When you’re planning your marketing budget as a contractor, the number one question you need to ask yourself is how many leads do I need to meet my revenue goal? This one question will frame your entire marketing strategy. You need to put enough money towards your marketing budget to ensure that you capture the number of leads you need to grow your business. But coming up with that “lead number” can be tricky.

Follow our four-step process to come up with that number and calculate your marketing needs for a successful 2018!

1. Set Your Revenue Goals

Learn how to set SMART goals for the new year in our 2018 Marketing Plan Template (found here!)

2. Calculate the Lead Volume You Need

We put together a simple calculator to help you figure out what your business’s magic lead number is. Download it below!

How to Use Our Lead Calculator

Our lead calculator breaks it down simply. You input your average job size and revenue goal, and we spit out the leads you need to reach your goal (seen in the yellow cell).

       

3. Establish a Growth-Oriented Marketing Budget

If you want your home service business to grow, you must invest the money. It is common for expanding home services companies to spend as much as 10-15% of revenue on marketing. But where should all of those dollars go?

4. Focus on Lead Sources that CONVERT

Home service companies used to be able to rely on word of mouth, print, and television advertising to drive leads to their business. 2017 taught us that a targeted, integrated, and digital approach is the best way to pull in and convert customers.

The tricky thing is there is no golden ticket to marketing success. We can’t say, “Spend X amount on Y, and you will instantly generate the leads you need.” The market factors are just too variable—but there is a solution.

You can make smart marketing spend decisions by digitally tracking your lead sources from the moment a consumer first interacts with your brand, down to the ultimate sale. Digital tracking allows you to tag, target, and follow the leads most likely to turn into revenue for your business. Here’s an example:

You’re probably dedicating a portion of your marketing dollars to offline advertising, like billboards or TV commercials. But you’re not really sure how effective they are. It could be that your billboard has only converted a few people—meaning your cost per lead is hundreds to thousands of dollars. And this is an issue!

If you’re digitally tracking each of your lead sources, then you can cut out these ineffective strategies and start budgeting your marketing dollars towards better sources. Each dollar will have a purpose, bringing in more leads at a lower cost.

At Spectrum we know that using a combination of paid search, SEO, social media, and offline strategies generates success for our partners. We can help you implement and track each of these lead sources for a more effective use of your marketing budget. Request a demo, and we’ll walk you through the opportunities in your market along with a free budget analysis!