A qualified lead is someone who could be a potential customer for your business based on their fulfillment of customer criteria and their willingness to provide information to you on their own volition. Using tactics such as buying email lists or cold prospects does not fall into this category. 

Leads can fall into two categories—inbound or outbound:

• Inbound leads are those that actively search and find your business through various channels. Channels range from search engines like Google or Bing, or even YouTube, Yelp, and other social media platforms. An inbound lead can also be a caller who found your business listed in a newspaper or other advertisement. Inbound leads are generally more willing to share information, hence making them more qualified. 

• With outbound leads, your business has to actively reach out to these potential customers and engage them through your own efforts. This might be a lead you gained through door-to-door marketing or by making phone calls. Email marketing is another outbound lead example.

There are many ways you can go about improving your lead generation. This includes opting for lead generation services from agencies. Here, your business pays an agency to attract leads to your contracting company. Such agencies specialize in lead generation and charge a fee to provide vital information of the leads (name, email, phone number, address, etc.). Others work on a referral commission basis: If the lead is successfully converted to a customer for your business, the agency is owed a fee.

While paying an agency might seem like a simple way to generate leads, your contracting business can independently attract free leads on its own! 

All you have to do is equip yourself with the proper techniques!

Learn how Signpost can help your business

How to Generate Leads for Your Contracting Business (without paying an agency for them!)

Before signing a check to lead generation sites or agencies, explore these lead generation options. Some of these strategies will incur a fee, but your business can have much more control of its success! These strategies are often more long term and scalable as well:

• Online/Digital Marketing Strategies

  • Drive more leads with paid ads

  • Develop a stellar website and landing page

  • A/B test your landing pages

  • Track your website’s visitors

  • Integrate SEO and develop high-quality content

• Offline Marketing Strategies

  • Implement a robust referral program

  • Run a newspaper or print ad

  • Utilize pamphlets and business cards

• Automated Marketing Strategies

  • Use automated email marketing/email notifications

  • Integrate texting and webchat

• Online Review Platforms

Online/Digital Marketing Strategies

Drive more leads with paid ads

Ads are one of the go-to outbound strategies used by businesses to generate leads. When your contracting business pays an agency for leads, you pay them for the information they already have in their database of potential customers. They also retain complete control over the lead generation activities.

However, with paid ads, your business will have control over the marketing, messaging, and the way it is portrayed to customers from the get-go.

Platforms such as Google My Business, Facebook Ads, and Instagram Ads allow you to directly get your services in front of potential customers. 

Google Ads work on a pay-per-click (PPC) concept where any time a lead clicks on the ad leading to your business, you pay a small commission to Google. 

Facebook and Instagram ads work on a campaign basis. Your business develops a digital ad (be it an image, video, etc.), and you can target the demographic you want to appeal to. Your business’s ads will then appear on a Facebook or Instagram user’s feed.

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You also have the option of setting up retargeting ads. These ads are displayed explicitly to the leads that have viewed your contracting services but left the site without contacting your business. 

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Develop a stellar website and landing pages

You must develop an effective and comprehensive website so your visitors can easily find you and learn more about your business. Your website should:

• Have clear navigation. Don’t make it hard for your customers to find what they need. You want to make it as simple as possible for your customers to navigate your website’s pages and eventually make it to that point of sale, wherever it may be.

• Feature a menu of services. Again, have a concise, but comprehensive menu of all your services. This menu should be displayed on every page if you can manage it.

• Be mobile-friendly. Make sure to accommodate all your different users and be accessible in an instant. So many of today’s customers are mobile; meet them there!

• Be aesthetically pleasing and up to date. Customers need to feel confident before doing business with you. A fully-developed website will fortify that trust and (hopefully!) grant your business a new lead. Your website is a digital representation of your business. Spend the time to develop an effective and visually pleasing site as 75% of website visitors attribute a company’s credibility to their site’s quality.

• Always and appropriately display contact information. Don’t lose out on quality leads because your business’s contact information is hard to find!

• Showcase your reviews and testimonials. Add a layer of credibility by including reviews and testimonials on your site. This is an excellent way of building social proof and solidifying your business’s expertise, authority, and credibility.

Once your business has its website up and running, it’s time to join the 68% of businesses that use strategic landing pages to acquire more leads. 

