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Favorite Marketing Tools: Home Expert Awards 10/30/12

At the end of the day, all business is about marketing, convincing a customer that they want your product enough to pay for it. The strategies used by businesses to initiate those conversations and make that argument have changed dramatically over the last century, the last decade, even the last year. From bright signs next to highways to catchy jingles on commercials to complex digital marketing strategies, though the goal stays the same, the tools have become incredibly diverse.

The problem for many business owners is that new tools are being added faster than old ones are getting outdated. With limited budgets, coming up with an effective strategy means deciding which marketing outlets are best for your business and which won’t be effective. Finding out what tools are best for you is a combination of research and good old fashioned luck. To find out what marketing tools are working in the home improvement business, we turned to our team of home improvement experts.

Below, we’ve awarded the comments we found most valuable. Check back later in the week to see what other advice we have for finding the best marketing
tools, new and old!

What are Your Favorite Marketing Tools?

Are you most reliant on the trusty phone book?

How do you value having your own websites and social media pages?

What about flyers and printed advertisements in your neighborhood?

Are there some marketing techniques that you refuse to use?

Are there some that you don’t agree with?

Are you quick to adopt new marketing technologies, like Twitter and LinkedIn?

Most Inspiring

Tracy Metro

"As a gal who spends a fair amount of time on TV, I probably have a very different approach to marketing my design services than most. I kinda let me television appearances do most of my outreach. Sure I tweet, I FB and even offer up my services to charities for free, but the #1 way I get business is via mouth-to-mouth referral." read more

Tracy hits on a time tested marketing technique: TV. If your face is on the tube, people pay attention. But, we also liked her comment on word of mouth referrals. Possibly the oldest marketing strategy is the one that is hardest to generate: get people talking positively about you and you’ll go far.

Most Creative

Jill Banks @ Happily Better After Room Redesign & Home Staging

"I find that PR (magazine features, quotes on blogs, speaking engagements, writing articles, etc.) is the best way to demonstrate my knowledge and experience to potential clients and get referrals. PR also boosts your overall online presence so you’re more likely to get found when people are searching for your services, and builds your credibility, which often leads to other PR opportunities." read more

We liked Jill Banks’ comment because she highlights how important it is to get your name out into the world, not just on your own site or Facebook page. PR campaigns build your legitimacy and draw attention to your brand.

Most Insightful

Kahshanna Evans @ Kissing Lions PR

"LinkedIn is something I also value a great deal for the social element of networking. Linked in is the most appropriate social network to further develop professional relationships. To any team looking to connect on new projects or common interests LinkedIn is the business holy grail." read more

Kahshanna’s comment is great because she highlights marketing in the business-to-business realm. If your customers are businesses, LinkedIn is an exceptionally valuable tool.

Most Articulate

Jason Crook @ PHAG interiors

"Since 2010, however, we’ve focused much more heavily on promoting our products and services on-line. We’ve invested resources in some SEO tactics, and begun to use PR as a primary tool for spreading the word about our business in the virtual market space. Sites like helpareporter.com (HARO) have been instrumental in assisting us to connect with the right blog and on-line news channels for features, back-links, and other critical measures of marketing success on-line." read more

Jason hits on one of the most effective and least understood of digital marketing: SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. If you want your name to turn up at the top of all those Google and Bing results, know your SEO.

Most Informative

Wayne Caswell

"Find ways to tie your website and social projects together so work that’s done in one place populates to others. When a post on your blog automatically flows to Twitter and your Facebook fan page, you save time while improving your Google ranking. Include different media, including video, and consider hosting your own YouTube channel and posting video blogs of each new project.

