In the 2nd installment of our 5-part series on common business challenges in the restoration industry, we focus on lead generation for restoration companies. If you missed our first installment (hiring), check it out here.
There’s More To Lead Generation for Your Restoration Company Than Meets the Eye!
Even in the best of times, running a restoration business can prove challenging. As an owner, you’ve got to stay ahead of all the moving parts to be successful. Marketing, sales, finance, service performance, and other operational aspects of the business are all critically important to your profitability. That being said, none of your efforts to grow your business will matter if you don’t have a steady flow of leads and work coming through the door.
But lead generation for restoration companies can sometimes be counterintuitive. If it’s the only thing you focus on to bring in new business, your efforts won’t have much staying power. That’s because lead generation in this business is never just about the size of your marketing budget or the slick nature of your ad campaigns.
Successful lead generation is also about brand reputation, operational efficiency, customer service/support, employee satisfaction, and other business systems and intangibles. In fact, these things are arguably even more critical to attracting new customers! People are smart. They remember which businesses perform well and meet their needs. Over time, word gets around.
Of course, there are ways to improve your lead-gen efforts directly. Doing so will proverbially help you cast a wider fishing net into those places where the fish are swimming. Here’s what experience has taught us:
Track Your Restoration Leads for Your Company
If you aren’t tracking lead-gen details, you’re missing a huge opportunity to optimize your business development efforts. You can spend a lot of time and money to generate leads for your restoration company, only to figure out later that it was all wasted because you didn’t do your homework! Tracking lead details will help you to understand where you should double down in your marketing efforts. At our restoration company (Power Dry), we track all lead sources, conversions and ultimately the cost of all leads. You may (or may not) be surprised to know that on average, it costs us more than $300 to make the phone ring!
We suggest you implement a system to track the quantity and quality of any leads you capture and monitor where leads are coming from. Some marketing channels will result in more paying customers than others. You need to recognize which ones are producing for you.
If your leads are not converting into new business, it could be a lead quality problem. However, it could also be a problem in your sales process. If it’s a sales issue, then all leads that you capture will be slow to buy your services. If it’s a lead quality issue, leads generated by specific channels are the problem. But you’ll never know that if you don’t track your leads. You’ll be flying blind.
Diversify Your Restoration Lead Generation Channels
When it comes to finding new customers, it’s easy to become over-reliant on one single method of lead-generation. If things suddenly shift (as they often do in business), you could be in a world of hurt without any source of new business leads. Avoid this situation by diversifying your lead generation channels. The more sources you have to generate leads, the better. You can develop new channels through a variety of means and resources:
Professional Referrals for Restoration Leads
A panicked homeowner will often call a plumber or an insurance agent for help with emergency water damage. Developing relationships with such professionals can result in referral business which will continue to pay off for years to come. This is especially true if you provide quality service and support to referred customers, giving you peace of mind to be trusted to take care of the referring party’s clients.
Online Presence for Restoration Lead Generation
Establishing your business presence online is a must. Doing so will create awareness of your authority and expertise, generating new leads for your restoration business. You should consistently share relevant content via blog posts and videos across various channels, including your website blog and social media channels. As you optimize your site and content for the search engines, your business will become more visible to people looking for your services.
Understand How People Find Your Restoration Services
Do your customers find you online? If so, which online channels are bringing them in? Are they being referred to you by other customers? Perhaps other businesses are providing you referrals? Take time to understand where your target audience is looking and how they connect with you. When you know where they’re coming from, you know where you should be optimizing your lead generation.
Knowledge is Power In Generation Leads for Your Restoration Business
Once you get your lead generation system dialed in, your business development efforts will begin to hum like a well-oiled machine –allowing you to focus on bigger picture planning and less on the minutia of the day. To learn more about how you can improve lead generation for your restoration company, check out our free Restoration Lead Generation Guide.