Why Adding a Blog Makes Sense for Local Contractors

I spoke recently at the Las Vegas Roundtable where I mentioned how much I like blogs–especially for a local company trying to gain some Internet market share. I didn’t get a chance to discuss it in detail however. I’d like to do so now. Surely you’d be interested in knowing how to save thousands each month on advertising expenses? Yes?

One of the first things I tell contractors who want to generate more business online is to start creating content. The new customers who find you online will typically do so as the result of a search on Google, Yahoo, Bing or some other search engine. The more content you have online–either on your site or on unrelated sites that may link back to your site–the better your chances of being discovered by that potential customer.

For example, a video on YouTube.com about “plumbing repair in Macon” could lead someone right to your website. An article titled “Shopping for Air Conditioning in Tempe” and submitted to EzineArticles.com could likewise bring a new customer right to your door. And fresh content added directly to your domain every day will make the search engines positively giddy. Those are proven methods for attracting shoppers and increasing your search engine placement results. A blog can do the same thing, and often do it much better.

"Your blog posts are like targeted strikes for the area or service you want to promote!"

A blog is really nothing more than a really easy way for one or more people to add content to your website, without having to mess with navigation issues or sitemaps or any of the regular things that come into play when you add a page to a website. It also enables your readers to comment on your post and, in essence, create content for you.

Adding a blog to your existing website shouldn’t be difficult. If you’re unable to add one for technical reasons, or don’t want to take a chance on installing something that may not get used, you can install it on a new domain. That’s even easier and can sometimes be better. Putting your blog on a new domain, for example “PlumbingRepairinPodunk.com” or something similar will allow you a little more freedom than you might have otherwise (I'll elaborate on that in a future post). If it’s hosted someplace other than your main website, it can also provide a link back to your site. That’s not a big deal but every little bit helps.

So where do you get content for this blog? I often hear people say they don’t know what to write about or they don’t have the time to write or they’re not good with a computer. All those things can be overcome, and should be, especially if you understand the power of the blog.

Earlier this year I created an air conditioning blog for a client that targeted an affluent suburb outside of a major city. After putting up a home page, about us, contact us and about 5 blog posts, he started getting traffic to the site (Wordpress rocks for search engine optimization if you use the right plugins!). Since then, he’s averaged about 70 visitors a month (for the last 9 months). That may not sound like much,  but consider this. Using pay-per-click, he can spend over $15 per click for major keywords in that area. If each of those 70 visitors had clicked on his ad instead of finding him organically, it would have cost him almost $10,000 over the last 9 months. Not bad for a 10 page blog. If he was more diligent about posting to the site, those figures would increase dramatically.

This particular contractor is one of those guys who can’t type and is very uncomfortable on the computer. Because of that, I developed a hands-free blogging system. It allowed him to call a voice mail box and leave a message from wherever he was. That message was then transcribed and uploaded to his blog. Simple and effective.

So what should you blog about? Everything! Every day there are interesting stories taking place in your company. Think about the things you tell your husband or wife when you get home. Think about the funny things that customers do or say, or that technicians see on the job. Have your techs email photos from the job site that can be posted online. Have them email videos. Still stumped? Try making a list of frequently asked questions and then post them with your answers online, one post at a time. Just write something, but when you do, try to include your targeted keywords in your title and throughout your text. These targeted keywords will be the search terms that you’d most like people to find you under. Your blog posts are like targeted strikes for the area or service you want to promote!

One of the most useful features of a blog is that you can set it up so multiple users can post to it. If you can’t update it yourself, assign a few people to take turns. Have your dispatcher post some quick thoughts once a day – maybe tips for making the service call more convenient. Have the install manager highlight some great jobs you’ve done. Run a poll. Do a survey. Ask a simple question. You can add pictures, videos, links, podcasts and whatever else you can think of. It’s not hard, and it can pay off big time.

Think of your blog as a social media tool. Use it as a way to touch base with your customers in a less formal way. Once they get used to seeing new info on a regular basis, they’ll start coming back more often and they’ll share it with others. Of course it’s now a 2-way tool for you. Be sure to engage your customers and don’t forget to acknowledge them if they leave a comment.

Telephone Customer Service Fundamentals

This is a great presentation to review with your CSRs and dispatchers on customer service over the phone. The only beef I have is the admonition to avoid ever telling the customer, "I don't know."

It's okay to say, "I don't know," as long as it's followed by, "But I'll find out."

Watch the presentation in full screen...

The Increasing Status of the Service Trades

I read the following joke on Twitter the other day...

What's the difference between an investment banker and a pigeon?