Great photos of great designs get more attention from people shopping online for ideas, so I’m getting involved with the highly visual Pinterest and Houzz communities that are favorites of my target audience." read more

Wayne highlights a key aspect of effective digital marketing. Creating a multi-faceted marketing approach, each of your marketing tools feeds off another. You’ll get more attention in more areas if you follow Wayne’s advice.

image source: Theen Moy

Meet the experts Meet More

Joe Corcoran

2 Thumbs Up Plumbing and Remodeling is the number one source for Plumbing and Remodeling services in the greater Boise area and throughout Ada county. With over 12 years of Idaho plumbing experience, our Boise plumbing and remodeling company has prided ourselves on bringing the customer total satisfaction and fair prices.Whether you are in Eagle and need clogged pipes rooter cleaned or in Garden City and need a bathroom remodeled, we can provide our professional services to you at prices you can afford. Fully licensed and insured, we provide our plumbing and Idaho remodeling services to both commercial and residential locations.

Steve Robinson

Evan and James Pohner

Evan and James Pohner are proud owners of Blueprint Electric LLC. They offer a wide variety of electrical services including residential, commercial, and industrial installations, maintenance, and troubleshooting. They are fully insured, licensed, and bonded with over 25 years of experience. Blueprint Electric is committed to creating long-term relationships with their clients by providing uncompromising quality on every job. That’s why they strive to finish every project on time, within budget, and to your complete satisfaction, and it is that commitment to excellence that keeps their clients going back for all of their electrical needs. When you need an electrician you can count on, one who will work around your schedule and perform professional, competitively priced work, as well as emergency service, count on Blueprint Electric.

Richard Sexton

Richard Sexton founded Carolina Rustica 16 years ago after a one year trip around the world to celebrate a voluntary departure from the corporate life. Carolina Rustica is now a nationally-recognized multi-channel retailer of high end furniture which embraces internet technology and consumer trends to grow its customer base. The company also maintains a large showroom in Concord, NC. In 2012, the company was sold to Mattress USA, based in Brighton, MI, and Mr. Sexton continues in his role as President. Mr. Sexton has his MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University with concentrations in Marketing and Economics. He lives in Concord, NC with his wife, two daughters, a spaniel, and long-time business partner, Magoo the parrot.

DeAnna Radaj

DeAnna Radaj can enter a space and help tweak it to better suit its function AND the lifestyle of the occupants of the space. Using ILD, life quality can be increased AND be supportive to any lifestyle changes or health challenges. She is a nationally recognized speaker on healthy home design, color therapy/theory and the psychology of clutter.

Deborah Cannon

Debbie Cannon is President of CoMar Products Inc., founded by her parents in 1965. A SC Woman Owned Business, CoMar manufactures, fabricates and installs recycled glass, cultured marble and solid surface materials for bathrooms, kitchens, wet bars and common areas for commercial, multi-family and residential construction. Mrs. Cannon is also incoming president for the International Cast Polymer Association, an alliance of the American Composites Manufacturing Association.

Doug Murrell

Jason Todd

Jason Todd is the Home Performance Training Manager at GreenHomes America, the nation’s leading provider of Home Performance Contracting (HPC) services. Jason is BPI certified as a Building Analyst as well as Envelope Professional. Read energy-saving tips for homeowners, industry commentary, HPC news and more on the official GreenHomes America blog: blog.greenhomesamerica.com

Mark Puglisi

Mark been in the pest control industry for 35 years and in 2004 became the first person in the US to obtain the new Associated Certified Entomologist certification, holding number A0001. His extensive background ranges from field work, technical trainer, branch management, operations manager, and vice president. Mark has also served on many State and Local committees over his carrier as technical advisory for California’s Structural Pest Control Board, and appointed in 1999 to head up a task force for L.A. County Agricultural Commissioner on the Africanized Honey Bees (AHB). He also helped author the Study Guide and IPM program for Schools. He holds Br-I, II and III licenses and recently added his QAL license for agricultural landscape.

Greg Chick

Currently a trainer for Green Plumbers USA and a plumbing instructor at ABC Training Academy (4 year Apprenticeship Journeyman Program), Greg Chick has done all phases of solar thermal plumbing service repair for both new construction and remodels.