There are a wide variety of sources for residential water damage jobs, from customer referrals to partnerships with insurance companies and online marketing. If you don’t know how work is finding its way to your company, you’re not equipped to grow or scale your business. If you don’t understand what your strongest source of water damage leads are, it will be difficult to tap into those sources to increase your workload.
Here’s what you need to know about where restoration work is coming from for most water damage restoration companies.
Professional Referrals
A carpet cleaner in your city may be contacted about a water damage clean up only to realize the scope of the work is beyond what they are equipped to manage alone. It is to your benefit to have strong relationships with other professionals in your area or to develop a referral reward system as a means of encouraging other professionals to send work your way.
Insurance agents are another source of local referrals. While many water damage restoration companies have a complicated relationship with insurance professionals, it is more than worth the work it takes to have positive interactions with these individuals. With a positive history, they will be more willing to refer new customers your way.
Don’t forget – marketing to referring parties is a process, not an event! In fact, it takes about 27 branded touches to move a referring party from not knowing you to potentially ready to send you leads. Check out our 27-Touch Marketing Rule here.
Content Marketing and Online Referrals
When in search of a professional service, many people get online. While the number of people who go looking for emergency-level water damage services is far less than those searching for something like mold services, you still need to have a solid web presence to tap into them. This means that you want your company to be seen when someone starts looking for restoration specialists in your area and that you want to be well received. Putting effort into branding and managing your Google My Business Page well creates a positive online image for your company that can attract new customers.
Other means of attracting new leads online include keeping a blog and building a presence on social media. Your reputation online directly affects your business growth.
Third-Party Administrators (TPAs)
Third-Party Administrators are a controversial, but somewhat reliable, source of water damage jobs. These services allow companies to receive leads automatically. TPAs work on behalf of the insurance companies, helping them to secure contractors for loss victims. These services offer consistent leads to contractors, which is great for companies who are working to build up other sources of work.
The downside of working with TPAS means of securing work may come with strings, like a preset budget or a time frame for completing the job. We’re not saying you shouldn’t use them, we’re simply suggesting that you diversify your sources of water damage leads so all your eggs don’t end up in this one bucket.
Previous Customers
In some cases, a customer who has had a positive experience with your company will pass on your name to others who require your services. For this reason, it is always important to maintain healthy relationships with your customers and follow up with them after a job has been completed to gauge their satisfaction with your work. If you get negative feedback, take it to heart! A happy customer is your top priority, even if they don’t become a source of leads in the future.
Finding consistent leads for residential water damage jobs requires consistency and a good understanding of your top sources of work. Here at More Floods, we work with business owners and managers in the water damage restoration industry to create systems for tracking incoming leads and utilizing sources like third party administrators and referrals. To learn more about joining our network, click here for a live demo or call 1-866-667-3356.