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Home entertainment installation is a fast-growing business. Since the rise in home theater popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s, more homeowners are turning to professional installers for audio/video systems. This industry is big over $2.1 billion annually in the US alone.
Home-entertainment installation entrepreneurs face challenges similar to those of other service providers, but the challenges are magnified because the product is often considered too complex or expensive by potential customers.
What I mean is that well-educated customers choose a home-theater installer very carefully. In today’s market, you need to be aware of technology or products that are available and also marketing strategies to keep your business growing.
As home-entertainment installation business owners, you try to keep up with all of these media trends and sources of promotion. One thing is certain: technology isn’t slowing down. So neither should your marketing strategies. Below are the best ways you can use marketing strategies as a home-entertainment specialist to better engage customers and promote your business throughout the year.
Why Home-Entertainment Installation is a Unique Business
No office space or utilities
Your work will be done on-site at your customer’s location. While this means you’ll occasionally need to travel to visit customers, many people prefer the convenience of leaving their homes undisturbed by construction crews and installers.
Growing industry
The home-entertainment industry is growing as consumers upgrade their systems to digital and high-definition technology. As long as this trend continues, you should have plenty of opportunities to make money from this service-based business.
Easy to start
If you have some basic skills in electronics and are willing to invest in tools and equipment, the startup cost for this type of business is fairly low. You don’t need a lot of capital to get started because most of the materials are fairly inexpensive.
Growth potential
Home-entertainment businesses generally have low start-up costs and high-profit margins. As your business grows, you can add new products and services to increase your profits.
You can use your existing network
If you’ve already built up relationships with homeowners, there’s a good chance that they’ll call you first when they need new equipment installed.
Consistency is profitable
A home-entertainment installation company tends to create a lot of repeat business because customers want to know that their new equipment will work with the wiring and other systems in their homes. This is especially true if customers have had trouble with contractors in the past or don’t feel comfortable working on their systems.
Flexible schedule
If you like to work while others sleep, you can start an installation business that operates primarily during the evening hours. In addition, if you perform installations on weekends or evenings, you may have more time available to keep up with administrative tasks such as bookkeeping, handling customer complaints, and billing.
Payment types
Customers often pay in cash at the time of service or make monthly payments through credit card billing services. This can provide you with quick access to needed cash when it’s slow in coming.
No special licenses needed
Although there may be some regulations regarding permits or service areas assigned by local government agencies, there’s no licensing required for this type of business unless it involves electrical work or other specialized areas that require licensing.
It’s an outdoor job
You’ll spend hours setting up outdoor speakers and running wires through trees or across lawns. This may seem like a hassle at first, but once you get into the swing of things, you’ll realize it’s worth it. It’s also good exercise.
Main Business Challenges
It’s a physical job
You’ll be doing a lot of heavy lifting and moving equipment around. You will have to carry heavy items from your van into customers’ homes and install them where the customer indicates. Since you won’t have any assistance, it could be exhausting work, but it’s all part of being in business for yourself.
You’ll need a variety of technical skills
You’ll have to know how to wire up a home theater system in a way that won’t cause damage to any existing equipment, and will give new devices optimal line-of-sight access to the Internet and other networks. You’ll have to be familiar with all of the popular streaming services and be able to recommend them based on your clients’ needs. And while you can’t possibly test every single device in existence, you should at least be familiar with popular brands and models so that if a customer mentions one by name, you can tell them whether or not it’s compatible with their current setup.
Financing your initial equipment investment
This can be the biggest challenge when starting. If you can pick up some work on the side or have savings that you can use to buy your initial equipment, great! But if not, you may need to take out a loan or line of credit to finance your build-out costs.
Partnering with consumers
There are a lot of consumers out there who simply do not understand the work that is involved in installing an entertainment system. They think that it is as simple as plugging in a few wires and then they can start enjoying their new system. That is not always the case. Before you even get to the hard part of installing wires, you have to deal with the customer service issues. Many customers try to tell you how to install their system and what kind of wires you should use because they feel like they know enough about it. You might have to deal with customers who do not want to pay for installation, or because they want it done within a certain amount of time. This can be a challenge, but when you get past these issues, you will be fine.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Since you won’t be on the clock all day, you’ll usually have a lot of free time. Think about how you could utilize this time in a socially active way.
- It has a decent barrier of entry.
- There’s a real growth opportunity with this business.
- The business is recession-proof.
- It’s easy to scale up and down during slower business months.
- You get to meet a lot of new people.
- You get rewarded when you see someone love their entertainment package.
- Having the perks of being able to set your team and pay them commissions.
- Picking the clients you want to work with!
Cons
- Handling a growing business.
- It’s lean times until your business gets off the ground.
- Job security is limited since you cannot control the economy or house sales.
