Outsmart the Competition: Home Services Marketing Strategies & Templates

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Identifying Your Competitors | Analyzing Competitors' Marketing Strategies: A Checklist | Competitive Analysis Templates | Crafting Your Marketing Messages in 3 Steps | Digital Marketing is a Must in Competitive Marketing | Providing Exceptional Customer Service | Gathering Online Reviews for Word-of-Mouth | Always Improving Your Services, Products, Customer Services, and Marketing Messaging | In Conclusion
Are you a home services provider struggling to stand out in a crowded market? It can be tough to get ahead of the competition when so many businesses offer similar services. But don't worry! Our blog has got you covered. We've gathered powerful marketing strategies that will help you outsmart your competition and grow your business.

Identifying Your Competitors

Why You Should Know Who Your Competitors Are

As a home services provider, it's important to know who your competitors are because it helps you:

• Stand out: By knowing what your competitors offer, you can make your business different and special to attract more customers.
• Price correctly: Knowing what your competitors charge can help you decide how much to charge for your services so that you are not too expensive or too cheap.
• Advertise effectively: By looking at what marketing works for your competitors, you can make better ads that get more people interested in your business.
• Keep up with changes: By watching your competitors, you can see what's new in your industry and change your business to keep up.
  

Research Online

Search for local directories that list home services businesses in your area. These sites can give you an idea of what other companies offer, as well as where they're located and how long they've been around.

Check with Customers

If someone has recently hired one of these businesses for work on their home or property, ask them about their experience with it--especially if there were any issues along the way that could have been avoided by another company offering similar services at a lower price point (or vice versa). 

This will give you insight into how well each company performs its job compared to others in its field--and whether there are any ways in which it could improve upon its current practices going forward so as not fall behind its competitors' innovations over time.

Read Local Reviews

Source: Google

You can learn a lot by reading what other people say about your competitors online, such as reviews on Google and other online directories. Here are some tips on how to use reviews to understand your competition:

• Find out who your competition is. Look for businesses that offer similar services in your area.
• Analyze what people like and don't like about your competition. This can give you ideas about what to do better.
• Pay attention to what customers say they want. This can help you find things that your competition doesn't offer.
• See what people think of your competition overall. This can help you understand how they're doing in the market.
• Look for things that customers want but your competition doesn't give them. This can be a chance for you to do something different.
• Learn from your competition's mistakes by reading negative reviews. This can help you avoid doing the same thing.
• Figure out what your competition does well by reading positive reviews. This can give you ideas about how you can be different.
  

Analyzing Competitors' Marketing Strategies: A Checklist

There’s a lot you can find online about how your competitors are marketing to their customers. Here’s a quick checklist you can use to guide your efforts:

Website Analysis

Check out their website's design, layout, user-friendliness, and mobile-friendliness. Look for calls-to-action, forms, and contact info. Check if they're using keywords for SEO.

Source: SEMRush

Note: The website competitor analysis example above comes from SEMRush, an SEO online platform that can be costly. If you are already investing money into content creation and SEO, getting an SEO platform subscription might not be a bad idea. If you’re outsourcing your SEO efforts, you can ask your agency to provide you with and walk you through a competitor analysis.

Social Media Analysis

Identify their social media platforms and see how often they post, what content they share, and how many followers they have. Check if they use ads.


Source: Databox

Content Analysis

Look at the blogs, videos, and infographics they create. See if people like and share them. Look for what sets them apart.

Branding and Messaging Analysis

Check their branding like their logo, color schemes, and fonts. Analyze their messaging and how it appeals to their target audience.

Online Advertising Analysis

See if they use online ads like Google Ads or social media ads. Check if they're effective.
Local Search Analysis: See how visible they are in local search results. Look at their Google My Business profile and see if they're doing any local SEO strategies.

Promotions and Offers Analysis

Check if they offer discounts or promotions. See if they're effective.

Offline Marketing Analysis

Look at any offline marketing they do like print ads or events. See if you can do something different.

Reputation Management Analysis

Look at their online reviews and how they handle complaints. See if they have any patterns in customer feedback.

Pricing Analysis

Check their pricing strategy and discounts. See how it compares to yours.

Competitive Analysis Templates

Each of the examples below are of fictional companies. You can copy and paste each example into your own Google Doc or MS Office Doc, then fill out each entry based on your competition.