Businesses utilize landing pages to track their inbound customers and measure the success and effectiveness for individual marketing campaigns. So, let’s say your business is currently running a Facebook ad and that ad includes a link to one of your landing pages. If a prospective customer clicks on that link and arrives on your landing page, you can then attribute that new lead to the original source: the Facebook ad. This insight is beneficial in terms of identifying successful marketing campaigns and solidifying your overall strategy.

Landing pages are designed to capture visitors’ contact information in exchange for a resource from your company. For example, this landing page is specifically designed to capture leads seeking window replacements. In exchange for an immediate quote, the visitor must submit their contact info.

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For more inspiration on effective landing pages, check out this article!

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A/B test your landing pages 

Is your landing page optimized and ready to go? Now it’s time to test them in real-time. 

A/B testing is where you put your marketing and lead generation strategies through the test of efficiency and effectiveness. You test the various elements of your strategy—from the copywriting on your paid ads, the content on your website, the visuals you used on your landing page, and more. 

In A/B testing, you create two different models of your lead generation strategy: an independent model (A) and a variable model (B). For this example, let’s say your business is testing a landing page for a painting service. 

• In model A of your landing page, you decide to go with a design that’s text-heavy (but extremely comprehensive) with your call-to-action listed at the bottom of the page.

• In model B, your landing page includes more interactive elements, such as paint bucket icons of all the colors you offer, less text, and the call-to-action is the first thing visitors notice.

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You pit the two models against each other for a defined period of time. Then, you analyze which version has more success in generating and capturing leads! In this case, you realize model B has a much higher conversion rate than model A, and continue to utilize this model.

A/B testing may seem like an extensive process, but it can help you refine your target audience and lead generation strategies. In the long run, the pay-off will undoubtedly be worth the effort for your contractor leads. 

Track your website’s visitors and callers

Once your business has a website and its landing pages up and running with a steady influx of traffic, it’s time to start tracking the visitors and potential leads!

By tracking visitors (using Google Analytics, visitor tracking software, etc.), your business can find out valuable information about who they are. Where are your visitors coming from? Are visitors local? Statewide? How long are they spending on certain service pages? At what point are they leaving your website? 

You also have the option of tracking callers—that is, qualified leads who directly reach out to your business to find out more. By purchasing a phone call tracking software, you can quickly determine your lead’s general location, organization, phone number, and more.

By keeping customer call records and website visitor information handy, your business can build a goldmine of data to lean on when building your marketing strategies.

Integrate SEO and develop high-quality content

Content marketing can have a great influence on your leads. 

By creating a blog on your website, your business creates a space to showcase its expertise, establish authority as an expert in your niche, and also share important news and updates with customers.

It’s crucial to not only develop high-quality content but to post regularly, too. Establishing a content calendar can help your business maintain that consistency that shows your leads how dedicated you are! Can you recall visiting a business’s blog and seeing their most recent post was years ago? 

Lastly, share your blog post on various social media channels! Build a community of followers interested in your business’s content and dominate the digital space.

Pro-tip: Keep SEO (search engine optimization) top of mind and make sure you integrate the right keywords into your blog posts. You want to make your website searchable and easy to find. For example, take a look at Hoosier Contractor’s blog post below.

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By optimizing for “roof damage” in their blog post title and including keywords such as “leaks” and “storm damage” repeatedly in the following paragraphs, they make it easier for customers affected by this problem to find them!

For more information on on-page SEO optimization, check out SEO expert Neil Patel’s video here. 

Offline Marketing Strategies

Implement a robust referral program

Implementing a referral program is one of the best ways to grow your leads. 

Referral marketing is often used by businesses to grow their customer base by incentivizing their current customers to recommend their services to families, friends, or other interested parties in their circles. 

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There are many ways you can build a referral program as a contractor, including structuring rewards in the following forms: 

• Charity or non-profit donations in the name of the referrer

• Referral contests with cash prizes

• Contractor service upgrades or discounts

• A mystery gift box 

• Gift cards or certificates

Learn how Signpost can help your business

Run a newspaper or print ad

Although the digital marketing space has become more prominent over the years, running print ads or advertising in the newspaper or local magazines is still a popular way to capture quality leads.

