How To Grow Your Handyman Business Using Affordable Advertising Strategies
You don’t need to spend a lot of money to grow your handyman business. There are many simple, low-cost ways that you can boost your brand and reach new customers. To help you get started with marketing your handyman business on a reasonable budget, here are some ideas and tips that you can use right away.
1. Use Your Vehicle As An Advertising Platform
The average person sees thousands of ads each day. Some are unavoidable, such as when you’re watching TV or thumbing through magazines. Still, others are seen regularly and have become so commonplace that you hardly even notice them anymore. One such advertising medium is the vinyl wrap placed on commercial vehicles like taxis and delivery vans. Have you ever considered putting a vinyl wrap on your car or truck to advertise your handyman business?
Using a decal on your car or truck to grow your handyman business is very effective for growing brand awareness in your community.
A vinyl wrap is essentially a giant sticker placed directly on top of the paint on your vehicle. The design can be as straightforward or as elaborate as you want it to be, and it can feature any colors or graphics you want. The entire process typically takes a few days from start to finish.
Here are some of the advantages of putting vinyl wraps on your company vehicles:
It’s affordable. The cost for wrapping one vehicle is about half the price of an annual newspaper ad campaign and less than one-tenth the cost of a TV ad campaign. That makes it an affordable marketing tool even for small businesses and startups. A standard wrap lasts between three and five years, meaning at most, you’ll spend around $1,000 per year on advertising with this method.
Branding your business is essential, and a big part of that is making yourself visible to potential clients. Starting, we’d all like to have some storefront where people can come to us and find us. However, with home improvement services, you’re always on the go, which makes it hard for people to know how they can find you. One way to overcome this challenge is by using your vehicle as an advertising platform. Here’s how you do it.
Include Your Company Name, Phone Number, Website, And That You Are A Handyman Service
Your vehicle is pretty limited in space, but its most valuable feature is its mobility — so use it! You don’t have tons of room for text, so keep your message short and sweet. Your company name should be clear and easy to read from a distance and your primary service offering (for example, Handyman).
If space allows, you might also want to include your phone number and web address. A website or social media profile allows potential customers to learn more about you online. If customers can do some research about you online it increases the chances of them trusting you with their work.
2. Give Out Free, Helpful Advice
One of the best ways to promote your handyman business is through word-of-mouth. And one of the best ways to inspire word-of-mouth marketing is by sharing your knowledge.
Offering free advice doesn’t just let people know that you’re an expert in your field; it also builds trust and reputation with your audience. And if you’re sharing quality advice, people will naturally begin to refer you to their friends and family members.
Being known as friendly, approachable, and helpful when it comes to questions related to handyman work will quickly establish you as the go-to expert in your community. As the community expert, it will lead to many referrals for new business and projects in no time.
3. Stay Active On Social Media
In my opinion, social media is the easiest way to promote your handyman business.
Choose three major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest) and stay active. Posting on social media is free, and it takes only a few minutes a day.
Not sure what to post?
Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% of content should be helpful to your customers, and 20% should be about you.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Post pictures of your work – before and after photos are great.
- Share helpful tips for customers – articles from other websites or blogs that could save them money or help them maintain their homes.
- Detail a behind-the-scenes look at your business – what’s a typical day like for you? What are some of the funniest or most unique experiences you’ve had as a handyman?
4. Hand Out Flyers About Your Handyman Business
When you start a handyman business, one of the most important things you can do is build your customer base. That way, you’ll have plenty of work to start making money sooner rather than later.
Sometimes getting customers happens naturally once you’ve built up a reputation in your community as a good handyman who’s capable of doing great work and fair pricing. But in many cases, it’s also essential to take an active role in building your business by spreading the word about what services you offer through targeted marketing and advertising.
One way to quickly and easily get the word out about your business is to hand out flyers. These are small pieces of paper or cardstock that list information about your business, including what services you offer, how much you charge for those services, and how people can contact you to get started on their project.
You can make flyers for your handyman business yourself by using a template on your computer or downloading an app on your smartphone or tablet. You can also hire another company to design and print flyers for you. Either way, once they’re published, all you have to do is hand them out to people in your community who might be interested in hiring a handyperson for their upcoming project. This is a simple and cost-effective way to grow your handyman business.
5. Get Testimonials From Customers And Post Them On Social Media And On Your Website
Testimonials are a powerful way to build your reputation, especially when you’re just starting out. They give potential customers confidence in your abilities and trust in your work.
