Earlier this year, we all got hit with a big shock to our world. The global pandemic had impacts on our personal lives, our businesses, and just about everything in between.
It feels like you can’t even go 24 hours without someone talking about COVID-19. See, even I just brought it up.
But we’re not going to focus on that. Today, I want to walk you through an interesting trend I’m seeing.
I’m in the fortunate position to have a more global perspective as to how this year has impacted remodeling companies. My company works with over 100 remodelers throughout the U.S. and Canada, so I can spot trends, common challenges, and opportunities.
In this article, I’m going to share six things I’ve learned or confirmed since the pandemic hit.
Content is Still King
When everything started happening in March, the world froze for a minute. Sales conversations screeched to a halt and leads dropped. But when everyone started to normalize a little bit (within about 30-45 days), I noticed a HUGE upswing in leads across the country for our clients.
As I dug deeper to try to figure out why, I realized that this pandemic was playing right into the hands of companies that had been invested in content marketing, their websites, and SEO.
Word of mouth and referral leads dried up and online activity spiked even more than usual.
Here’s an example. Things were moving along fairly steady and then leads spiked in May and have held strong at those new levels.
Here’s another example below where leads have doubled since March and continue to rise.
And another where leads have just about doubled. These are some big increases!
I’m only sharing these to show you that we’re seeing this trend across the board, not just a one-off scenario. All of these companies have invested in a strategic content and SEO plan.
Content marketing and SEO matches the way people shop and buy today. Homeowners do their own research. Your potential customers want to come to the first sales call armed with information. We all do this anytime we’re buying something.
So, why not implement a marketing strategy that matches the way people buy?
You can get started down this path by answering common questions you hear in the sales process.
For example:
- Prospect asks you: “How much will this cost?” This question translates into blog titles (CONTENT AND SEO):
- How much does a kitchen remodel cost in San Diego?
- How much does a home addition cost in San Diego?
- How much does a bathroom remodel cost in San Diego?
I made the assumption that you’re in San Diego, but just use your primary market area.
- Prospect asks you: “How long will it take?” This translates into blog titles (CONTENT AND SEO):
- How long does a kitchen remodel take in San Diego?
- How long does a home addition take in San Diego?
- How long does a bathroom remodel take in San Diego?
I think you’re starting to get the idea. Write down the top 5-10 questions you hear in the sales process. Those are questions your prospects are looking up on Google.
If you’re the one answering these questions, you’ll start pulling those people into your website.
The Remodeling Industry Was Behind…but Catching Up Now
Being involved in the digital marketing industry as well as the technology industry, we’ve been implementing several things for years that would have helped a lot of remodelers when the pandemic hit. That being said, this kicked the industry forward in a good way.
What were those things?
Virtual Selling
Here at Builder Funnel we’ve been virtual selling for a decade. From about 2010-2012 it was mainly by phone only and the occasional use of screen share, but then we made the transition to using video tools like GoToMeeting (and now Zoom).
A lot of remodelers moved quickly to adopt Zoom, but there was a learning curve, and we’re still seeing that learning curve in process. The companies that push the hardest down this path will be the ones that succeed because that’s what your prospects are looking for as well. They want convenience and safety is a concern.
You can accomplish a good amount of your sales process via video and screen share, and it will actually save you a ton of travel time. This will enable you to take more meetings and fill your sales pipeline faster.
Action Steps:
- Get all your sales people trained on video technology.
- Create a presentation or set of tabs you can pull up on a call and practice using screen share.
- Invest in a solid webcam, lighting, and microphone.
- Practice with a team member.
Click Here for Part II >>
Moving Forward
If you’re overwhelmed with where to start, look at the action items I laid out in this article and pick one section to start working on. Take it step by step and start chipping away. It takes time, but it’s well worth the effort and investment.
And if you’re looking to fast track things a bit more, I recommend you join our VIP list for Builder Funnel Academy which is our comprehensive digital marketing training platform for remodeling companies. The doors will be opening soon, so make sure to join the VIP list to stay in the loop and learn more.