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Print ads are an excellent way of capturing leads that aren’t as tech-savvy or keen on reading digital sources. 

Consider circulating an ad about your contractor services in a newly developed community or a neighborhood with new homeowners. Or, perhaps run a print ad in a magazine in an area undergoing renovations!

Utilize pamphlets and business cards

Why fix what isn’t broken? Business cards and pamphlets might be old-school, but they’re still effective marketing strategies! This is especially true in the home services industry, where word-of-mouth marketing is a tenet to a business’s success and can help secure more leads. 

Business cards allow you to make quick and powerful introductions of your business to potential leads. By distributing business cards, you also make yourself accessible to them, and it acts as a token of your business that they can save and refer to whenever the need arises. 

Business cards are meant to consist only of top-level information regarding your business and contact details. It’s important to keep it brief and to the point.

Check out the example template below of a roofing contractor’s card: 

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Now, if you wish to provide additional information that you can’t fit onto a business card, consider opting for pamphlets. 

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With your pamphlets, make sure you provide a complete picture of your business. Include attractive visuals, customer testimonials, an overview of your contractor services, and the corresponding rates. 

Automated Marketing Strategies

Use automated email marketing/email notifications

Email marketing is a tested and true strategy that your business can use to connect with its customers directly through their inboxes. 53% of marketers actually claim email as the most effective channel for early-stage lead generation.

Even better, you don’t have to worry about drafting and writing each email to every individual customer on your own. Technology has allowed the automation of email marketing campaigns and also better management of email lists. 

Through automated email marketing practices, you can build email workflows that save time, leverage templates that fit your contractor lead sales process, and more! 

Signpost’s marketing automation allows you to create custom marketing campaigns, track their progress and keep your customers engaged. Send curated messages to your prospects, share important updates, and immediately connect with your leads!

Integrate texting and web chat

Remember that fantastic landing page and website you worked hard to build? You can take it to the next level by adding interactive chat!

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Chat is a valuable feature to automate engagements with potential leads. A potential customer looking for your contact information can directly engage with your business and get the answers they need through chatbots. 

Through Signpost’s chat platform, your business can connect with customers instantly and make the best of your website leads. If your business hasn’t integrated a texting or website chat solution yet, it’s not too late!

Generate Leads Through Online Review Platforms

Managing your business’s online reputation is integral to its digital marketing success. You want the best representation for your business online, and review management plays a massive role.

Ensure your business is on various online review sites and actively tracking the reviews and customer interactions on these platforms. Some platforms to consider are: 

• Yelp: An online review platform and community for a variety of local businesses. Users rate businesses on a five-star scale and leave reviews for the public.

• Google My Business: Google’s platform for businesses to drive customer engagement through the search engine’s supported Maps and review systems.

• Facebook: A popular social media platform that enables businesses to create their own Pages and Groups to interact with customers actively. Users leave “recommendations” and can share when they’ve even visited your business location.

• Nextdoor: A social networking service for businesses and residents, with a hyperfocus on local neighborhoods. 

• HomeAdvisor: An online search engine that connects users with local home service businesses. Users can then leave ratings and reviews of the home service providers or professionals.

With all of these different platforms, it can become overwhelming to manage all the reviews. Luckily, you can generate and track your reviews through Signpost, ensure you respond to all of them on time, and boost your 5-star ratings! 

How Signpost Can Lead Your Contracting Business to More Success

Whether you’re just getting started with lead generation or are already invested in lead generation strategies, there’s always room for growth and improvement.

Help us help you.

With Signpost, you can take your contractor leads to the next level. Book a demo with us today, and we’ll show you just how to get more leads and more business.

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Here are some key things to consider to grow and improve your business during
this time of year.

of consumers plan to shop less in-store

due to fear of COVID-19 exposure

of shoppers anticipate they will increase their
online purchases in 2020 holiday season

of shoppers plan to start shopping for the
holidays in October into early November

of shoppers say they are slightly or very much more
likely to purchase from a retailer they knew was
following COVID-19 safety precautions in-store

of consumers say five days for delivery is
reasonable, while 28% say one week is acceptable

Holiday Shopping Started Early

Typically, the start of the holiday shopping season is marked just after Thanksgiving dinner has finished. Black Friday will still be important for retailers this year, but people will be shopping earlier than usual. Studies show 1 in 3 shoppers will get a jump on their holiday buying.

