The home improvement trend that took off during the pandemic continues as housing prices have some homeowners choosing to renovate instead of buying a new home, presenting a home services marketing opportunity to acquire new clients. In fact, 50% of homeowners indicated plans to renovate between August 2022 and February of 2023.
- Nearly 70% of homeowners say cost is the biggest barrier to making improvements.
- 58% of homeowners are looking to repair or replace damaged HVAC units, many with the goal of lowering utility bills due to rising energy costs.
Targeting homeowners as they plan their home improvement projects and make purchasing decisions is key. Consumers seeking to make home renovations respond to advertising across a variety of channels. A multi-channel approach with coordinated direct mail and digital campaigns will drive engagement and activation.
Advertising response in the past 12 months by homeowners making home renovations:
Here are three home services marketing tips to help plan your strategy moving into 2023:
Tip #1: Lower Your Cost Per Lead and Acquire New Customers with Multichannel Home Services Marketing Campaigns
The average cost per lead for home improvement and repair providers often exceeds $100 and varies widely by service type, from $85 for general home improvements and repairs up to $275 for HVAC service providers. A multi-channel approach with online and digital components raises awareness while direct mail increases activation and purchase intent, helping providers acquire customers at a lower cost.
Mspark’s unparalleled relationship with our national audience in the small towns and rural communities we serve stems from the value they place on our direct mail solutions. This relationship enables us to create offer-driven action for our clients. With consistently high response rates, our direct mail advertising solutions are the foundation of an effective multichannel marketing strategy.
Did you know?
- Combining direct mail with digital ads boosts response rates by up to 118% and conversion rates up to 28% over print alone.
- 92% of consumers are driven to online activity after receiving direct mail. Consumers of all ages are more likely to make a purchase after receiving both print and digital ads.
Tip #2: Engage Homeowners as They Purchase a New Home and Move
35 million people move each year. Engage homeowners who move into your markets at the right time—as they make purchase decisions around their new home—to acquire new customers and retain them for life.
Reach them faster than the competition to reach them when it matters most and identify more new movers in your trade area to ensure you don’t miss out on any opportunity for a customer.
Reach Movers Faster Than Your Competition
- Data Feed, Validation Process, Speed to Print: We receive a validated list of new movers daily. Once that list is received, an automated process identifies all movers that fall within our client’s defined trade area. That final list of new movers is sent to the printer within hours of receiving the daily data feed. The printer then prints and turns those pieces around to the mail stream within 24 hours.
- Days to Mailbox: Mspark uses First Class postage, which ensures the fastest delivery times for your message. Other mover programs use 3rd class mail which typically takes a week or longer to arrive.Many competitive mover programs use a co-op package that includes multiple advertisers. The standard for these programs is to go to market once a month or quarterly, meaning your message arrives long past their move-in date.
We utilize MORE sources than the standard mover program, which means two very important things:
- The number of data sources allows us to identify as many new movers as possible, meaning you reach 15% more than the competition. These triggers are based on consumer actions in the marketplace and the timing of when they take these actions.
- NCOA (National Change of Address form) – only 30% of movers complete an NCOA. Mover programs that rely on this as their data point are missing 70% of new movers. Additionally, completion of these forms depends on the consumer, meaning they can occur at any time pre or post move. This creates an issue with the timeliness of the data and where they are in the moving process.
- Utility, Phone and Cable connects create a higher quality data source, as these are standard services established by movers and some of the first steps completed after purchasing a home.
- The number of sources helps validate a true mover. Other mover programs lack the data sources and validation processes needed to complete this step. Reaching 15% more movers can mean more revenue.
Tip #3: Turn Yesterday’s Browser into Today’s Buyer with Direct Mail Retargeting
American brands spend $200B annually on digital advertising to drive website traffic, yet 90% of that site traffic remains unknown, according to Zenith Media reports. Even more confounding is the 98% of website traffic that leaves without making a purchase, filling out a form or signing up.
Did you know?
- 70% of website visitors who are retargeted are more likely to convert.
- Conversion rates increase 300-400% when cart abandoners are targeted specifically.
- Direct mail retargeting response rates are as much as 25% higher than digital retargeting and mail alone.
Check out our home services case studies to learn how other clients have achieved results from a targeted, multichannel home services marketing approach. Connect with us today to plan your strategy.
Sources: Family Handyman, August 2022; AdMall AudienceSCAN 2022; Millward Brown Print Campaign Analysis; Simplifi; USPS Consumer Mail Moments 2021, Summit Research; Navistone