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Home inspectors are a necessity for home buyers. However, it can be difficult to get clients. This is because most people looking to buy real estate don’t want to pay you. So, how do you get around this? How do you get your business in front of the right people when most aren’t looking for what you provide? That’s where marketing and lead generation comes into play. By putting the right marketing funnel in place, you can get more clients without having to spend your money on advertising or pay-per-click campaigns.
You’re running a home-inspection service and want to bring in more clients, but you’re not sure how. This guide intends to help you come up with some marketing strategies that can help you attract more potential clients.
Why Home-Inspection Services is a Unique Business
It’s a growth industry
The number of home-inspection services has more than doubled in the past 10 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As more people become aware of the importance of having their homes inspected before purchase or sale, demand will likely continue to grow.
It’s consistent
A home inspection typically takes less than three hours and costs the customer between $200 and $300. That makes it an affordable service for most customers and a steady source of income for your business.
You can choose your work schedule
Home inspections usually require a physical visit with the client, so that means you have to be available on weekends and evenings when most clients are available to meet with you. But scheduling is flexible enough that you’re not locked into any one time slot every week.
No need for an office or storefront
You don’t need any office space if you run a home inspection business, so that saves you money along with any utilities that come along with it. If you have an office at home, it’s already paid for and there are no other expenses involved like maintenance and cleaning fees.
Earning Potential
One of the main benefits of running a home inspection service business is the potential earning capacity that it offers. Although many variables determine whether or not you will earn a certain amount, the potential earnings are high. This makes it more likely that you’ll earn enough money to support yourself as well as your family while also making a profit at the same time.
Helping people
Home inspections help buyers make better decisions about their homes, which means they’ll be more satisfied with their purchases in the long run.
It’s a low startup cost opportunity
The cost of starting a home inspection business is low as you only need to invest in basic equipment and tools such as thermal camera and infrared camera, digital camera, measuring tapes, calculator, and so on. You don’t have to pay any fee or rent since you can use your home as your office and there is no specific location where the inspection should be done.
It’s a relatively easy process
Once you have all the necessary tools, it will take only about 30 minutes for one to two hours for an inspection depending on the size of the house or building that needs inspecting. This means that you can do several inspections in just one day and get paid for each one of them.
Home-Inspection Services Business Challenges
Licensing
Most states require home inspectors to be licensed, which means taking classes and passing exams on topics such as building codes, electricity, and plumbing. To find out if you need to be licensed where you live, contact your state’s real estate commission or licensing board.
Tough to schedule appointments
The effects of a downturn are compounded by the nature of running a home-inspection service business. The service industry is inherently feast or famine, and you have to be prepared for lean times when your competitors are getting all the work they can handle and you’re not.
Pros and Cons of Home-Inspection Services
Pros
- You get to work with people, make money and help others.
- If you live in an area where there are many houses, then you can be sure that there will always be work for you.
- You do not have to have any special training or certification.
- There are no age restrictions on becoming a home inspector.
Cons
- Keeping up with technology.
- Passing the home inspection license test.
Best Home-Inspection Services Marketing Strategies
Attend home shows
Home shows are an excellent marketing tool for home inspection services. They’re great places to meet potential clients and get your name out into the community. You can also establish relationships with other businesses that offer complementary services, like flooring installation, paint stores, and landscaping companies.
Don’t neglect your booth. Many attendees will pass by your booth without stopping to talk to you, so be prepared to make the initial contact. Ask passersby if they need a home inspector, then hand them your business card and invite them to stop by your booth at their convenience if they would like more information.
Don’t forget about the food court. This is where most of the action takes place at home shows, so set up a table and use it to distribute flyers or cards for clients who need a home inspection but don’t have time to come back to your booth. Some people might even want to schedule appointments on the spot!
Bring a friend or two. The more people you have working a show, the more clients you’ll meet and the more business you’ll do. Having multiple representatives from your company will also help you establish multiple lines of communication with potential clients and help you capture referrals from current customers.