Best Marketing Strategies
Offer a variety of services
There are various types of home-entertainment installation services that you can market to your target customers.
Some of these services include:
Home theater setup and repair: if your clients have an existing home theater system, you can help them with set up and repair services. Professional home-theater installers also offer consultation services wherein they recommend new equipment based on the needs of the clients. They can also help in troubleshooting issues such as video or audio distortion.
Home automation: home automation helps in controlling security systems, entertainment systems, lighting, and temperature settings via a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet. Home automation is a ticket to saving time and money while making life more comfortable at the same time.
Wireless media streaming: this service helps to access all sorts of media content wirelessly across home devices. This service allows users to play music and video on their televisions using smartphones, tablets, desktops, and more without the need for wires or cables.
Audio/video control systems: these are wireless controllers for home theaters, TVs, and other devices that help users manage audio and video settings from one location rather than fiddling with buttons on individual devices.
Wireless integration: this involves installing wireless speakers into the existing audio system.
Print advertising
Print advertising can be an important component of a home-entertainment installation marketing strategy, building on top of your ad creative, web content, and social media communications.
Here are some tips on how to make print work for your business:
1. Know what you’re getting into — Most people aren’t aware of the costs involved in getting their product advertised in print. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you fully understand what your costs might be for everything from design and printing to ad placement and distribution.
2. Don’t give up on digital — Print advertising should be part of an overall marketing campaign that includes a significant digital component. Use online media to drive readers to your print ad, and vice versa.
3. Include a strong call to action — Make sure you have a clear message outlining how people can contact you or visit your website by including this information in both your print ads and online communications.
4. Keep it consistent — Your website, social media pages, and printed materials should all look and feel the same.
Outdoor signage
There are many ways to use signage to promote a home-entertainment installation business. From simple yard signs to larger, more elaborate ones, the options are nearly limitless.
Here are some tips for using outdoor signage effectively in your marketing campaign:
1. Make sure it’s visible from the street. The sign should be placed in an area where drivers can see it while they’re driving past. This can mean placing it near the street, in an eye-catching place on your property, or both.
2. Use a variety of signs. Yard signs work well, but you may also want to consider hanging banners and window clings. Signs alone aren’t enough — you should try to incorporate other marketing methods as well. For instance, you could post flyers at the local library or coffee shop and include a mention of your business on your website.
3. Experiment with placement and size. Take time to experiment with different placement options before deciding where to put your sign. You might need several signs to reach as many people as possible without making yourself look like a spammer. Signs that are placed too close together look unprofessional, so don’t forget to leave a little breathing room if you decide to add more than one of them!
Provide free consultations
Of course, if you’re selling home entertainment installation services, providing free consultations is one of your most effective marketing strategies. When you provide free consultations, potential customers become more comfortable with the idea that you’re there to help them.
Telling potential customers about the services you offer is one thing; showing them what you can do for them is another. Free consultations are a great way to do this and make them realize the benefits of hiring your company for their entertainment installation needs.
You might be wondering how providing free consultations can help your business. Here are three reasons:
1. It allows potential customers to see what your company offers. A consultation is not just a meet-and-greet between you and a potential customer. You also get an opportunity to show them what kind of work you do. By taking them through the process of planning their home-entertainment installation project, they’ll get a feel for what it would be like if they were to hire your company. Once they see everything that has to go into their project, they’ll know whether or not they want to proceed with it and will be more likely to hire you in the future.
2. It allows you to sell yourself and your company’s services without making it feel like a sales pitch.
3. Providing free home inspection consultations is an excellent way to build goodwill among prospective clients and increase sales later on.
Advertise at festivals that attract families
Family-friendly festivals are a perfect way to drum up business for home-entertainment installation services.
These events can be a great opportunity for you to reach out to new customers as well as build on relationships with current clients. Tailor your marketing efforts to the audience of the festival. If it’s geared toward women, consider adding some flowers and other “girly” touches to your display. If it’s aimed at children, have some fun with your display and maybe even hand out toys or small gifts.
Make sure your display is portable if you’ll be sharing space with other vendors. A sleek, compact booth that doesn’t require a lot of space is a must; you don’t want your competition taking up all of the real estates at the event.
Also, make sure that it’s easy to assemble and break down; ask questions about what kind of space you’ll have and make sure you can get everything set up in time for opening day.
Set up early so you have time to arrange everything before the crowds arrive. You can greet visitors as they stop by, answer any questions and make sure they know who you are and why they should choose your home-entertainment installation service.
Offer free in-home evaluations
Offering free in-home evaluations is a marketing strategy that can lead to higher sales. It will also help you gather information about your customers, which you can use to personalize your offers and improve customer service.
If you’re thinking of offering free in-home evaluations as part of your marketing strategy, here are some tips on how to do it successfully.
