Tips for Marketing Your Home Improvement Business

Recently, the pandemic has brought a lot of uncertainty and fear to businesses and consumers alike. Fortunately, consumer fears are easing with more vaccinations being deployed and some normalcy within reach — bringing more business to the home improvement industry as consumers take advantage of the real estate market and extra time at home. 

Consumer spending has increased 11.8% in the second quarter of 2021, following an increase of 11.4% in the first quarter of 2021. This rise in consumer spending further supports your marketing campaign's importance, especially in setting your home improvement business apart from the competition in a post-pandemic market.   

Here are some essential tips for marketing your home improvement business now and post-pandemic.

Create a TV commercial  

While research shows a decline in TV subscriptions and an increase in OTT viewership, there is a lot to be said for the 90% weekly reach among adults 18 and older. The most successful brands have a good marketing mix, using TV commercials as the foundation for traditional TV and OTT advertising. 

This is because a TV commercial brings more show than tell your product/services, allowing you up to 30 seconds of screen time to show your target audience how and why you're different from the competition. To ensure your message gets across fully and resonates, using a story to get your brand message to the right people is essential. It allows them to put themselves in the shoes of your protagonist, finding that their positive results with your product will bring them the same positive results! 

Deploy a digital campaign  

In addition to TV commercials, having a digital campaign is also essential to the success of your home improvement business post-pandemic. This is especially true since the pandemic rocked the world and moved more people to digital platforms — where marketers are now reaching the majority of their target audiences.  

More aspects of people's daily social and professional lives are moving online as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In just the first week of March, there was an 18% increase in in-home data usage compared to the same period in 2019, with average daily data usage rates exceeding 16.6 GB. This momentum is expected to sustain even into the post-pandemic era as buyer behaviors adjust to the new normal and continue to evolve with advanced technology.  

Engage on social media

Likewise, engaging with home improvement customers on social media continues to play a significant role in marketing your business. This has a lot to do with the more than 3.6 billion active social media users worldwide that is projected to reach as much as 4.41 billion by 2025. If this doesn't make the impression it should, it’s important to note that this number is more than half of the world’s population.  

As a home improvement business, it would be useful to target and engage with customers on a platform like Instagram (although you should be on all the same major platforms as your audience). The reason for this is that it’s a visual social platform that suits the value of your products. Showing high-quality before and after photos of home projects can go a long way in persuading potential clients that your products/services are much better than what the completion has to offer. 

Align with a good cause

Another big change that has made its way into the marketing world — jump-started by the recent pandemic and racial unrest — is cause marketing. Aligning your brand with a good cause has become a priority for many consumers. Most consumers consider a purpose-driven brand an important influence on their purchasing decisions, especially if their values are aligned. 

According to Engage for Good, 89% of executives say companies that lead with purpose have a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace, and 78% of Americans believe companies must do more than just make money; they must positively impact society as well. This can be done in several ways, from teaming up with a local food bank to partnering with a charity that is dear to your community. Either way, you want to keep it relevant to your brand — meaning it ''makes sense'' that your business partnered with them (i.e., food bank and grocery store.).  

Stay in touch via email  

Keeping in mind the digital opportunities coming to light following the pandemic, it should also be noted how important email is to your home improvement business strategy. In a marketing area where there are more than 3.9 billion active users and counting — nearly double the number of users on Facebook alone and more than Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter users combined — the value is undeniable.  

Typically, combined with other marketing methods, email adds a lot of personalized depth to your brand in the mind of your target consumers. This is true because you can stay connected with leads, new customers, and brand loyalists in different ways specific to them and where they are in their buyer’s journey. Take, for instance, someone beginning their home improvement project — you could provide them with checklists and to-dos. On the other hand, email reminders about home improvement deals can come in handy later in the buyer’s journey to help persuade them to take action.  

Get Expert Help Marketing Your Home Improvement Business

By now, the need to market your home improvement business in a post-pandemic era cannot be ignored, or your brand risks falling behind the competitive curve. Marketing has always been an essential component of growing your business, but it evolves with the times. Post-pandemic is no different, and although we’ve all gotten used to our usual ways of advertising, it's time to level up your home improvement strategy to meet the expectations of consumers today. 

Get expert help marketing your home improvement business by working with a media partner, and in the meantime, follow our FOX10 Gulf Coast blog for more marketing tips.