Give out freebies. Give away something small with your contact information on it so people remember who you are. It could be as simple as a magnet with your company’s name and phone number, or it could be something larger like an ice scraper with your company’s name printed on it. Just make sure that whatever you give away is something that will remind people of your company when they use it.
Build your presence on social media sites
Social media is now an essential part of the home inspection marketing strategy. The most important thing to remember about social media is that it’s not going anywhere.
It’s a permanent part of the web and has become an important part of how people communicate with one another.
What this means for you is that if you’re not using social media in your home inspection marketing strategy, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. If you’ve been putting off creating a presence on social media, here are some tips to get you started;
Tailor your approach to each site. For example, Pinterest may be the ideal place for posting photos of your work, while LinkedIn is better for posts about industry news or job opportunities. If you apply the same content across all of your networks, none of them will work as well as they could.
Monitor your presence regularly. You don’t need to spend hours every day on social media, but do take time every week or two to make sure you’re posting something useful and relevant. Posting new content is only half the battle; you also need to monitor comments and respond appropriately when they come in.
Share other people’s content along with your own. This doesn’t have to mean sharing everything that comes your way — just make sure that a significant portion of the content you share comes from other sources rather than just reposting material from your site.
Design a professional website
Home inspection services can make use of a professional website in different ways. The website can be the main stage where people learn about the service and its capabilities.
A website may also be used as the main sales channel to generate leads, appointments, and sales. Whether you choose to present your company on a single page or multiple pages, it is important to ensure that your website contains all the necessary information that is required by potential clients.
The design and content have a direct impact on the conversion rates of your website and thereby on the number of leads generated. If you neglect the design and content then you will not be able to beat the competition and grow your business.
When it comes to designing a website for home inspection services, many considerations must be kept in mind;
1. Use a clean and minimalistic look with no extra stuff.
2. Use high-quality images.
3. Make sure the site loads quickly.
4. Have a blog on your site.
5. Keep your site up to date.
6. Make sure you have an email sign-up option.
Host webinars
There are many benefits to hosting webinars for home-inspection services. Not only do they generate leads, but they can also drive traffic to your website, build your brand and improve client engagement.
Hosting webinars is one way to educate potential clients about your services. Here are some tips for hosting a successful webinar as a home inspection service:
Pick a topic. Consider hosting multiple webinars throughout the year about various topics related to home inspections. For example, you could host one about how to pick a contractor or how to choose between a home warranty and an inspection. This allows you to touch base with clients on many different issues. You’ll also find that it is easier to promote these topics than it is one specific topic because of the variety of information covered in each webinar.
Prepare an outline of your presentation ahead of time. Make sure it’s not too long, and don’t be afraid to include screenshots and images.
Tie the webinar to something else that is going on in your business or your industry. If you’re offering a webinar about the home inspection process, for example, tie it into National Home Inspection Month or National Homeownership Month.
Let people know when you’re going to schedule your webinar at least two weeks in advance. A week before, send out a reminder email with the link to register and a discount code if you have one. Send out a reminder email on the day of the webinar as well.
Record your webinar. Be sure to state upfront that you’re recording the event so there are no surprises later on when someone’s video pops up online! Recordings can also be used for future promotion or follow-up sales efforts.
Be prepared for questions throughout your presentation and make sure you answer them thoroughly, either during the presentation or afterward in another email or during a phone call.
Create an e-course
What is an e-course? An e-course is a series of lessons, information, and resources that are delivered to your customers in electronic format. It can be used as a sales tool in conjunction with your home inspection services, or even as a stand-alone product you can use to build your brand and increase your online visibility.
In the past, you might have considered creating an e-course to help you market your home inspection business. There are many reasons why this might be a good strategy for you, but no doubt you will want to ensure that it’s worth the time and effort involved.
Why create an e-course?
Build credibility and authority; online by showing that you know what you’re talking about. It’s also a low-cost way of educating people on a topic. This can lead to higher consultancy fees down the line, or even opportunities to teach in person.
