Home improvement marketing is more than paying for a few ads and hoping that the right homeowners will see your services. If you want to maximize your marketing budget, then it starts with understanding the homeowner buyer journey.
First, getting into a homeowner’s psychology will help you understand why people spend their money on home improvement projects. Then, you can cater your marketing efforts to touch on the most important talking points that bring in leads – and convert these leads to buyers.
Buyer Journey Phase 1: Finding Inspiration
In the first phase of the buyer journey, homeowners are looking for inspiration to guide their home improvement projects. These ideas fuel the motivation to move forward and hire a contractor.
Usually, homeowners are looking to others for inspiration:
- Friends and Family: They have conversations with trusted people to get ideas for home improvement projects. Homeowners might like what they see in other homes and want to recreate similar designs in their projects.
- Online Resources: The internet is a great place to look for inspiration. Homeowners often start their buyer journey searching for ideas on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and Google searches.
Once a homeowner finds their inspiration, then they are excited to move forward with their dream project. From there, they move into the next part of the homeowner buyer journey: Investigation.
Buyer Journey Phase 2: Research and Investigation
Inspiration sparks ideas and possibilities. Then, homeowners want to explore the realities of these home improvement projects. When a homeowner moves from inspiration, the next steps are researching and investigating how much their project might cost and how they can move forward.
This phase of the buyer journey is when homeowners start to look for local contractors in the area. Often, financing options and cost considerations play a significant role in deciding how to move forward with the project.
This phase is the ideal time for you to connect with homeowners who are actively searching for the home improvement services you provide. According to our most recent homeowner survey, we found that 56 percent of homeowners spend 1-5 hours researching their project across all trades. Check out our latest article to learn more about how homeowners research and plan for their home improvement projects.
Buyer Journey Phase 3: Evaluation and Conversation
Now that homeowners are done with research and have information about their options, they are ready to evaluate their findings by communicating with multiple home improvement contractors. This phase is where the competition heats up because most homeowners will be talking with numerous businesses and comparing several quotes.
Not only are homeowners looking for the best price, but they are also looking for the best value, which is a key factor when it comes to closing the deal. In these conversations, homeowners compare project details, such as:
- Timeline and duration
- What is involved in the project
- Contractor reputation and previous results
- Potential schedule delays
- Online reviews from previous customers
- Customer experience with the contractor
- Contractor specialties and expertise
Homeowners want to know if you have experience with the type of project they need and the results for similar projects.
In this phase, you need to be proactive about selling yourself and showing how your business differs from others in the area. Establish your company values to build trust with each homeowner. Help homeowners learn about your company’s history and your brand, which will move each lead closer to the point where they are ready to hire your team.
Effective Lead Generation Strategies
Before moving through these buyer journey phases, you need to implement a solid lead generation strategy to connect with homeowners in your area. Our team at Modernize is here to help. We will bring in the leads, and then you can implement these homeowner buyer journey strategies to close the deals.