Shopping early allows consumers to be socially distant and safe. Even retailers are encouraging shoppers to buy early in order to avoid the costly logistical issues associated with unexpected surges.

Online shopping is trendy, but many consumers are looking to shop small this year. Local retailers and service providers have an opportunity to offer a safe, friendly buying experience and give customers a chance to support hometown businesses experiencing difficult financial times.

Brick-And-Mortars: Embrace curbside pickup!

If you’re a brick-and-mortar business, take notice of the increased demand for curbside pickup.

With occupancy limits and social distancing policies back on the rise, many small businesses have introduced a curbside pickup option.  Curbside allows customers to order online (or over the phone), and safely pick up their merchandise rather than entering your store, waiting for delivery, or paying for pricey shipping.

Due to COVID, approximately half of American shoppers said they were planning to use curbside pickup more this holiday season. If you don’t have this option today, consider implementing one to meet customer expectations.

Digital gift cards are popular

There’s no denying consumers have fallen in love with digital gift cards and, in the current climate, the trend is likely to continue. In fact, 37.8% of consumers have purchased electronic gift cards in the past.

Digital gift cards aren’t just for the big box retailers or large home service providers. You don’t need a fancy eCommerce website to sell and distribute your “cards”. There are many solutions that can help small businesses get an online gift card program up and running in no time. Try asking your credit card processor. Many of the largest companies offer solutions with free digital gift card transactions.

For more trends, get the complete 2020 Holiday Marketing Guide

A business-as-usual approach to marketing

Is 2020 business as usual? No, it is not.

Be realistic and acknowledge what challenges businesses will face due to social guidelines, limited in-store selling opportunities, the rise of eCommerce buying, and the expectations of ultra-fast shipping.

Continue to be a good community partner. Follow precautions and restrictions laid out by your local government as a result of the pandemic. Pretend like these obstacles don’t exist, and you might find yourself unprepared.

When considering your marketing approach, message with sensitivity. Be empathetic and realize that your customers may be away from their families, or that they just finished teaching their child algebra. Find a way to genuinely connect with customers and be aware of any approach that could make you seem out of touch with reality.

Overly promotional marketing messages

In these unique times, your messaging needs to find a delicate balance. You need to consider your customers’ situations, but you also have to sell a product or service. There’s no doubt about it, people are still looking to buy. So go ahead, promote your business! Just do it with sensitivity.

Use your messages to acknowledge our shared challenges, showcase the steps you’re taking to ensure customer safety, and highlight how you can make their lives better. After all, it’s all about the customer.

High prices & shipping costs

According to FacebookIQ, the top factor shoppers care about when making holiday shopping decisions is price, with shipping following close behind.

With consumers becoming increasingly price conscious, make sure to consider your pricing strategy carefully. Take a look at what the competition is doing. Shoppers will likely choose the more economical choice if the difference is significant.

It’s a similar story when it comes to shipping. Driven by large eCommerce retailers, people expect free shipping. In fact, 67% of FacebookIQ respondents said it’s a major consideration when making their holiday purchase decisions. If within reason, consider using free shipping as a promotional tool.

For more trends, get the complete 2020 Holiday Marketing Guide

The primary element of holiday marketing is creating initiatives that capitalize on shoppers looking to make seasonal purchases. Holiday marketing has the potential to drive sales for various reasons:

Buyer demand is strong

In the holiday season more customers are actively looking to buy, making it the perfect opportunity to take time out of your busy schedule and build a holiday campaign.

There is a sense of urgency

Any given holiday only comes once a year. Capitalize on the fact that customers need your product or service now! By staying top of mind, it’s likely they’ll choose you when they’re ready to buy.

People feel good buying
your product/service

Whether you’re a retail shop selling flowers or a plumber offering post-holiday services, people are eager to take advantage of holiday deals. Capitalize on these positive feelings among your customers through emotion-driven holiday marketing campaigns.

Additional Benefits to Running Holiday Marketing Campaigns

Adding new customers

In addition to securing additional direct sales, most holiday purchases end up in the hands of someone else. These gifts are essentially recommendations, and everyone knows that word-of-mouth marketing can result in strong, long-lasting customers.

