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Boosting Remodeling Business Leads for Dummies – The Holiday 2017 Edition

The Holidays are traditionally when remodeling business slows down to nearly a halt.  What if I told you that it doesn’t have to be that way? That there’s a completely legitimate and easy way to ensure that you’re boosting remodeling business leads during the holiday season?

First you’d tell me I was full of it.  That’s cool. I get it.

Here’s where I prove it to you.

Something really convenient about searching for a company on Google is the business listing function:

service champions
You get all the info you need—even the business’s busiest hours—in one little box.

The only thing about this feature that annoys me (and everybody else) is when that message pops up next to their hours of operations saying, “The holiday may affect business hours.”

You know, this one:

holiday hours

 

Believe it or not, this little message does discourage some people from contacting you. When people see it, they think either…

  1. “Ugh, I don’t have time to whip out my phone and actually call the dang place to see if they’re open.” (person goes back to using said phone to play Candy Crush)
  1. “Meh, I’ll wait until after the holiday.” (person completely forgets about you three seconds later and never contacts you)

Here’s the thing, though: This prospect-deterring message is not Google’s fault.

Google can’t predict if you’re vacationing in Sandals Jamaica on Memorial Day weekend or closing shop early on New Year’s Eve to party like it’s 1999. So they hedge their bets by telling their users you may or may not be open on any given holiday.

That’s why it’s a good idea to update your hours on Google, your website, and business listing sites before a major holiday.

When you inform Google of your holiday hours, they update your business listing with this more prospect-inviting message:

open holiday hours

BOOM—the holiday hours are right there, so prospects don’t have to do any investigating to find out if you’re open. (And the easier you make things on a prospect, the better.)

After you update your holiday hours with Google, make sure to do the same on business listing websites you use. Google uses business listing sites as location signals. If your info is the same across all of the sites, Google gives your local SEO a healthy lift.

Lastly, when updating your holiday hours on business listing sites, it’s also a great idea to communicate any holiday specials you have going on.

Example:

holiday hours listed leafless in seattle

People landing on this page for Leafless in Seattle, a Master Shield gutter installation company,  are already interested in the company’s services. That special offer gives prospects even more reason to visit the company’s website (everyone loves a good holiday sale… Black Friday, anyone?).

We recently updated our SEO clients’ holiday hours and specials across 70+ business listing websites. Because at MYM, we’re all about generating leads for our clients and boosting their remodeling leads  24/7, 365 days a year. No exceptions.

If you’re the same, advertise those holiday hours and specials online ASAP. It’s insanely easy, and doing so can provide a nice little pick-me-up in business during the holiday dog days.

P.S. If you want to find out more about our SEO services, you’ll want to give this link here a click. And if you’d like to know how well your current SEO efforts are working (or not working), take advantage of our free Lead Generation Audit. We’ll expose all the hidden cracks in your SEO plan that are leaking precious cash.

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Hide This Post From Your Wife | A Masterclass in Social Proof Marketing

diamonds and contractor social proof marketing

On an emotional level, your wife’s diamond engagement ring is priceless.

But if we’re talking strictly in terms of money, it’s basically worth bupkis.

In fact, the second you walked out of the jewelers with your wife’s engagement ring—smiling from ear to ear and with your wallet a few thousand dollars lighter—it’s worth immediately plummeted more than two-thirds of what you just paid!

That’s because, contrary to popular belief, diamonds aren’t very valuable.

Diamond sales were actually struggling prior to the 1940s. Before then, giving diamond engagement rings wasn’t even much of a thing.

So, how did diamonds go from worthless hunks of clear carbon to the ultimate (and ultra-expensive) expression of love?

Well, part of it has to do with diamond companies ruthlessly controlling and monopolizing African diamond mines. But that’s another story to be told by someone else. (Try NPR or something.)

I want to focus on another part of what made diamond sales boom in the ‘40s: a slick, social-proof-heavy marketing campaign orchestrated by Da Beers.

Glue your eyeballs to every word of this story because it’s a masterclass in social proof marketing.

In 1938, Da Beers hired N.W. Ayer advertising agency. Within just a few years, N.W. Ayer turned diamonds into a status symbol and an item that you absolutely could NOT do without if you were going to propose to your gal.

For the guy, buying a big ol’ rock to stick on your lady’s finger was a way to measure your success.

For the lady, receiving a big ol’ rock from your man was not only an expression of his love for you, but also a metric for social status. The bigger the diamond, the more “elite” you were.

To get to the point where the public perceived diamonds as 100% mandatory for marriage, N.W. Ayer performed an all-out social proof blitzkrieg.

The agency got movie stars to wear diamonds. Radio hosts to bring in fashion designers to talk about diamonds. Magazines and newspapers to run stories and photos about which celebrities were wearing diamonds.

Everywhere people turned, they ran face-first into stories about how amazing diamonds were and “important people” wearing them.

