If you own an HVAC, plumbing, home restoration or another type of home services business, no one needs to tell you that business is booming. Improved technology and the growing number of home improvement platforms available means that the demand for skilled workers in the home service business should continue its rate of unprecedented growth for at least the next several years.
However, this has also increased competition because more home service companies are opening all the time. It’s important to think outside the box in order to remain competitive. Below are four ways to keep your company in the game and keep the revenue flowing.
Embrace New Technology Before the Competition Does
Home services is a hands-on profession that probably has you studying new tools and design methods over new technologies, to remain competitive. The problem is that your competitors will make the time and could pull customers from you by making life easier for them. For example, do you offer such things as online scheduling, online invoicing, and a learning library full of videos of interest to homeowners? If not, now is the time to start considering those ideas or outsourcing them to someone else.
Keep an Eye on Cash Flow
A home services business like yours often has greater purchasing needs due to the size and expense of equipment. Unfortunately, equipment loans can be hard to come by, even for established companies. Be sure to keep your options open and consider whether a line of credit or other flexible forms of funding would suit you better. Besides faster approval time, this helps you to keep your business and personal finances separate as alternative lenders don’t consider personal credit like banks do.
Consider Providing Additional Services
While it’s not uncommon for a home services business to offer one primary service to customers, it can come with several drawbacks. Some of these include becoming too financially dependent on one customer and risking financial loss if your service becomes outdated or obsolete.
On the other hand, adding services is the most beneficial. It helps you appeal to a broader customer base and gives you multiple streams of revenue for starters. Just make sure that you have the capital and employees to expand as well as the skills to provide the new services. You will also need to invest in a marketing campaign to introduce the new services.
Get Mobile
You’re missing out on huge opportunities if your business website isn’t already optimized for mobile searches. Approximately half of all people searching for a local business do so using a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device. Of that number, three-quarters follow through with contacting the business or making a purchase. You also can’t afford to ignore the free resource of Google My Business. This is the best way to ensure that Google returns accurate information on your business. It also provides a detailed listing for your company, compared to businesses that don’t use this feature. This includes a map from the customer’s current location directly to your business address.
Our small business consultation company is here to help your home services business grow. Please contact us with questions or if you would like additional guidance.