Building relationships that last all year long

The end of the year is a prime time for relationship marketing. Research done by Bain & Company found as little as a five percent increase in customer retention can result in an increase in company revenue by 25-95%.

Humanizing your local brand

The holiday’s give retailers and home service

providers an opportunity to share some holiday

cheer. These days, consumers want to see your

brand’s human, friendly, and safe side.

Effective Holiday Marketing Ideas for Your Business

Be creative. Be positive. Be proactive. The holidays give business owners a unique opportunity to connect with prospects and existing customers in a different way than usual. Stand out from your competition by being an active presence in your customers holiday experience.

Create a holiday promotion

A great way service and retail businesses can leverage the holiday is by creating a special promotion. For example, if you own a salon, you could have a New Year’s Eve package that someone could give a friend to redeem at the time of their choice. Home service providers could offer a discount on monthly home service contracts for 2021 in order to generate recurring revenue. Or, a Shipping Store could promote discounts on holiday packages considering many people may be sending their carefully considered gifts to family members that aren’t traveling this holiday season.

Discounts are a common way to entice customers to engage with your business opposed to your competition. With consumers being more price sensitive than usual, a price reduction on a specific product or service can be a good strategy for differentiation. Of course, make sure to follow-up in the new year to ensure a long-term, profitable relationship.

Say “Thank You” to your customers

It’s not every day that you receive an unexpected “thank you” from your trusted plumber, or local gym. Set yourself apart from the competition by acknowledging your best customers. Try to segment your list and target key groups like high profit clients, new acquisitions, or even customers who haven’t called in awhile. A little  appreciation can go a long way. As a bonus, add a little gift. It doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive. Even a simple online gift card for a nice cup of coffee could ensure repeat business.

Don’t want to send a gift? Consider printing some simple holiday cards and send a hand-written note to customers. Sending a card allows you to connect with your clients when they are less distracted. And, as we mentioned above, taking a personalized approach is a great way to humanize your brand during the holiday season.

Organize a community event

Supporting your local community is a positive thing to do with family and employees during the holiday season. It’s also a great way to build goodwill with the very people who purchase your products and services throughout the year. The holiday season gives small business owners the ability to leverage trends, like organizing digital events or creating and posting training videos for customers to consume at home and on their own schedule.

Get creative with how you get involved. Connect with local organizations like Rotary or Kiwanis and organize an online funding drive to provide turkeys to families in need. Or, if you’re a home service provider, find a few businesses that compliment your offering and do a free online workshop that provides tips for winterizing your home (or even tricks for the spring). With people at home, they have time to invest in their communities and themselves. Whatever you do, lead with your heart.

Want to take your holiday marketing to the next level?

Get all this and much more with the complete 2020 Holiday Marketing Guide with even more tips and tricks from marketing professionals.

Get My FREE Guide

At Signpost, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Local businesses can succeed at personalized marketing where larger enterprises have failed because they have the twin advantages of greater authenticity and increased relevance in connecting with their customers. 

Personalized marketing is a strategy by which companies use data and technology to send targeted messages to customers. In essence, it’s the ability to send the right message to the right customer at the right time. Offering a useful working definition of personalized marketing for local businesses, LSA Insider’s Polachek writes, “Can my local dry cleaner send me a personalized message (text or email) to let me know my suit is ready for pick-up? Absolutely. Can that same dry cleaner send me a message that he’s got a promotion on cleaning sleeping bags? For sure.”

Local businesses can succeed at personalized marketing where larger enterprises have failed because they have the twin advantages of greater authenticity and increased relevance in connecting with their customers.  While enterprise marketers’ efforts may appear forced or fake, local businesses, because they reside in the same communities, can engage in one-on-one conversations with their customers from a better position.

Once a local business has invested in organizing data about their customers and in deploying processes to send messages triggered by that customer data, they can leverage their advantage in the following ways: 

New Customer Offers: The local business can send a new customer offer to prospective customers who are considering a purchase. For example, a fitness center sends text promotions to first time callers for an initial cardio class workout at an introductory price.

Feedback and Online Reviews: Businesses can request feedback and reviews from customers as a follow-up to a purchase or service. For example, a lawn care service automatically sends text and email requests for feedback immediately after customers pay for their services.