The campaign worked insanely well. Diamond sales increased 55% in the first three years—smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression!—and the cost of diamonds skyrocketed.

All because of a social proof-heavy marketing campaign.

diamonds are awesome
When everyone is saying diamonds are awesome, it’s hard to disagree.  

Today, over 80% of women receive diamond engagement rings when their men propose.

It goes to show that if enough people are eating the pie, everyone else wants a piece.

That’s why online reviews are absolutely crucial for contractors; you cannot and will not thrive without them.

The numbers offer irrefutable proof:

  • 9 out of 10 people read online reviews before deciding whether to call a contractor.
  • Just a one-star increase on sites like Yelp boost profits 5% to 9%.
  • 86% of people hesitate to buy from businesses with negative online reviews.

This all adds up to one thing: You either live or die by your online reputation.

And if you want to live a luxurious life glowing online reviews can provide, MYM Online Reputation Management can help.

Our ORM builds, controls, and maintains a robust online reputation for your company by:

  • Monitoring customer reviews across 170+ review websites

  • Converting happy customers into glowing, sales-producing online reviews

  • Stopping negative reviews BEFORE they happen

  • Turning positive reviews into automated SEO-friendly web and social media content

  • Providing regular comprehensive reporting regarding the “health” and status of your online reputation

Trust me—ORM is as vital to a healthy online reputation as a diamond ring is to a healthy marriage (and a happy wife).

Find out more on the official MYM ORM page.

 

P.S. You know that whole “spend two months’ salary on a diamond ring” rule of thumb? That was made up by Da Beers, too. After they saw success with a “spend one month’s salary” campaign, they bumped it up to two months. Because, why not?!

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Remodeling Visualization Software Results are In- And They’re Spectacular

renoworks remodeling visualization software results
Last week, I told you about Renoworks Pro, the remodeling visualization software that is literally adding tens of thousands of dollars to projects or contractors across the U.S. of A.

I want to follow up with a quick email about more amazing results remodeling contractors are reporting:


“Renoworks Pro is huge – it provides me the ability to upsell. I can usually add between $3,000 to $10,000 of product and services to every job. This helps set me apart from the competition and I worry less about competing on price versus adding value during the sale.”

-William LaMonaca, Colorado Home Exteriors


“Renoworks Pro replaces our ‘crystal ball.’ A homeowner photo regularly becomes a $40,000 remodeling contract approved, anticipated, and referred by a customer.”

-Jack Cooper, Custom Exteriors Inc.


“Renoworks Pro helps my prospects visualize their projects. It fast tracks prospects’ decision-making process by giving them clarity and confidence in their decision.”

-Wayne Verboomen, The Window Guy


“Since using Renoworks Pro, I have increased my close rates and profit by 60%.

-Paul Sacco, JM Door & Hardware


“For the exterior contractor, Renoworks Pro is the single best upselling tool in the remodeling industry. Let the competition fumble with samples and sales pitches while you show the prospect their home transformed into their dream house, right before their very eyes.”

-Mike Damora, K & B Home Remodelers


Find out more—and take advantage of an exclusive MYM email subscriber discount—by visiting our Renoworks Pro page and filling out the form.

When you submit the form, a Renoworks Pro consultant will contact you shortly with more information and give you the opportunity to schedule a free live demo.

 

P.S. Look out for when I do a follow-up email on Renoworks Pro and how it completely melts prospect price objections. We’re back to our regularly scheduled MYM-related programming in the next post. It’s a post you definitely do NOT want to show to your spouse. You’ve been warned!

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Help Your Biz Owner Friend To Get Off The Railroad Tracks

help your business friend get off the railroad tracks
We’re continuing our conversation about referrals and the bonus you get for referring us to remarkable business owners like you.

Do you know a contractor business owner who doesn’t quite get digital marketing?

Their website exists, but that’s about all you can say about it.

Maybe they’ve also dabbled in PPC and SEO, but it went badly.

And Online Reputation Management? They don’t have a clue how easy it is for someone to seriously damage their business online, even if what they are saying is completely unfair.

Someone needs to tell this business owner friend that not mastering digital marketing is already hurting their business and it’s about to get worse.

A whole lot worse.

Like tied to the railroad tracks worse. The digital marketing freight train is rumbling toward them and it’s only picking up speed. Worst of all, that’s their competition sitting in the front of the choo-choo with the engineer hat on and smiling.

Help them get off those tracks. They’ll thank you.

And so will MYM. If they sign-up, you get 3 months of SEO Premium for free. That’s a $3,750 value. No fine print*.

Send me an email and type “I have a referral for you. Please give me a call” and give us the best number to reach you.

A member of my team will call and I promise this will take a minuscule amount of your time… especially when you consider the value of the free SEO Premium service.

*seriously. no fine print!

 

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