If there was any doubt about the growing importance of technology to successful specialty contractors, it’s been put to rest by this year’s crop of Big50 honorees.
Whether it’s geo-targeting, Facebook advertising, or bootstrapping different apps together, today’s savviest firms know how to capitalize on technology for better productivity — and customer service.
Here are five lessons on how to use tech most effectively from Big50 contractors:
1. Use Facebook to be most effective on social media
There are lots of social media channels these days. But with more than two billion users across its platforms, Facebook reaches more people than any of them. Combining an active page with targeted advertising can yield big gains. In a little over a year, West Shore, spent $300,000 on Facebook Lookalike Audience campaigns and generated net sales of $2.7 million and more than 14,000 leads. Typically, the company spends 18% of net sales on marketing. But with the Facebook campaign, it’s only spending 11%, said Tom Aleman, marketing strategist for West Shore. “It’s blown our expectations out of the water,” Aleman said. “If you asked anyone in the industry if they could get a few million dollars in sales at 11%, they’d bite your hand off to take it.”
2. Start using all the data capabilities of your CRM
While most companies use a CRM in name, few actually capitalize on the data it can capture — and how to use that data most effectively. Brian Diamond, owner and president of Quality Home Exteriors uses his CRM data to track everything from his call center to his production to his sales. “You can’t manage what you can’t measure,” he said. For example, Diamond used his CRM data to measure how many calls his team was making per hour. Then he tracked when the calls seemed to slow down and scheduled a break so his team could refresh themselves. “There’s a point where the call center team is just getting tired” he said. His CRM data also helped him find the best time to schedule calls for maximum effect.
3. Take advantage of Houzz as a powerful sales tool
With 8 million-plus images, Houzz can be a great way for contractors to help clients visualize their dream home. Using the site’s cloud-based service, contractors can collaborate and share ideas with customers. Houzz also offers geo-targeted ads that put contractors’ names in front on homeowners searching for specific information in their area. Todd Crockett, owner and president of Crockett Construction used that program to boost his leads from 15% to 20% in less than a year. “Houzz helps people come up with ideas, and visualize them was well,” he said.
4. Make your website location aware
With the right coding, websites can “know” where visitors are coming from and show them information specific to their area. Such sites use GPS information to show reviews and pictures specific to that neighborhood. Peter Pawelko, owner, Pro Home 1, has been using this technique for just a few months, but already he’s seeing impressive results. The old, non-location aware site was generating just two to four leads per month. But the new location-aware site is generating two to three leads a week. The reason is no mystery to Pawelko. “They’re getting more useful information for where they’re at,” he said. “It’s just more neighborhood focused.”
5. Keep tech simple
With so much technology available now — from hardware like drones to software like apps — it’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to stay up on the latest and greatest. But the best technology is simple enough that it doesn’t require a lot of know-how to use it effectively. Just ask Mike Birner, architect and owner of Hunts End Remodeling LLC. When he decided to go paperless he distributed iPads to his field workers but eschewed all the fancy project management software for the simplicity of Dropbox, a cloud-based storage system. Using job folders, the teams share all project related paperwork — drawings, estimation sheets, contract specs, change orders etc. — with each other and the office. The perfect solution for a less than tech-savvy group. “It works well for what we do,” Birner said. “We’re not doing anything complex. When we get too complicated it actually become less efficient.”
Follow this link to see the full 2017 Big50.
