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Get Noticed - Online

 

Having an online presence is about as important as a big blinking sign for attracting business these days.  You cannot, I repeat, cannot expect to grab every bit of revenue possible without advertising online.  Completely free in most cases, having an online presence is not only crucial to finding new customers but one of the benchmarks you will ultimately be judged on. I am going to help you create an online presence for ZERO cash outlay.  It will take 2 hours or less to complete these steps and I guarantee you will see an increase in incoming service requests as a result.


I’ll address 3 basic areas for the start of your online presence; all can be set up pretty quickly.  Each section is outlined below.  There are many other options but I do know that that these will work quite well for you.  They are, however, not effortless.  As with any task in building your business these take a bit of focused effort and need to be maintained over time.


You may have some of these nailed down and in place already.  Great work!  Feel free to skip those sections OR give them a quick read and make sure you haven’t skipped any of the important components.


Website-


This is the core of your online presence.  Your “face” to customers that have not yet met you or experienced your services.  It’s important that it looks professional.  That said, if you don’t sell a physical product through your site a single page website should really be enough.  The more things you want to offer, the more you’ll need to plan.  But for now a single page is really all you truly need to get started no matter how complex you might end up.  I see 5 components to a successful single page website: 
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  1. Company name
  2. Contact information
    • Phone Number
    • location address
    • email address
  3. A picture of you, your staff, your location or your trucks (prospects will connect with a visual)
  4. A “value” statement of some sort – What makes your company the one they should call?
  5. An alternative way to set an appointment/reach your company (myServiceScheduler – More Info Here)

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The biggest barrier for most contractors (and other small businesses) is the website design.  There is a company called Homestead that offers a free trial (for 30 days), free SIMPLE design software (anyone can do it) and hosting.  I strongly suggest their services as one of the easiest ways to get online quickly.  You can check them out HERE.

If you would prefer to have your website professionally handled, our myServiceForce.com partners, Voveo Marketing, can certainly take on the project at special myServiceForce member only pricing.  They can be contacted HERE.

Email-


Start collecting your current customers’ email addresses IMMEDIATELY.  They are absolute gold.  You have already proven how outstanding your services are to your current customers however they are going to need some reminding in the future.  Now, most businesses hesitate to ask for this piece of information because they think the customer will frown upon future communication.  This is simply not true.  Tie your request to something of value; offer to email them a copy of their invoice, a coupon for future service or a reminder when their next service is due.  The absolute worst case is they say “no” and this response does not preclude them from using you in the future.  Ask every time and make sure all of your technicians are asking as well. 

Now what?


You should “touch” your entire list at least once per month.  Stay fresh in their minds.  You can do this manually by creating a “group” of contacts in your email client (Outlook, Gmail etc, they all have the feature) and using the BCC function to communicate to the entire group.  You never want to send an email with everyone’s email address exposed.  That will get you in hot water in a hurry.  So use the BCC function and if you don’t know how ask your email provide or chat with one of our support staff.

Using an email program is certainly not optimal for a number of reasons.  It becomes hard to manage as your list grows.  It doesn’t automatically handle your unsubscribe (people asking you to stop emailing them , you must remove them by the federal CAN-SPAM Act).    Most importantly doing things manually will not allow you to look at the statistics your list creates in terms of how many of the recipients open or clicks on the message.

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I strongly suggest using Constant Contact to manage your list and deliver your email.  Email creation i s really easy (just keep it simple) and they offer a completely free trial for 30 days.  Check them out HERE.



What should be in your Email?


If you plan to contact your list once per month you end up with 12 opportunities every year.  It is important to vary the content of your messages and make sure they have a value for your customers.  Provide them reminders to do annual services during the right times of year.  Offer a coupon.  Provide tips to keep their equipment operating as efficiently as possible.  Most importantly, keep your contact information easy to find.  By reaching them regularly you will become their “go to” name to call when they need assistance.  Again, your email doesn’t need to be professionally created or perfectly formatted.  Just be sure it reaches them regularly and adds value to your services.

Online Directories-


Did you know that 56% of all online searches are for local businesses and services?  It’s a staggering number.  100 million unique searches per year on Yahoo alone with “local intent”.  YOU NEED TO BE PRESENT WHEN YOUR SERVICES ARE BEING LOOKED FOR.  It’s free in most cases.  In the list below you will find links to a series of business directory services that you should be registered in TODAY.  All of them are FREE at the basic level.  None of them will take more than 5-10 minutes to register for.

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Wrap-Up


Once you have the 3 steps above completed it’s time to tie them all together.  Get your website address listed on your business cards along with your email address.  Add a signature to your outgoing emails that includes your web address as well as a link to your Yelp page so you are easy to review.  Make sure your website is linked to your Google local search result as well as the Bing search result and Yahoo search result.  Simply put, make sure you are easy to find online and when you ARE found online make sure people have options in terms of how to reach you (phone, email and website with a myServiceScheduler link).  There is no end to the number of online directories you can submit your business to.

Now, Dive into it!  You really can’t go wrong by adding yourself to more directories and continuing to expand your email list.  The competition online in the service industry is absolutely minimal.  Take advantage and get started creating your footprint to gain a larger customer base and more PROFIT!
 
 
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