Testimonials are easy to collect and can do wonders for growing your business. Here’s how to make the most of them:
Ask for testimonials when you wrap up a job. The best time to ask is right after you’ve completed a job and gotten paid. Your customers will be happy to pay their compliments in person, over the phone, or via email. Be sure to ask for permission before you post a written testimonial or photo on social media or your website, as some people might be uncomfortable with that.
Choose your favorite testimonials and post them on social media. Sharing your positive reviews on Facebook, and your website is an easy way to get them in front of potential customers who follow you online. Choose the quotes that best reflect the work you did and what it means to have satisfied customers — these are likely to resonate with people who are looking for a similar service.
6. Build A Simple Professional Handyman Business Website
If you’re a handyman looking to grow your handyman business and get more clients, you need a website. A website can help you:
- Expand your reach
- Build trust with potential customers
- Showcase your work and skills
With a website, people can find you online. You don’t have to depend on word of mouth, which is how many handymen build their business. But most importantly, a website helps you establish credibility and build trust with potential customers.
Building a website for your handyman business isn’t as hard as you might think if you use Mighty Sites. You can do it yourself in a matter of minutes. And it doesn’t take any technical skill to create a professional-looking site.
Handymen are in high demand by homeowners, landlords, and property managers. But the competition among handymen can be challenging. The best way to get more customers is by having an online presence.
A website lets you reach people who are already looking for your services, so they’re pre-qualified leads. And a simple website builder like Mighty Sites makes building a site fast and easy — without requiring any technical expertise.
What should your handyman website include?
The good news is that you don’t need a lot of features on your website to get results. Less can be more when it comes to websites. Having too many features can confuse and overwhelm visitors, leading them to leave your site before they contact you.
Your website should include a way to reach you, a bit of your business, and the services you offer your clients.
7. Sponsor An Event Or Sports Team In Your Community
Sponsoring an event or local sports team is a great way to grow your handyman business. It’s also a fantastic way to show your support for your local community.
Smaller sponsorship investments might include running an ad in the program for a high school play or paying to have your name put on the back of a little league team shirt. If you can spend a bit more, consider sponsoring the food or setting up at a local event such as a town art fair or community picnic.
As you build your business, you may want to consider sponsoring larger events such as local parades, concerts, or sports leagues. These aren’t just great marketing opportunities; they’re also chances for you to interact with potential customers and community members.
8. Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is the simplest way to help your business appear on Google. It’s really easy to set up and it can have a big impact on your efforts to grow your handyman business.
Google Business Profile helps you get found on Google search and Google maps.
People use local Google searches every day to find handyman businesses like yours. If you aren’t there, they’ll go somewhere else.
Verify your listing today so that customers can find you quickly and easily. You’ll also be able to connect with customers by adding photos, special offers, and more, right from your phone or tablet.
When you verify your listing on Google Business Profile, you can control what people see when they Google you — from hours of operation to customer reviews. The information you provide will make sure that customers can get to your website or physical location with ease.
To help grow your business, here are five steps to take to update and optimize your Google My Business listing:
- Make sure all of your info is correct.
- Add photos and videos that showcase your services.
- Add new posts.
- Call attention to promotions on your business profile.
- Monitor and respond to customer feedback. Add your business information to free directories.
9. Hand Out Business Cards To Prospective Customers
One of the best ways to advertise your handyman services is by handing out business cards. Business cards are an inexpensive way to give people a reference point for your handyman business. You can hand them out to friends, family, and acquaintances who need work done around their homes. You can also leave them with people you meet in the community, including store clerks and other service providers you encounter on a regular basis
Search online for quality business card vendors. There are numerous websites that print high-quality, custom-made business cards, so do some research and find one that offers what you want in a reasonable amount of time for a fair price.
Decide what information to include on your business card. You will want to include your name and contact information at the very least. By naming your handyman company, you are building brand recognition as well as making it easier for people to remember who did the work they liked. You also may want to include any certifications or licenses you have received, such as plumbing or electrical licenses. If you offer specialized services, such as yard maintenance or landscaping, or seasonal services like snow removal, be sure to include this information on the card as well.
Conclusion – Best Ways To Grow Your Handyman Business
Advertising is essential to the growth of any business, and a handyman business is no exception. Unfortunately, the costs of advertising often prevent small businesses from getting their message out. Fortunately, there are still many affordable strategies you can employ to promote our handyman business. In the end, it all comes down to how willing you are to implement these ideas and stick with them until they become a consistent part of growing your business.