The Remodeling Industry Was Behind…but Catching Up Now (continued from part I) 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 Events Many remodeling companies attend home shows, participate in Remodeled Home Tours, seminars, and similar events.  These are fantastic events, but with the landscape changing, the door is opened for more virtual events. These can be webinars instead of seminars, virtual walk-throughs instead of in-person and other creative events and video ideas. Virtual events are not “new”, but they are more “new” to this industry, so remodelers that are more tech savvy or jumped quickly to converting their physical events to digital events started seeing quick results. The end homeowner is primed and ready to join these events.  They are extremely comfortable with Zoom and video conferencing now, and they enjoy the convenience aspect as well. Action Steps:

• Host your first webinar even if no one shows up:
  • Create a presentation deck on a high value topic to your audience
  • Practice your presentation
  • Put up a registration page for the webinar and promote it
  • Record the webinar so you can use it as an evergreen lead conversion funnel forever

Video Marketing Video has been growing exponentially online for the last decade, but the importance of using video in your digital marketing just jumped in a big way.  The less you’re meeting prospects in person means you need other ways to build rapport, credibility, and trust. Creating video content where your prospects can see your face, your team’s faces, and get to know you before they ever meet you increases the likelihood they will buy from you.  Anytime you can increase their comfort level with you and allow them to lower their guard, the better. A strong video marketing strategy will make your virtuals sales calls go smoother because they will be seeing a familiar face. Action Steps:

• Start shooting video on the job site and posting it to social media
• Brainstorm 3-5 videos you want every single prospect to watch before reaching out (about your process, your team, etc.)
  • Script out those videos
  • Hire someone to come shoot for a half day or have a team member film you
  • Edit the videos and post them to your website and social media

Digital Marketing I often get pushback from remodelers.  “I don’t think people looking to do $300K design-build projects use Google to find the company they want to work with.” This just isn’t true anymore. Maybe it was five or ten years ago, but it isn’t today.  We see our clients routinely closing $100K – $700K projects from internet leads, and we also see $1M+ projects closed, just not at the same frequency. Digital marketing is only going to get more and more important as we move ahead.  If you’re not looking at your website as your primary marketing tool and primary lead generation tool, you’ll eventually become obsolete.  As our younger generations get older and become your target market, you’ll be looking at an audience where all they know is Google and social media. Right now, we’re in a blended environment where you can still survive on word of mouth and referral leads, but you won’t thrive moving forward. Action Steps:

• Take a hard look at your website. (and not just the design, which is what it looks like)
  • What percentage of your lead flow is it producing?
  • How many customers does it generate for you each month, quarter or year?
• Invest in content, SEO and lead conversion strategies.