Stand out from the competition; With an e-course, you’re teaching whatever it is that makes you unique, and that means there’s going to be some overlap with what others are teaching. You don’t want to simply re-invent the wheel here — look at the content that’s already out there, and figure out what parts of it you could make better by adding your spin on things.
Broaden your brand; Building a brand is about more than just getting your name out there. Your brand reflects who you are as a home inspector and what services you offer. E-courses can be used to teach potential clients about your business and build trust with in-depth content that is beneficial to them.
Keep consumers coming back: When people take your e-course, they can learn valuable information from you, which can lead to repeat customers and referrals. Create a course that helps people become better consumers, or teaches them how to better maintain their homes. Your e-course should also be fresh and updated consistently, so people will always come back for more.
Effectively market other products; An e-course can be used to effectively market other home inspection service products like radon testing, mold testing, etc. You can also include links to these other products in the e-course so that visitors can easily find them without having to search for them on your website.
Generate qualified leads; By offering a free e-course, you not only get more prospects but also qualify them at the same time by asking them to provide their contact details with the registration form.
Yard signs
Signs are a cost-effective way to get the word out about your home inspection service. Yard signs are not only a great way to advertise your business and bring in new customers, but also an excellent way to keep your current customers informed of your services.
There is no better way for a potential customer to know about your business than by putting it right in front of them.
How to make yard signs work for your home-inspection business;
Use several signs in high-traffic areas: Once you create your yard sign, display it by using multiple signs in high-traffic areas near main roads or intersections where people are likely to drive by. This will help attract more potential customers who would have otherwise never seen your business before.
Keep it simple. Try not to overdo it with the design elements on your yard sign. Make sure you keep it simple but make it stand out enough so that people can read it, especially at night when people drive by looking for businesses. Having your contact information front and center is important so that you can convert those who see your sign into customers for you.
Be consistent with your yard signs. Yard signs don’t have to be placed on your yard every day, but you must display them consistently. If you’re going to put them out, make sure they’re out all the time. You don’t want people driving past your house or office all the time, wondering if you’re still in business.
Use 6 inches by 12-inch vinyl or corrugated plastic signs instead of wooden signs. Wooden signs are great if you want to put up a small sign that will last for a long time, but they do not work well when placed outside since the sun, rain, and weather will deteriorate them quickly. They will also cost more money than the other options mentioned here. Plastic and vinyl signs withstand the elements much better than wooden ones and will be more durable.
Networking
The home inspection niche is a big part of the real estate industry. However, it’s also one of the most important industries for building strong business relationships. Networking is an excellent way to build these relationships and a great way to get new clients.
Here are some tips for getting more out of home inspection networking.
Start networking with your clients. Your connections at local community organizations, such as churches and athletic groups, can help you build your reputation.
Keep up with current technology. Technology has transformed the way we do business, so keep up with emerging trends and learn about new platforms for building your business.
Join a trade organization. The National Association of Certified Home Inspectors provides resources and education to help you grow your business through advocacy and training opportunities.
Get involved in the community. Build relationships with local organizations by volunteering your time or offering free consultations to nonprofit organizations.
Connect with others on LinkedIn. If you’re not using LinkedIn, it’s time to start. It’s a great way to find others in your industry and connect with them directly through your profile or groups. Remember that LinkedIn is a professional networking site, so don’t post about how last weekend’s party was “crazy” or how you had too many margaritas. Instead, share information about yourself and your business that will be valuable to others in your network and make them want to connect with you.
Attend industry events. Industry events can provide tons of opportunities for networking with people who share similar interests. Take advantage of these opportunities to introduce yourself to others who could become future clients. Not only that, but you might even find some great solutions to problems you’ve been having with your business at these events. Don’t forget to invest in booth space at these events; you’ll have a great chance to make a good impression on others in attendance.
Final Thoughts
It’s ultimately up to you to decide which home inspection service marketing strategy will suit your needs. However, with the tips laid out above, you should have a much better idea of what elements will make a great service marketing strategy.
Let us know if you have any questions or concerns, and we hope that you can use these ideas to find the best home inspection service marketing strategies in your area!
