how to advertise a house painting business
How to Advertise a House Painting Business
If you want to give maximum exposure to your house painting business, you must know where and how to promote it. Here are some handy tips to advertise such a business.
Collaborate with your local phone company to distribute your discount coupons in their welcome kit for people who are new in the area.
A house painting business can help you earn a good profit margin, provided you advertise it in the right way. There is so much competition in this field that you need to complement your work with focused promotions in order to communicate about your business to the target audience. Also, advertising can rake up a huge cost for a start-up business; however, it is an indispensable one. Hence, it becomes all the more important that you advertise in the right locations to gain maximum mileage.
The medium of your promotion matters a lot. You will have to find effective promotional platforms that will help your message reach out to your prospective customers. Here are a few ways to advertise a house painting business.
Website
Tip: Optimize your website for the search engine using the right keywords so that it will rank well.
Get a well-designed and interactive website to showcase your skills. You may display the before and after photos of your projects after getting the client's permission. Allow people to upload the images of their houses and suggest colors for the same. Give details about the quality of your paint, discount schemes, rates, etc. If you have customer testimonials, add them to the website. It will give your claims the required credibility.Directories
Tip: Also, try to register with BBB and get a positive rating.
You should invest in advertising in the local phone book and other hardbound directories. Do explore the options of listing in online directories like Yahoo local, Google Maps, etc. Try to advertise on websites which give business listings. This will help the customer find you easily and also read your business reviews. Hence, you will have to take special efforts to ensure that you have all positive reviews.Network
Tip: Approach interior designers for painting jobs as they need house painters at various client sites.
Network with the right people to get more and more business opportunities. For example, you can visit real estate agents or brokers' offices. These people generally know the contacts of buyers and sellers who are looking to get house painting done. Not only this, but you can also approach various property managers who may be looking after others' properties and may want to conduct painting jobs on a routine basis. Also, ask the store owner who gives you paint and other supplies if he can help promote your work.Vehicle
Tip: You will be able to brand your truck for less than 2000$ if you get competitive quotes from different vendors.
You will have to get a truck or van to carry your painting material around. Use your truck as a branding platform by putting up your business logo and contact information on it. Wherever your truck will go, people will see your branding. This is an affordable and effective way to advertise your painting business.Lawn Signs
Tip: Ensure that your contact number is in a bigger and bolder font size for your prospective clients to read from a distance.
You can display your advertisement by putting up lawn signs on the lawns of houses you have painted. You will need permission of the owner to do this, but the effort will definitely help bring in new businesses. People can directly see the work at the site and decide about your painting skills.Advertise
Tip: Try to concentrate your advertising in areas where interior and exterior painting jobs are required.
Place advertisements in local newspapers and magazines to reach out to your target market. You can even indulge in focused print advertising by only giving the ads in areas where old homes are located. Similarly, you can also send inserts through newspapers to these areas. Apart from this, you can also advertise in community newsletters.Social Media
Tip: Spend some money on buying Facebook ads which will help reach your target market.
Use social media for your business advantage. Create pages on various social networking websites, and get many people to like them. Keep updating the pages with before and after photos and interesting titbits about house painting. However, you will require permission of the clients to use the photographs for promotional purposes. Use these pages as a platform to introduce various different schemes and offers.Posters, Flyers, and Door Hangers
Tip: You may even make arrangement in these locations to give away your business cards so that people can call you.
Try to put up posters in areas which are frequented by people who may be looking for a painter. For example, tap areas like home improvement outlets, cafés, grocery stores, community centers, hardware shops, etc. Similarly, distribute flyers, direct mail, and put up door hangers in areas where renovation or remodeling work is going on. You can also send it to locations with old houses.Distribute Merchandise
Tip: Get a professional agency to design this merchandise for a professional look.
You have to undertake massive marketing efforts in order to create an identity among already-established competitors. For this, you can give merchandise like pens, pencils, notepads, refrigerator magnets, mugs, caps, etc., to your prospective clients. Give them along with your brochures and flyers. People will remember your services when they see the merchandise and also recommend them to others.Discount and Other Schemes
Tip: You can even offer few of the supplies (for the painting job) free of cost to gain more and more clients.
Offer discount and other schemes, like coupons, freebies, gift certificates, etc., for availing your services. You may also offer free quote and estimates to people who approach you for a job. You can also introduce referral schemes and offer discounts to those who recommend your name.Events and Exhibition
Tip: Give your business card, merchandise, brochures, and also collect the visitor's contact details so that you can follow up with him/her later.
You can hire a small stall or booth in a trade show, or an exhibition which deals with home improvement, interiors, home restorations, etc. This will help provide exposure to a maximum number of prospective clients. You can also participate in various trade shows organized by the chambers of commerce to tap into various clients.