Start by letting your customers know that you’re offering home entertainment installation services and what they’ll get if they schedule an appointment with you. Include this information in all of your marketing materials, including email campaigns and direct mail pieces. Make sure that everyone who answers the phone or is involved with customer service knows how to handle in-home evaluation requests.
When a customer calls to schedule an appointment, make sure he or she understands the offer. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, use scripts when talking to customers on the phone and make sure that everyone who answers the phone is familiar with them.
Make sure that your installers know how to conduct a home entertainment evaluation. This will help them get the process started quickly and smoothly so that customers aren’t disappointed if their installation takes longer than expected.
Follow-up after in-home evaluations is conducted to make sure customers are happy with the results.
In-store product demonstrations
You might not know those in-store product demonstrations are a compelling home-entertainment installation marketing strategy. Typically, these demos are done by the sales staff to show off the latest electronics and speakers to customers, but they can also be used to show customers how you can take their home entertainment system beyond what they currently have.
Here are some tips on how to use product demonstrations as a marketing tool:
Experiment with multiple approaches. Product demonstrations can be anything from 24-hour in-store “pop-up” shops to weekend events that last several weeks. Try different lengths of time and different promotional events to see what works best for your business.
Incorporate other strategies into your demonstrations. If you’re running a weekend event, consider offering free popcorn or similar snacks to encourage people to hang around. You could also sell products from companies you like, such as speakers, cables or headphones.
Focus on a specific group of customers. If you’re targeting audiophiles, host a demo at an electronics store where you can get direct feedback from them. If you’re more interested in families with kids, look for an opportunity at a children’s clothing store or toy store.
Consider the time of year. If it’s summertime and kids are out of school, running a product demonstration during the week is probably not going to be very effective. Instead, host an event over the weekend.
Direct mail
Direct mail campaigns are great for reaching both highly-targeted audiences and specific demographics. Through the use of customized direct mail pieces, you can direct individualized messages to specific groups or individuals.
Direct mail is a powerful marketing tool and there are a variety of ways that you can integrate it into your home-entertainment installation marketing strategy.
Here are some tips on how to use direct mail as a home-entertainment installation marketing strategy:
1. Start by focusing on your target market.
2. Send the right message.
3. Use a reputable mailing list company.
4. Be sure to include the right information in the package.
5. Create a sense of urgency.
6. Don’t forget to measure your results.
7. Test different offers and messages and keep what works.
8. Consider other channels as well.
Market yourself on social media channels
As a home-entertainment installation professional, you know your business is unique and fills a special niche in the market. You also know that reaching new clients is essential to your long-term success.
Without new clients, you have no business. Almost every company in the world has turned to social media for marketing purposes.
Social media has expanded beyond Facebook and Twitter to include Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, and more. With so many opportunities to reach customers, it can be easy to get overwhelmed
Here are some tips for using social media for home entertainment installation marketing:
1. Decide on a specific goal for each social network you participate in and create an action plan for reaching that goal.
2. Choose the platforms and networks where your target audience spends the most time.
3. Determine which networks provide the best return on investment (ROI) for your business.
4. Set up profiles on multiple social media platforms (you can use Hootsuite to manage multiple profiles from one dashboard)
5. Start attracting prospects by creating quality content that educates and entertains your target market.
Build relationships with other businesses
Business relationships are key to a successful home-entertainment installation marketing strategy.
Many clients want quality products and services, but they also want quality relationships with the companies they do business with. When you build long-lasting relationships with other businesses, you gain the trust of your clients, and they become your most loyal customers.
Building the relationships you’ll need to get your home-entertainment installation marketing strategy off the ground takes time and effort. While building these relationships is not a one-time job, it’s important to make connections with as many people as possible.
You should consider adding the following tips to your plans:
Meet with local businesses in the area and invite them out for lunch or coffee. Get to know them and learn about their business so you can create an effective marketing strategy together.
Treat everyone you meet as if they are going to be a valuable business partner and not just someone who buys your services. Doing this will make it more likely that they will want to work with you in the future.
Look for industries that are related to your fields of expertise, like trades, retail, or construction. Make sure you find businesses that are in your geographic area and focus on expanding your reach within those industries so you can better help clients who need services in more than one area of expertise.
Advertise on industry-related publications, like newsletters and magazines, to get your name out there in the industry. This allows other companies to see what you have offered as a potential service or product for their customers without having to ask for information every time they need something new.
Final Thoughts
Your plan needs to correspond with the best home-entertainment installation marketing strategies.
Only this way will you be able to expand your client base and implement an effective marketing strategy that is based on analyzing your strengths and weaknesses. Not one-size-fits-all; you need something that will specifically suit your business model.
You’re unique, your home entertainment installation services are unique. Turn the challenges into advantages and market efficiently.
