03 Feb Home Remodelers: Marketing Agency Ripping You Off?

If your home remodeling marketing agency is truly worth its salt, you’ll not only witness a surge in leads and job opportunities but also experience a palpable impact on your bottom line. However, if you find yourself in a situation where despite your substantial investment, the anticipated growth fails to materialize, it’s an undeniable indication that something is amiss. In such instances, it’s imperative to conduct a meticulous assessment of your marketing strategy and its alignment with your business objectives.

Consider this scenario: you’re pouring significant resources into marketing initiatives, expecting to witness a proportional increase in leads and revenue. Yet, despite your best efforts, the numbers fail to reflect the desired outcome. This discrepancy between investment and return signals a critical flaw in your marketing approach. It’s essential to take a step back and evaluate your sales metrics with a discerning eye.

Begin by meticulously tracking your marketing expenditure and correlating it with the revenue generated. This backward analysis allows you to pinpoint any inefficiencies or bottlenecks within your sales funnel that may be impeding growth. By identifying these underlying issues, you can take proactive measures to rectify them and realign your marketing strategy with your business objectives.

However, if despite these efforts, you find yourself grappling with stagnant growth and diminishing returns, it’s a compelling indication that your marketing funds are being squandered. In such instances, it’s imperative to reassess your partnership with your current marketing agency. Your investment should yield tangible results that contribute to the sustainable growth and prosperity of your business. If your current agency fails to deliver on this promise, it may be time to explore alternative options and seek out a partner who is better equipped to meet your needs and objectives.

Remember, in the dynamic landscape of home remodeling marketing, adaptability and responsiveness are paramount. Don’t hesitate to make strategic changes to your approach if the current trajectory fails to yield the desired results. By remaining vigilant and proactive in your pursuit of marketing excellence, you can position your business for long-term success and prosperity in the competitive home remodeling industry.

Effective marketing = more leads

Marketing is the lifeblood of your home remodeling business, aiming to drive increased leads and engagement within your local community. If your marketing agency isn’t delivering tangible results in terms of lead generation, it raises significant concerns. While effective marketing doesn’t yield instant gratification, there should be discernible progress over time. It’s a gradual process that requires patience, but ultimately, the trajectory should be upward. Even a modest uptick in lead numbers signifies that your marketing efforts are gaining traction and resonating with your target audience. Therefore, it’s crucial to monitor this progress closely and recalibrate your strategy as needed to ensure sustained growth and success.

The focus of a bad agency will be on activity over results

Some agencies are in the business of pushing customers through the sales funnel as quickly as possible. These are the types of agencies notorious for using spammy marketing tactics like sending out emails, writing blog after blog without local intent, and pushing content that isn’t relevant to the geographic area. They will be so focused on activity, that they forget about delivering results. However, both you and your marketing agency’s focus should be on growing the number of qualified home remodeling leads, with the right offer and the right marketing strategy. The goal is to have people in your local service area interested in your product or service turn into paying customers. Remember, quality over quantity is key when it comes to lead generation in the home remodeling industry.

A good marketing agency will have a proven strategy to provide results for home remodeling companies like yours

An effective marketing strategy considers your buying cycle, ideal customer personas, competition, and other factors. It also considers how you can convert these prospective leads into paying clients. A good marketing agency will tell you what they will be doing and how they plan to do it. The best agencies will also be able to prove that their past clients have seen similar results. At Craftsmanship Marketing, we provide case studies with proven success stories of our home remodeling clients. If you are not seeing results after a certain period, ask your marketing agency what adjustments they have made to their strategy. If they don’t have a proven strategy to deliver results, they’re not worth your money.

If you are not seeing tangible results, you should question your agency’s expertise

If you do not see results from your marketing campaign, you should hold your marketing agency accountable for those results. It’s imperative to establish open communication channels with your agency to address any flaws or implementation issues promptly. Transparency and collaboration are key to resolving any challenges and optimizing your marketing strategy for success. Even if your marketing campaign appears flawless, the absence of tangible results suggests the need for strategic refinements and optimizations. Additionally, creating a clear timeline for expected results is essential for setting realistic expectations and holding your agency accountable. By outlining specific milestones and objectives, you empower your agency to prioritize efforts and allocate resources effectively. Requesting case studies from your agency can also provide valuable insights into their track record and capabilities. A reputable agency will gladly showcase successful outcomes and demonstrate their expertise in delivering measurable results within a specified timeframe.