Competitor Overview Worksheet Template

Competitor Price Analysis Worksheet Template

Competitor Marketing Strategy Worksheet Template

Competitor Customer Experience Worksheet Template

Competitor SWOT Analysis Worksheet Template

Crafting Your Marketing Messages in 3 Steps

For example, if you have a lawn care business and your competition also offers lawn care services, you might differentiate your business by offering organic fertilizers or using eco-friendly equipment. This way, you set yourself apart from your competition and customers who value eco-friendliness might choose your business over the others.

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Your messaging is critical to helping your customers understand who you are, what you do, and why you do it as quickly as possible. It also makes you memorable, which in turn helps you stand out from the competition.

Step 1. Identify What Your Customers Need.

Source: SketchBubble

When you want to create a message that will make people want to use your services, you need to think about what they need. Here's how to do it:

1. Put yourself in their shoes: Imagine what it's like to be a customer who needs your services. What would they be looking for? What problems would they want you to solve?

2. Look at your competition: Check out other businesses that offer similar home services. What do they say their customers need? What do their customers say about them?

3. Ask your current customers: If you already have customers, ask them what they like about your services and what they wish you would do differently. This can give you an idea of what your future customers might want.

4. Read online reviews: Look at what people say about your competition online. Are there any common complaints or requests? This can give you an idea of what people in your area need.

5. Use your own experience: If you've been in the home services business for a while, you probably have a good idea of what people need. Use your own knowledge and experience to come up with ideas.

By doing these things, you can figure out what your customers need and use that information to create a message that will make them want to use your services.

Step 2. Set Yourself Apart from Your Competitors (Differentiation).

Market differentiation means finding ways to make your business stand out from others that offer similar products or services. It's like being unique or different from other businesses.

For example, if you have a lawn care business and your competition also offers lawn care services, you might differentiate your business by offering organic fertilizers or using eco-friendly equipment. This way, you set yourself apart from your competition and customers who value eco-friendliness might choose your business over the others.

When you differentiate your business, you make it more attractive to customers who are looking for something special, unique, or different. It's like having your own style that people will remember and come back to.

Step 3. Make Your Messaging Simple and Consistent Across All Your Marketing Materials.

If you’re designing a website, updating your online business profiles, printing business cards and flyers, make sure that your messaging is consistent across the board.

That doesn’t mean that you have to use the same exact wording every time (although having catchy taglines and mottos can be effective), but it does mean that your message says that same thing every time.

One exercise to help you in this regard is to craft elevator pitches. For example:

• Share exactly what your business is, the unique problems you solve, and the unique way you solve them in 60 seconds or less.
• Expound on your 60-second elevator pitch in 5 minutes or less.
   

Digital Marketing is a Must in Competitive Marketing

Digital marketing is an essential part of any business's marketing strategy. With the rise of online shopping and e-commerce, consumers have become more comfortable buying products and services online. 

This means that your competitors will be using digital channels to reach their customers too--and if you're not using these channels yourself, you could be missing out on potential sales opportunities.

How Customers Find You (or Your Competitors!)

Before customers do anything to improve their home or address repairs, they’re going to do an online search for “[providers] near me.” So if your customers do this, will they find you?

Source: GoSite R&D Team

The first step to effective digital marketing is being easy to find online. And that means understanding the basics of local SEO.

Local SEO

Most of the important tasks you should do for local SEO are free - they just take some time and effort on your part to get done.

Local SEO is a way to help people find your business when they search for things in your local area. It's like putting a big sign outside your shop to let people know what you sell and where you are located.


Source: GoSite Google Business Profile Management

To do this, you can create a Google My Business profile that includes your business name, address, phone number, hours, and other important details. You can also use keywords in your website content and meta tags to make it easier for search engines to find you.

You can also optimize your website for local SEO, as well as claim and update your business on more online listings. For a complete guide on local SEO, check out our other blogs below:

• Local Business Marketing: How to Promote Your Business in Your Neighborhood, City, & Region
• Google Business Profile Manager: How to Boost Your Online Visibility
• The Ultimate Guide to Local Listing Management: Boosting Your Business Online

Social Media Engagement

If you have a business that offers services to people in your local area, you can use social media to get people interested in what you do. Here are some tips:

• Share interesting and helpful posts: Share things that your customers might be interested in, like tips or before-and-after photos. Use pictures and videos to make your posts more interesting.
• Use local hashtags: Use hashtags that are popular in your area to make it easier for people to find your posts.
• Run contests: Offer prizes for people who like, comment on, or share your posts. Make sure you follow the rules of the social media site you're using.
• Respond to comments and messages: Show that you care about your customers by responding to their comments and messages quickly.
• Work with other people: Partner with other businesses or people in your area to create posts or events together.
• Ask customers to post about you: Ask your customers to post about your business and share their experiences. This can help you get more customers.
• Use ads: Consider using ads on social media to reach more people.