A pigeon can still make a deposit on a BMW.

The recession certainly has knocked the pedestal out from under many financial and Wall Street types. Sure, they'll return to earning salaries and bonuses all out of proportion to their contribution to society soon enough, but for the time being the I-bankers' stars have dimmed.

Guess whose stars are getting brighter by the minute? People working in the trades. Frankly, this makes sense. Take two people of equal ability, send one to school and the other to work. The first earns a degree and takes an entry level job. Gradually, he advances up the corporate ladder, winning a wife, mortgage, and car payments along the way.

The second fellow learns his trade and eventually starts his own company. He stumbles a bit, but latches on to industry publications, conferences, and success groups. He figures out how to make money and does.

The corporatist may progress to the executive level, though most do not. Even so, he's constantly at risk of being right sized, down sized, outplaced, and left out through no fault of his own. Any wealth he accumulates comes from savings and possibly stock options.

The small business owner lacks the corporatist's 200 square feet of class A office space in a downtown high rise, located at the end of a 45 minute commute. Instead, he's got freedom. The small business owner largely controls his own destiny. He can build his business into anything he wants. And as he builds his business, he's building wealth.

Two men (or women) of equal ability. One builds a career. The other, a fortune.

And why does society hold the former in higher regard? Is it because he wears a uniform from Brooks Brothers instead of Dickies?

It seems that the pendulum is swinging. According to The Sun, British women no longer want stock traders, they want tradesmen...

YOU have probably looked for a plumber in the Yellow Pages before.

But now, if you're single and female, you're more likely to be looking for him in the dating pages.

Women in the UK are pulling the plug on romances with rich bankers in favour of picking up plumbers and brickies, according to a recent survey by dating site mysinglefriend.com.

Thanks to the recession, City boys in pinstripe suits are out. Girls want to hook handymen with a stable income as their Mr Right.

Now, if we can just win over the high school guidance counselors.

Would You Rather Call a Strange Plumber or Visit a Strange Mosque?

I saw this whine by Jenny Allen and found some truth in it...

Our house is an old farmhouse, and it has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, except the shower in the upstairs bathroom doesn't work. The shower per se works, but if you use it water streams from the ceiling down below into the living room, and then you have to stick a bucket underneath to catch the water. It's like living in a Frank Lloyd Wright house, only with much lower property values. So please limit yourselves to the downstairs
shower. Thanks!

Speaking of the downstairs bathroom, sometimes the toilet doesn't flush. That's because that piece of wire that connects the bulb thing inside the tank to the rod thing sometimes comes unhinged. The wire is actually a replacement for the real piece of hardware; in fact, it's a bit of coat hanger wire that our friend Augusta rigged up when the toilet broke years ago. She got tired of waiting for our plumber, who promised to come and fix it but never did. Just lift the tank and hook it up again.

Try not to call our plumber unless it's an emergency. I'm afraid of our plumber, who barks at me, but plumbers call all the shots here. You do not want to rankle your plumber, because the other plumbers are all tied up, and then you won't have any plumber. Our plumber has been coming to our house longer than I have, which is twenty-six years, and he seems to think I am some kind of interloper, a Janey-come-lately.

"Jeff," I said on the phone when I asked him to come and turn the water on this spring, "I've known you for twenty-six years, and I'd like to ask you a favor."

"Depends what it is."

"I always call you by your name, and you never call me by my name, and I wonder if you could call me by my name."

"I know yah name!"

"Well, thank you for turning the water on," I said.

"All right," he said, and hung up.

Jeff's phone number is on the attached list of other repair and service people, who will not bark at you but will probably not come. They are too busy in August to come. Whatever the problem, you'll have better luck just fixing it yourself.

"I'm afraid of our plumber, who barks at me," writes Allen.

"Whatever the problem, you'll have better luck just fixing it yourself," she adds.

Wow. Is there any more damning criticism of the state of service companies than that? I think a large segment of the DIY market exists not out of consumer cheapness, but that consumers perceive it's simply easier to fix it yourself.

Calling a contractor, for most people, is unsettling. It's filled with uncertainty and unknown.

• Will you get a responsive company that will treat you well?
  
  
• Will the serviceperson be pleasant or gruff, treating you like an idiot?
  
  
• What kind of person will show up? Will he or she be honest?
  
  
• How long will it take to get someone to show up?
  
  
• Will someone arrive when promised or will you wait and wait and wait?
  
  
• Will the work take days to complete?
  
  
• Will it be done right the first time, or will you have to call the company back again and again?
  
  
• Will the serviceperson make a mess and not clean up?
  