Any reputable home remodeling marketing agency recognizes Google as the ultimate source for lucrative leads in the industry. If your business fails to secure a prominent position on Google’s first page for relevant searches, it’s evident that your marketing agency isn’t maximizing its potential. Consider this: when someone searches for “home remodeling company near me” or “home remodeling company in Austin,” they represent the most qualified leads for your business. These individuals are actively seeking your services and are often primed to convert into paying customers. Therefore, it’s imperative that your business appears prominently on the first page of Google search results to capitalize on these high-intent leads. Failure to do so not only cedes valuable market share to competitors but also undermines your ability to attract new customers. Given that Google commands a staggering 80% share of the search engine market, securing a coveted spot on its first page can significantly enhance your business’s visibility and attract a steady stream of new customers. Consequently, investing in a robust marketing strategy that prioritizes search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for driving a substantial return on investment (ROI) and securing long-term success in the competitive home remodeling landscape.

Good, but not great marketing

We often see generalist agencies make the fatal mistake of focusing on the tactics for home remodelers: blogging, email, social media, and retargeting.

This is not advanced marketing, this is essentially marketing basics for home remodelers. Many home remodeling companies work with agencies for years and the agency hasn’t even gotten them ranked on the first page for the search term “home remodeling company near me” on Google. Very often, the marketing agency is focused on tactics like blogging, email, social media, and retargeting, all of which are good things, but only provide marginal increases in leads generated. 

If your marketing agency is not focused on increasing your visibility on Google, they don’t understand how to market for a home remodeler. 

While there’s nothing wrong with blogging, email, social media, or retargeting, a good marketing agency will first and foremost focus on high impact marketing strategies.

We’ve encountered numerous home remodeling companies working with an agency who don’t have any visibility into which keywords their business is ranking for on Google, how many local monthly visitors they’re getting, or what their conversion rate looks like. This lack of transparency is often a telltale sign that the marketing agency is not fully committed to delivering tangible results. Underperforming agencies often obscure their shortcomings by emphasizing their activity and efforts, while neglecting to provide meaningful insights through analytics. This opacity can leave clients in the dark about the true impact of their marketing campaigns.

Consequently, if your marketing campaign is failing to meet expectations, it’s crucial for your agency to be forthright and transparent about its performance. A high-performing agency recognizes the pivotal role of analytics in shaping the trajectory of its marketing campaigns. By leveraging data-driven insights, they can make informed decisions and course corrections to optimize campaign effectiveness. When evaluating potential marketing partners, prioritizing transparency and a commitment to results is paramount. Investing in a reputable agency ensures that your marketing budget is allocated effectively, yielding tangible returns and maximizing your business’s growth potential. Remember, transparency breeds trust, and partnering with an honest and transparent agency is essential for achieving long-term marketing success.

Key analytics your agency should be regularly reporting on:

Keeping track of your marketing agency’s progress and results can be challenging as a business owner. Knowing which metrics to track and how to interpret them can take a lot of time and effort. Fortunately, there are a few key analytics that your marketing agency should be regularly reporting on, which can give you an overall picture of the health and effectiveness of your campaigns. By monitoring these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into the performance of your marketing efforts and make informed decisions about how to improve them. As a home remodeler, if your marketing agency is not reporting on these three key data points regularly, there’s a good chance they’re underperforming:

• Keyword rankings:

Customers are searching for your services every day, and it’s crucial that your business appears prominently in those searches. A proficient marketing company meticulously ensures that your chosen keywords align closely with your business’s niche, thereby maximizing your visibility to relevant audiences. It’s imperative to avoid ranking for irrelevant keywords, as this not only drains your budget but also fails to generate meaningful leads, ultimately undermining the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

• Website visitors:

As your brand’s visibility expands, you should observe a corresponding increase in website traffic on a monthly basis. However, it’s essential to focus on attracting local users who are within your service area. While a high volume of website visitors is desirable, it’s equally important to assess the quality of this traffic. Targeting users outside your service area serves little purpose and may dilute the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.

• Leads generated:

A reputable marketing agency provides comprehensive reporting on various lead generation metrics, including calls, form submissions, meetings booked, and their respective sources. By analyzing these key indicators, you gain valuable insights into the efficacy of your marketing campaigns and can make informed decisions to optimize performance. Tracking the origin of leads enables you to identify which channels are most effective in driving conversions, empowering you to allocate resources strategically and maximize your return on investment (ROI) effectively.