Home Improvement Solution

Posts Tagged ‘Home Improvement Sector’

Introduction

Home improvement businesses face a unique challenge in marketing themselves to potential customers.

Businesses offering services like loft conversions, double glazing, conservatories, landscaping, kitchens and bathrooms face widespread competition, some of it from larger retailers which can offer low prices thanks to greater economies of scale.

At the other end of the market, less reputable businesses can damage the reputation of the home improvement sector through poor workmanship or unethical marketing practices like cold calling.

Marketing channels available to home improvement businesses are often costly and hard to measure, such as local press or phone directory advertising.

Yet the effort in marketing can be worthwhile, with a typically high average spend per successful order. So how can a home improvement business stand out from the crowd, whilst achieving a good return on its marketing investment?

Direct marketing tools and methods can often offer the answer. Because it’s more measurable than other marketing methods, direct marketing is more measurable and it can be targeted more closely to those potential consumers most likely to buy your home improvement services.

Here are some of the ways in which direct marketing can help:

1. Planning

Before any direct marketing campaign you have to carry out some planning. For a home improvement business this can involve analysing your existing customers to see what they have in common. Using tools like Easycheck list profiling software (www.selectabase.co.uk/i-have-a-list/easycheck) you can discover more about your customer’s interests, likes, dislikes and lifestyle just from their postcode. Also look at there they are based and what type of home they live in, to help identify potential markets.

Once you’ve analysed your existing customers you can put them into different groups, or segments, and then prioritise which groups are of most importance to you.

For example, if you are a landscaper, you might want to target properties in local areas that you know have larger sized gardens. Double glazing companies may want to target homeowners in coastal or exposed areas, where their properties are more likely to suffer from the elements. Loft conversion or conservatory companies could target growing families likely to need more living space.

2. Direct Mail

Once you’ve identified your target segment, or segments, you can source lists of more people of the same type.

There are numerous reputable mailing lists available that you can select data from. For example the Consumer Profiles list (www.selectabase.co.uk/lists/consumer/) which allows you to target potential customers by lifestyle, Silver Prospects (www.selectabase.co.uk/ppc/grey-market-silver-prospects-list.aspx) is a specialist list of retired older people, and Recently Moved (www.selectabase.co.uk/recentlymoved/) provides a monthly list of people who’ve just moved into your local area.

Mail these lists with a good quality mailer, personalised to each person, explaining clearly why you are approaching them and the benefits of what you have to offer; price, service, testimonials, knowledge etc. Include a clear call to action and offer a no hassle free quotation.

Mailings can also be used successfully to drive traffic to your website, where people can see more about your business and obtain a quote online.

3. Telemarketing

Unsolicited telemarketing, or cold calling as its also known, has done much to tarnish the reputation of the home improvement industry.

However if you have your own list of leads, enquiries or prospects that you plan to phone, you can do so as long as you check each number first to see if it is registered with the Telephone Preference Service. You can check numbers as you go using an online service like www.selectabase.co.uk/1check/ or you can clean your list each month using software like Easycheck.

Also, it is completely acceptable to follow up a mailing to a rented list with a brief courtesy call asking if the homeowner received the information and if it was of interest. If it’s bought from a reputable source, your list will have been screened against the TPS just before you buy it.

It’s worth spending time briefing the person who makes the call to make sure they have good product knowledge and know how they should represent your business.

Summary

In summary, direct marketing methods provide great opportunities for home improvement businesses to identify and target relevant potential customers on an individual basis, without the interference of competitor’s messages that you find with press advertising.

Results can be measured precisely, and the results used to guide future mailings or campaigns. And if direct marketing is carried out in a high quality and reputable way, consumers will see that your home improvement business is going to provide a high quality service.

With an ever-expanding network of home improvement television shows and DIY magazines, the do-it-yourself home improvement sector has taken off. Homeowners everywhere are rushing to their local hardware stores, ready to rip out their bathroom tile or tear down old kitchen cupboards.

As excited as you may be to get started on your first DIY home improvement project, there are a few considerations you should first take into account. You need to plan, understand your project, budget, and be aware of your space. To learn more about these basic, but crucial, DIY home improvement tips, keep reading.

