Howdy Friends,
Our growth at NVM has had me thinking about my own marketing a lot more. How to keep everyone busy by attracting more of the right kind of clients. It is easy to spend your days helping other businesses get more work and let your own stuff slide a little too much. That’s kind of like the paradox of a busy carpenter living in a fallen-down house, right?
At the same time, I’ve been watching some lead generation ads perform really well for a client. It’s interesting because they are winning with photos of the job in progress, not just the polished finished product.
It seems a little backward, but while a good finished photo shows the end result, when someone is deciding on a contractor to hire they have already decided on the finished product they want. The decision now is whether or not you can get them to their end goal. In-progress jobsite photos show what they are buying, a service. They also show your process, equipment, material choices, and how you take care of the jobsite.
I believe that is why those photos work. They give people real proof of what kind of work you do and how you do it.
The more specific your marketing gets, the less it appeals to everyone. That can make us nervous because most business owners do not like the idea of turning anyone away. But vague marketing usually attracts vague interest. Clear marketing helps the right people recognize that you are the right fit.
I think of it this way, sell like you buy.
When you are the customer, you choose someone because they make you feel understood. You believe they know what they are doing, and you understand how to ask them to do the same for you.
Your customers are the same way. It’s basic human psychology.
They want to be sure they are going to be taken care of and not getting ripped off before they call, click, or fill out a form. That is why more tools, templates, and shortcuts do not replace understanding your clients and how to reach them. If your message is muddy, nicer graphics or more words often make it worse.
A lot of marketing gets noisy because it is trying too hard to be impressive. It adds more claims, promises, and polish that does not increase the customer’s confidence. Most customers are not impressed by cleverness. Yes, good photos and a clean design matter. A professional presentation matters. But the polish should make the truth easier to see.
For contractors and trades businesses, that proof is sitting right in front of you. It’s in the prep work before the job is finished and the clean jobsite halfway through the project. It’s in showing the problem you found and how you fixed it or the step in your process that protects the customer from a bigger issue later.
No matter what marketing channel you are using, make sure you focus on speaking to the problem your customer already has, showing how you solve it, and making the next step easy to understand instead of creating bling.
Ask yourself, if I were the customer, would my marketing give me enough confidence to take the next step?
If you want help building marketing that speaks clearly to the right customers and gives them confidence to reach out, I’m glad to help. You can contact me here.
Later, Chad Beachy
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