All Forum Posts by: Chloe Philipp

@Mike Reynolds That’s a great story about how online marketing helped propel your business and brand to great lengths. Would you do it again, but in a more local market - not running simultaneous, multi-state projects?

@Brian Garrett Yes and no. It would be similar to InvestorCarrot in the sense that the agency would be designing custom websites and creating marketing strategies, but InvestorCarrot works with real estate investors specifically for wholesaling deals. It is a completely different value proposition for a completely different demographic.

@Brenda Logan No, this would not work like HomeAdvisor. The agency would be working one-on-one with the contractor company to design a website and develop an online marketing strategy tailored specifically for their needs and goals. 

Thank you all for your input and feedback!

Moving forward with the idea and have a few responses below:

@Aaron K. Thank you, that makes sense. The internet is not usually the best place to start when looking for a contractor. The reason it’s not a good place to start is because good contractors are not easy to find on the internet. When we go out for lunch, we look up reviews and referrals online. It seems counterintuitive that we are not afforded the same opportunity when spending large amounts of money on a quality remodel.

@Jonathan Smith Your point echoes the sentiments of many contractors and builders interviewed prior to pursuing the idea. Rather than play middle-man for a team of contractors, the agency would simply strengthen their web presence (or build it out for the first time) so they are able to directly vet leads. We are not looking to cut into contractor business because ultimately the more middle-men and subs, the higher the cost. Instead we will work directly with them to tailor their websites and organic Google traffic to attract the most relevant clients, which helps to eliminate the price shoppers.

@Mike Reynolds Precisely my thoughts! The FB page from 6 months ago was the start of a good idea that never really gained traction. By having a dedicated agency that specializes in contractor branding, new content can be put out even during seasonal lulls. You wouldn’t hire a plumber to change out your electrical panel, so why would you try to have a general contractor build your website or market your web presence? Having a specialist makes the entire process seamless and keeps leads coming in when referrals dry up due to seasonal changes.

@Matthew Paul Thank you for your input. What you are saying makes sense, but the marketing agency is a resource to simply help contractors build out their brand asset value. The agency wouldn’t act like a general contractor or take any markups from the job. We are here to help contractors achieve their business goals, whether that goal is to expand and take on more jobs or to generate leads with higher paying projects. The goals contractors choose for their businesses are entirely up to them.

Even if a GC has an amazing reputation and referrals coming in daily - that isn’t a business. That is a single point of failure that is only as sustainable as that individual contractor. By wrapping a great GC around a brand, you’re creating an asset. You’re building out a system that will sustain itself long after the GC has retired.

@Wesley Davis Thank you for the kind and encouraging words. Great work on getting your Dad setup with a website and Facebook page. That’s an awesome start!

@Kim Allard Sounds like a great value proposition. Do you happen to know any specific companies that do this?

@Aaron K. Definitely agree that starting out with discounted services and word of mouth referrals is the best option in order to target those good contractors that may be interested in our services. The biggest challenge is going to be convincing these contractors that an online presence is important for the future of their business. How do you typically look for and find good contractors?

@Leo Poon Thank you for your response. It seems like Thumbtack and Angieslist are the type of sites that target less price conscious homeowners with smaller tickets and a one-time project. Investors and builders should be the target market for a contractor as they spend more money and have ongoing work as long as the contractor produces a quality product. From our data collection interviews with small/medium sized contractor companies, the downside of Angieslist and Thumbtack are the high commission/listing fees and lack of ownership in web presence. A website is an asset for a business and having a page on Angieslist is a temporary solution and can be removed by Angieslist moderators at any point. How has your experience been with using contractors from Thumbtack and Angieslist?

@Mike Reynolds Think that a commission based service would turn away a majority of contractors, but coming up with an affordable price that delivers a quality product is extremely important. Do the majority of contractors you come across have a website? Do you ever Google contractors when searching for a service provider? 

@Account Closed

@Aaron K. Thanks for the feedback, your point makes a lot of sense. From what I’ve gathered about the contractor industry, good contractors are so busy being good contractors and working on projects, they don’t have time to effectively market themselves to potential clients. After working a job all day, they don’t have the time or the additional resources to implement a successful marketing strategy. Most contractors are at the mercy of their direct network, which is mainly composed of word of mouth referrals. A person’s network determines their net worth, right? If these contractors could establish an online presence and build out their network, they would be able to reach more investors (like the ones on BP) looking for their services.

It is very difficult for most people, especially investors to pair up with good contractors because of the inability of most to market themselves properly. Today, people use the internet to find almost everything. Why wouldn’t they turn to the internet to find an affordable, investment friendly contractor?

Hello BP community!

After doing my last couple of remodels, a crazy idea hit me. Not sure if the concept is groundbreaking or if I'm reinventing the wheel, but the contractors working the job had been doing the same kitchen and bathroom remodel for the past few years. These guys had the skills and organization to build entire homes, but the only thing preventing them from doing so was their inability to reach new customers. If they could create a marketing strategy that would revamp their websites and social media channels, along with incorporating search engine optimization (SEO), they would have the ability to generate more leads and convert those leads into more sales/deals.

I’m looking into starting a marketing agency dedicated specifically to contractors. The company would help these contractors convert leads into deals, but also allow them to bid better projects and take on bigger jobs. Most contractors don't have time to do all of this themselves, so the agency would provide all the services for them. The services would include things like updating and managing their websites, creating profiles on and managing social media channels, and providing SEO services to help generate traffic to their websites. Does this sound like something contractors would find beneficial for their businesses?