Disaster restoration marketing involves getting your business seen and known and securing a mind share that lasts among the customer base. To create and implement a successful digital marketing plan for restoration companies now involves taking a specialized approach (what works for your business specifically).
More than ever, the disaster restoration industry is experiencing an influx of new businesses. That’s a signal that there are viable business opportunities in this field. But it also means you have to beef up your online marketing strategies to lock in your market share.
At Klutch Growth, we have done marketing for disaster restoration businesses, and I must confess, it wasn’t easy. But we learned what works. Our recommended online marketing strategies are built on experience and creativity.
Disaster restoration is a peculiar home service vertical, unlike plumbing or HVAC or roofing where homeowners require their services on occasion. Restoration services, on the other hand, is not an “everyday-business,” as you only come into play after a catastrophic incident. It means that disaster restoration business owners have to be more strategic.
For restoration businesses, you need a strategy that is sustainable; you can only say you have a successful internet marketing strategy when it stands the test of time. You need a strategy that converts prospective clients into leads. In other words, you have to get homeowners, insurance agents, and property managers to be familiar with your brand. Then, when the need arises, you can nurture those leads into customers.
To achieve your business goals in the restoration industry you need to build relationships; long-lasting business relationships. This is the core of our strategy at Klutch Growth.
Let’s break it down into the next seven points. 🚀
When drawing up marketing campaigns, you need to play the long game. Doing what every other restoration business on the block does won’t set you apart much. This doesn’t mean you have to do everything different, that would be almost impossible.
You only need one or two ideas that other local restoration companies aren’t adopting. For example, if your current strategy involves sharing branded marketing materials within your community, that’s great, but a lot of your competitors might do that as well. So, sponsoring a community project could be what sets you apart.
At the heart of harnessing business opportunities in the restoration industry is building strong relationships with the industry stakeholders. You have to see your digital marketing strategy as a means to make great connections that would eventually become your restoration clients down the line.
Customer acquisition starts with holding genuine conversations around property maintenance and preservation. Showing that your business cares is crucial for gaining loyal customers. Here’s how we recommend approaching this:
For homeowners, the most common restoration need is water damage mitigation. So, before you market as a water damage restoration business, you can educate homeowners and communities on how to avoid water damage incidents in homes. Talking about your restoration process alone would only show potential customers that you’re all about your business bottomline. And you can apply this to any other disaster restoration services.
Property and facility managers take care of housing, office building, commercial hubs, and other structures. Damages happen in these facilities as well. So, building a rapport with these managers can serve your business in the long run.
But you have to know that you’re not the only business talking to these people. Sometimes, cutting a commission deal with them can be a leverage to help you close these commercial clients.
While home service business owners are not your direct potential clients, they are actually great referral sources. For example, flooring companies often refer restoration businesses when they need carpet cleaners. So, building a relationship with businesses in vertical markets is strongly advised.
Working with insurance agents can be tedious because they have so many policies and processes. But if you can broker a deal with an insurance company, you can be optimistic about getting business on a regular basis.
Tip: Be sure to look over the fine prints of any deal you’re making with insurance companies. It’s strongly advised that you get legal counsel, so that your business interests aren’t sidelined just to cut costs.
Whether you get a referral from facility managers or you’re working with players in the insurance industry, one thing cuts across board, restoration services are held to a high standard. Doing a great job is a restoration company marketing strategy in itself because everyone talks in this industry. So, you should strive to deliver great customer service at all times.
You can expect customer reviews for every job you do. So, you need to treat each project as a marketing campaign. Negative reviews would hurt your business a lot. The same way word-of-mouth from loyal customers is the surest way to land new clients in the restoration industry. You should also curate every online review from those on your Google My Business page to your business social media profile.
In a business like disaster restoration where time is paramount, being prepared at all times is needed. When it comes to marketing, being proactive means you’re gathering mindshare with potential customers long before the rainy day. You would do this by content marketing.
You don’t necessarily have to spend all your advertising dollars to earn mindshare. What you need is consistency. Talk about your mitigation and restoration processes using blogs and a solid SEO strategy. With the right search engine optimization checklist, you can create a long-lasting online presence.
Don’t wait on search engines only, extend your reach to social media platforms by repurposing content from your blog. And for conversion rate optimization, you can use email marketing to nurture leads.
Tip: Most disaster restoration businesses talk about disaster mitigation only. But discussing how to protect property against disaster isn’t going to affect your conversions. It’s a much better way to build trust.
As players in the disaster restoration business, we all know that it’s important to strike while the iron is hot. When natural disasters happen, a lot of players come onto the field. So, you need to have a “disaster preparedness plan,” a roadmap of sorts that itemizes the marketing channels to use whenever the need arises.
We recommend using Google Ads as the major channel for disaster restoration marketing. We choose Google Ads because a lot of homeowners turn to search engines in times like this. Unlike some other marketing agencies, we don’t just stick with Google Ads in high-traffic periods like this. We would plug every advertising avenue you have to generate good business for your company.
Attending networking events, hosting seminars for property managers, sponsoring CE (continuing education) classes, sharing your business cards, are all conventional marketing efforts. If you have the resources to implement a commercial strategy like this, by all means, go for it. Disaster restoration is a competitive industry. So, you need an effective strategy that maximizes all business opportunities and builds new customer relationships.
As I hinted before, your disaster restoration marketing ideas need to move beyond search engines alone. Your content creation plan needs to involve building your brand’s social media presence.
Tip: Video content is all the rave right now. So, you should ensure your social media marketing effort benefits from video content. The best part is that videos are easily shareable. You can use one video on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and it would perform well across board.
Also, you should pay attention to your Google Business Profiles as it’s an effective part of search engine marketing. A lot of restoration contractors get considerable business from optimized Google My Business and Google Maps profiles.
Klutch Growth specializes in marketing for restoration companies and understands the importance of reaching the right audience. Our digital marketing experts will analyze your target market, develop buyer personas, and create customized marketing strategies that effectively target and attract your ideal clients. By optimizing your online presence and implementing targeted advertising campaigns, we’ll help you maximize your marketing efforts and connect with the right customers.
Our team of digital marketing specialists can provide you with innovative and creative disaster restoration marketing ideas tailored to your specific industry. From website design to SEO strategies, we’ll help your restoration company make a lasting impression and attract more ideal clients.
At Klutch Growth, we have a deep understanding of the water damage restoration industry. Our tailored marketing strategies, proven track record, and client testimonials demonstrate our ability to generate high-quality restoration leads and boost your business online.