Remember to keep posting regularly and responding to people who engage with your posts. This will help you build a community of people who are interested in your business.

Online Advertising

You can also use ads to stand out from your competitors and get people interested in what you do. Here are some tips:

• Know who your customers are: Think about who your customers are and what they like. This will help you create ads that they will be interested in.
• Make your ads interesting: Make your ads stand out by using pictures or videos. Show what makes your business special and how you can help your customers.
• Use words that people will look for: Use words in your ads that people might use when they search for services like yours. This will help your ads show up when people search for those words.
• Try different ads: Experiment with different ads to see which ones work best. Change the words, pictures, or offers to see what people like.
• Show your ads to the right people: Make sure your ads are shown to people who live near your business. This will help you avoid showing ads to people who can't use your services.
• Watch how your ads are doing: Keep an eye on how many people are clicking on your ads and how many are using your services. Change your ads if they're not getting the results you want.
• Offer something special: Give people a good reason to click on your ads. Offer a discount or something free to get them interested.
  
  

It’s important to know that getting great return on your ad spend (ROAS) takes time and practice. By budgeting for monthly ads on your preferred channel (such as Google or Facebook), you will figure out how to get more and better customers through your ads and surge ahead of your competition online.

Providing Exceptional Customer Service

As a home services provider, delivering exceptional customer service is a key differentiator that can set you apart from your competitors. Simply being responsive, reliable, and attentive to customer needs is not enough – you need to go above and beyond for each customer to create a memorable experience.

Here are some tips to help you provide excellent customer service that will leave your clients raving about their experience:

• Be proactive in communication by regularly checking in with your clients and anticipating their needs, rather than waiting for them to ask questions.
• Personalize every interaction by addressing your clients by name and referencing previous conversations they've had with you or someone else in your company. This shows that you value their business and care about building a relationship with them.
• Offer something extra whenever possible, such as providing a free estimate, offering a discount for repeat business, or going the extra mile to ensure their satisfaction. These small gestures can make a big difference in creating happy and loyal customers.

Remember, providing exceptional customer service is all about exceeding expectations and creating a positive experience that will keep your customers coming back and referring their friends and family to your business.

Gathering Online Reviews for Word-of-Mouth

As you do more business, always remember to ask your customers for reviews. The benefits are twofold:

1. The more reviews you get (and respond to), the higher you’ll climb on Google.
2. The more reviews you get, the more feedback you receive that you can use to further compete in your local market.

These reviews will also attract new customers as they seek peer recommendations. If your online presence contains hundreds of great, detailed reviews, it will be very difficult for your competitors to keep up.

Always Improving Your Services, Products, Customer Services, and Marketing Messaging

The next and final step when it comes to marketing against competitors is simply to do everything in your power to be better. Here are some steps you can take:

• Decide what you want to accomplish, improve, etc: Think about what you want your business to be like. Do you want to make your customers happier, make more money, or offer new services? Make a plan to get there.
• Listen to your customers: Ask your customers what they like and don't like about your services. You can do this by asking them to fill out surveys or leaving reviews online. This will help you know what to change.
• Check how you're doing: Look at how much money you're making, how happy your customers are, and how well your employees are doing. This will help you know if you're doing a good job or if you need to make changes.
• Make a plan: Based on what you learn from your customers and performance data, make a plan to improve your business. This might mean training your employees better, changing the way you do things, or offering new services.
• Check if your plan is working: Keep an eye on how your business is doing after you make changes. Are your customers happier? Are you making more money? If not, you may need to try something else.
• Keep trying to make it better: Don't stop trying to make your business better. Keep asking your customers what they want and trying new things to make them happy.

By always trying to make your business better, you can make it stand out from the competition and make your customers happier. This can help your business grow and be successful over time.

In Conclusion

In conclusion, implementing effective marketing strategies is crucial for home services providers to outsmart the competition and grow their businesses. 

By understanding their target audience, utilizing digital advertising, investing in search engine optimization, and continuously improving their service offerings, home services providers can differentiate themselves from the competition and establish themselves as leaders in their local markets. 

With dedication and a strong marketing plan in place, the sky's the limit for home services businesses looking to succeed and thrive in today's highly competitive market.