don’t need to spend a lot of money and it doesn’t need to be fancy. But you do need a professional website that demonstrates you are a good quality company. You have to make a connection between your service and consumers in your local market. Tell your story and the history of your brand on the about us page. Show examples of your work in a gallery or on a portfolio page. And if you provide different products or services, take some extra time to explain the differences on a home services page. Squarespace and Wix are good options to get started. They both have templates that look great and are easy to use.
Tech Tip 2
Number Two: Google Enterprise Apps. In our opinion, this is one of the most important technology tools for every home services business. With Google Apps you get email, calendars, file storage and many other hosted applications. Because these are powered by Google, they are stored in the cloud and can be accessed anywhere, anytime from any device. You can attach your domain name and branding to Google Apps so things like email come directly from your business. At only a few dollars per user per month, this is one technology tool that you cannot live without.
Tech Tip 3
Number Three: MailChimp. You can import your entire contact database, send marketing emails and create automatic drip campaigns for prospects or customers. MailChimp is low cost or even FREE depending upon the size of your database. You can quickly create flyers, newsletters, promotions or a gallery of recent projects and send them to all or just part of your contact list. You also get real time reporting to discover who is opening your email, engaging your content, and how one email or template performs against another. With MailChimp you will quickly discover the content that your customers value most.
Tech Tip 4
Number Four: Online Advertising. Many new or small home service companies don’t know where to start when it comes to online advertising. Our advice would be to keep it simple and you don’t necessarily have to spend any money on day-one. Start by posting regularly and consistently on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Here is a big tip: We are finding that more and more home service businesses are growing their professional network of potential referral partners on LinkedIn. This is a great place to get the word out about your brand with professionals that can refer you to anyone in their network. You can always take it to the next level with a paid service like Google AdWords. There you can set a budget that’s right for your business. You can also pick your target audience, your service area, and the kinds of ads or messages you want to share with consumers.
Tech Tip 5
Number Five: Levitate! Every home service professional needs to have a high quality lead generation and lead capture system. If you are a local home services business, with a website, and are getting the word out about your brand to consumers, you want to give them a great experience the moment they land on your website. And what is the number one thing consumers want to know when looking for a service: “What is this going to cost?” Levitate helps consumers discover the cost for your services in real time, directly on your website.
Levitate Quote Widget
With the Levitate quote widget, consumers that land on your website can receive an instant estimate for your services, based on a series of questions and a personalized algorithm. Your Levitate quote widget is customized for your business and your pricing, and is designed to generate more leads than a standard contact us form. In our experience, the Levitate quote widget generates more high quality leads than any other website feature. Whether you are a home staging professional, a carpet cleaning company, or any other home service business, Levitate can help you grow!
We hope you found this list of technology tools insightful. These are our top picks for growing your home services business. If you would like some advice or help implementing any of these solutions, please reach out. Our team is committed to helping you build and grow your brand.