1. Plan, Plan, Plan

Before you even begin a DIY home improvement project, you should have a full plan in place. And prior to making that drive to the home hardware store, put together a folder with all your measurements and a complete list of everything you intend to buy, right down to the last nail.

People get excited about projects and don’t want to get right to it instead of “wasting” time planning. However, By planning out the phases and details your project, you’re less likely to overspend on unnecessary materials or find that you need to backtrack over already-completed work.

Planning prevents mishaps such as needing to stop work and call a plumber because you forgot to verify whether there were pipes running where you wanted to put in that door. Planning also decreases overspending, such as buying three cans of paint when you only needed two.

Meanwhile, researching your project will help to avert the more costly mistakes. By reading books, watching relevant DVD’s or researching online information about the project you want to tackle, you’re less likely to botch a job and more likely to complete it with a professional finish.

2. Budget

Along with planning, comes budgeting. As you plan the details of your project, keep a running tally of the expense for each material. If you don’t know how much something costs, check the Internet or call your local retailer to obtain a price ahead of time.

Once you have your budget, add 10-20% extra. Almost every home renovation project, DIY or not, runs up against unexpected expenses – it’s just a reality of life’s uncertainties. Whether it is materials that cost more than you expect or a surprise problem that needs to get fixed, you’ll need to have the money ready to take care of it. Every good DIY’er knows to have a little extra on hand.

3. Understand Your Project

Before you attempt to tackle a major home improvement project, make sure you know what you’re doing. Use resources like books, your local hardware clerk, the Internet and how-to videos to get a good grasp on the project you will be undertaking.

If you feel like the project is out of your league, don’t hesitate to call in a professional.

4. Know Your Space

This tip is related to planning, but make sure you have enough space to take on your project. Don’t try to fit a new island in your kitchen if there isn’t sufficient room for it. Try to live by the old carpenter’s adage of “measure twice, cut once.”

Taking out a loan is not a small decision. If the collateral security happens to be your house, then the decision has implications not just for you but the future of your entire family.

Hence, opt for home improvement loans secured by your house only if you are dead certain of your ability to repay the loan in full.

Most of the home improvement loan seekers go to a broker to get the best possible deal. The job of the broker is to get a lender who will lend the maximum money to the borrower at the easiest terms. Generally, loans that charge the lowest APR are considered as good deals.

Home improvement loans can be used to fund practically any and every improvement to the home. The lender will ensure you are not borrowing a large amount when a small amount would serve your purpose.

To secure his interest, the lender demands that you offer your house as the security for the loan. Only perfect credit scores qualify for unsecured loans.

When applying for a home improvement loan, be prepared for the scrutiny of your credit file. With 3 out of 5 persons suffering from debt of more than $10,000, lenders have become very cautious.

Do you have good credit?

All your transactions form a part of your credit file and the same is scrutinized to determine whether you can be relied to repay the loan on time. If you suffer from bad credit, you will have to pay a higher rate of interest.

It is not worth to risk your house for a beautiful new kitchen, bedroom or bathroom unless you are absolutely certain that you can afford the loan.

The Home improvement sector is an extremely competitive sector. Service providers are many and the competition has ensured that the prices remain low. Now is the best time to get that home improvement job done.

Companies are struggling to meet their targets and are offering great offers to the buyers to ensure they stay in business. While women are in no way inferior to men when it comes to doing home improvement jobs, this sector is dominated by men.

Home owners beware!

When employing a home improvement company, make sure you employ licensed and registered professionals only. The law places the burden on the buyer to ensure that he employs licensed workmen only and you face the risk of losing all benefits that accrued to you from insurances, warranties and guarantees.

There is no denying that home improvement business is a very lucrative one:

a. Labor charges run high
b. After hours labor charges have to be heard to be believed
c. Materials are often supplied by the home improvement contractor. He buys in bulk at cost and sells it to the home owner at a profit.

Be there at the right place and the right time, aggressively market yourself, please your clients to ensure word of mouth publicity, advertise in local papers and magazines and find yourself a rich man in no time at all.

Demand for home improvement companies will never go slack. Even in the worst of the times, people do not stop beautifying their house. The hours are long and the work is hard.

If you are ready to bend your back, you will find a big fat check in your account month after month. The question is “Are you up to it?”