  
• Will you get ripped off?
  
  
• Will you know what the costs are before the work begins or will you get an unpleasant surprise?
  
  
• Will there be an unpleasant conflict?

These are some of the questions that cross consumers' minds. Your marketing should address these issues. You should address them on your website, in your yellow pages ads, and in your direct marketing.

Finding a new service company is unpleasant and unsettling. To give you a sense of the discomfort, imagine walking into a church, temple, or mosque during services for the first time. That feeling of unease is similar to the consumer's feeling of unease when calling you.

Now, imagine a friend recommends his or her church/temple/mosque. The friend tells you what to expect, how to act, and what to wear. You might still approach the service with trepidation, but you would feel much better about. Your friend's attended and survived. You can too.

It's similar when a friend recommends a service company. This is why people turn to friends and neighbors first when looking for companies. This is why referral marketing, affinity marketing, and social media are so important for service companies.

Let's say you know the pastor/rabbi/imam from a civic club. You mention something about he pastor/rabbi/imam about attending a service and receive a warm welcome and personal invitation. You feel much better about attendance.

Similarly, people who know you personally, as the owner of a company, are going to feel far more at ease calling your company for service. This is why it's so important to get involved in civic clubs, networking groups, the chamber of commerce, and more. The more people you know, the more opportunities you will create. And to make sure everyone knows what you do, always wear logoed shirts.

And when you are fortunate enough to be invited into someone's home, act like a guest. Be polite. Be friendly. Be helpful.

It's hard to imagine a worse example of service than Jenny Allen's plumber, Jeff. The guy's been serving her home for more than a quarter century and the upstairs shower is unusable. The toilet downstairs doesn't flush and was jury-rigged years ago.

What do you bet Jeff is the type of tradesperson who sips coffee at the supply house, complaining about his customers, griping about DIY, moaning about how cheap people are, and lamenting his lack of business.

(c) 2009 Matt Michel

The Impoverished Craftsman

This is an audio version of a Comanche Marketing article called, "The Impoverished Craftsman." It was written for the craftsman who cares about his work and customers, but who can never seem to get ahead.

The file was prepared as a Windows Media Audio (wma) file. Download it from the Service Roundtable's Free Stuff section.

Steve Fouts On The Service Roundtable

As the owner of a small HVAC company for over twenty years, I can tell you that a lack of effective marketing has been the greatest obstacle to becoming a larger, more profitable company. We joined the Service Roundtable only a few months ago and love it. The material there is exactly what we needed to move forward.

The material we've used so far has proven to be worth more than the annual investment. I'm actually excited by the results. And after twenty years, my getting excited is rare! (I'm glad I started young.) Almost everyone here can see our new potential and wants to contribute. Joining the Service Roundtable was a great business decision.

But business is only a part of it. The rest is less tangible. Most of us small guys haven't found the time or even an opportunity to participate in groups made up of our peers. The choices available are few and usually not suitable. We have enough on our plate as it is.

So we do what we do alone. Sure, it's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, most of us are a little "different" anyway. We chose this gig partly because we like doing our own thing. But I think there's a penalty to be paid for our independence. It's not just lonely at the top, it's not profitable!

There's so much to be gained through sharing information and experiences with those in similar circumstances. A peer group, for lack of a better term, provides an opportunity to do so.

The Service Roundtable brings that peer group to my desktop. Wow. I mean it, this is huge! I now have the ability to plug into discussions with people who have similar histories, who do what I do, who struggle with very similar issues. Just knowing they're out there makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Alright, I haven't felt warm and fuzzy since 1982, but you get my meaning. I'm not alone!!! So before I go all Oprah on you I'll just say Thank You.

Thank You for all the meaningful articles like The Impoverished Craftsman in today's Comanche Marketing piece. We can't be reminded too often of concepts like these. Your insights are right on.

Thank You for all the great marketing material. It's true that real success begins by embracing the right concepts - by shifting one's thought. But then we need resources, especially marketing resources. My opinion: The Service Roundtable has it. There is no more cost effective source of successful marketing strategies and materials for our industry - none. I've checked.

Thank You for all the thoughtful contributions to the Roundtable discussions. Lots of great stuff here. I was a little surprised to find a regular contributor who includes a Wayne Dyer quote in his tagline; I love it. I'm not alone!!! OK, I'll stop. But I hope you don't underestimate the value of the intangibles here. The sense of community built by this Roundtable is for some of us, just what the doctor ordered.

Keep up the great work!

Steve Fouts
United Home Comfort
Bowling Green, OH

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