1. Promote your business on a deals & discounts website
Running a limited-time special can be a great way to attract new customers to your handyman business. There are several online marketplaces (think Groupon, Angie’s List, or LivingSocial) that make it easy to market your services to a new, highly-targeted local audience. Plus, what motivates buyers more than a good deal?
2. Do high-quality work and provide great customer service
If you want to be a successful handyman contractor, you have to focus on the details! This means showing up on time, submitting proposals in a timely manner, and cleaning up after you’re done. When you do great work, people will talk! This type of word of mouth advertising is essential to the continued growth and success of your business. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen overnight. If you are fairly new to the game and you don't have much referral business yet,
buying handyman leads might be a good option to consider in the meantime.
3. Update your website
Your website can speak volumes about your handyman business. Seize this opportunity to make a great first impression! A thoughtfully-designed business website lets potential customers know that you are someone worth hiring. Make sure to include information on the services you provide (including some photos of your work)! You also want to put your contact information in a highly visible location on each page of your site.
4. Learn the basics of SEO
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is all about getting additional visibility for your website in the most popular search engines (think Google, Bing, etc.). You can improve your handyman website’s SEO by writing original content and optimizing page titles and descriptions. In some cases, you may need to enlist the services of an SEO agency to help you in your quest for higher rankings.
5. Learn a new skill, expand your service offering
Is there something that you don’t know how to do? For example, maybe tile work isn’t your specialty. You could attend an educational course or seminar in order to get your tiling skills up to par. In the future, you won’t have to turn down these jobs - putting more money in your pocket.
6. Kick off a pay-per-click advertising campaign
Pay-per-click advertising is one way to reach new audiences online. Your ad will only show to customers that use specific keyword searches that you select. For example, you may want your ad to show when someone searches for “local handyman in Dallas area” or “best handyman in Central Texas”. By A/B testing and experimenting with different copy, you will learn what ads and keywords convert best for your business.
7. Don’t forget about commercial work
While many handyman focus on the residential market, there is a lot of money to be made in the commercial space. When marketing your services, don’t forget about the needs of these clients.
8. Sign up with a lead generation service
The online advertising space can be very difficult to navigate. This is especially true for small businesses with limited resources. If you’re short on time and need new work quickly, you may want to consider working with a handyman lead generation company. They find local jobs on your behalf. It’s then up to you to contact the customer to provide a quote or schedule an estimate. You are often charged a flat fee for each lead or incoming call to your business.
9. Get more online reviews
When searching for a business online, it can be hard to distinguish between what’s real and what’s fake. How do you know who to hire? That’s why reviews are so important! A handyman service with dozens of positive reviews on Yelp or Facebook really stands out from the pack. Positive feedback (even it is from strangers) helps to build trustworthiness with new customers.
10. Expand your network
Networking is all about making meaningful connections and building a strong local network. Getting to know local builders, real estate agents, developers, plumbers, and electricians is a great long-term marketing strategy. These local business owners can be a great source of referral business for your handyman company.
11. Keep some extra business cards with you at all times
It might seem like business cards are outdated or a little “old-school”, but they are still very important! Once you have a made a new contact, it can be helpful to hand them a physical reminder of your interaction. While it’s best to have a clean, professional business card on hand, that might not always be the case. Don’t be afraid to write your name and number on something else that might be laying around.
12. Advertise on your vehicle
Do you have a truck or van for your handyman business? If so, you want to think about covering it with a vinyl wrap. All of that blank space on your vehicle is valuable advertising real estate! Turn that blank slate into a moving billboard. If your company name and phone number are displayed clearly on your truck, interested people can call you directly for a quote the next they have an odd job.
13. Volunteer your time, get involved in your community
Engaging with your community is a great way to meet new people and to get your name out there. For example, you could sponsor a 5K race or local basketball tournament. If you’d rather volunteer your time, you could also spend some time at a local soup kitchen or shelter. Your skills could really come in “handy” - no pun intended. They may need some help painting or fixing a broken light fixture. Even if you don’t get any new business out of the job, you will have done a good thing for your community!
14. Expand your service area
How many handyman services are working in your area? In some cases, you might find the local market is oversaturated. This makes it difficult to find new clients and make money. By increasing the size your geographic service area and traveling a little further, you may have better luck attracting new customers to your handyman business.