Repeat Customer Incentives: Businesses can offer promotions to customers who haven’t purchased from them in a while to encourage repeat business. And they can send notes of appreciation and gratitude to their most loyal customers. For example, a heating and plumbing service sends an email to customers who’ve had water heater installations in the previous year to promote a household winterization service. 

The upside of personalized marketing for a local business is massive. Not only do they stand to win more new and repeat business from better targeted marketing messages, but they also achieve the longer term benefits of improved online reputation from customers posting more 5-star reviews and a larger, more loyal customer base.

Programs like these are impossible to administer without the right tools, but technology like Signpost’s platform makes it easy for local businesses to leverage their authenticity and relevance. Our platform features the best-in-class data capture and marketing automation capabilities that enable local business owners to personalize their marketing and customer outreach.

If you’re a local business owner interested in personalizing your marketing and engaging your customers with the authenticity and relevance that has become increasingly difficult for big enterprise CMOs, request a demo and let one of our local marketing experts show you how Signpost will work for your business.

Request a demo today.

Referrals are the best gift a business owner can receive. Unfortunately, far too often they’re treated as just that, instead of a customer acquisition technique that requires its own strategy in order to be truly effective. Comprising 65% of all new business, referrals are also 4 times more likely to buy than other prospective customers. With such valuable prospects, it’s even more important to think through the entire process from start to finish, so you can encourage your customers to take various actions throughout. You’ll find that when you cultivate a referrals mindset, you can drive even more business by leveraging your existing customers. We’ve outlined the best way to start the process, along with tips for asking and creative campaigns to drive more referrals.

Selecting Incentives

Calculating Customer Value

First, it’s important to evaluate the value of your average client. Dive into your customer data to answer the following questions:

1. What is the typical purchase amount?
2. What is the typical purchase frequency? (How often do they come in?)
3. What is the typical customer time period for repeat business? (How long do they keep returning?)

Use this to determine incentive discounts

Once you’ve answered these three questions, you can calculate your average customer value. For example, if most customers spend about $50 on each visit, come in once a month and remain loyal for 5 years, then their lifetime value (LTV) would be $3000. Knowing how much a customer is worth to your business helps inform a sustainable referral strategy. Surprisingly, too often salons are too stingy with these incentives, and they fail to motivate clients to act.  It should be greater than 10% off their next visit, because when they introduce a friend or family member to your salon and this new customer follows in a similar pattern, then that referral has generated an additional $3000 for your business. So, if you do decide to go the discount route for your referral program, do make sure that it’s substantial enough (a $50 voucher for services, free manicure, etc.) to motivate customers.

Incorporate referrals into your current loyalty program

If your salon already has a loyalty program, you could have referrals count towards these established goals and reward levels. If you use points systems, a referral could be worth 50 points, or could bump a customer up a tier, depending on your program’s structure. Just be sure that it is easy to understand, track and redeem these rewards, and again, that the award level (points, tiers, etc.) are significant enough.

You can also turn the act of referring family and friends into a contest.  Hand out coupons or cards with a new customer offer to your existing customers. Have them write their name and contact info on them, and give them out to friends and family. Keep track of the coupons that get returned when performing services, and whomever refers the most new customers gets a prize at the end of the month. Whether a prize pack of favorite pampering products (nail polish sets, tools, lotions), a full day of pampering with spa treatments or something entirely different, select something that feels substantial and special so it’s worthy of the extra work clients have done to promote your business.

Turning new customers into advocates

It goes with out saying (but we’ll say it anyway, just in case!) that ensuring a great customer experience is the cornerstone to  your referral strategy. You should think about the complete customer journey from the time they make their appointment, through the follow up post-appointment in terms of various touch points and opportunities to connect with the customer and drive repeat business.

You should record their contact information when they call to make an appointment or book online. This way, you can send them email and text message reminders, along with tips on how they can prepare for their upcoming appointment (“Don’t forget to wear flip flops when you come in for your pedicure!”), as well as after, “Apply an extra layer of top coat today to keep your manicure looking its best!”. These reminders are helpful and prove your commitment to customer service.

You can also think about giving them a small welcome gift. Something along the lines of a branded nail file will keep your business top-of-mind. If you put it in a small giftbag, be sure to include either business cards or referral coupons to pass out to friends.  Explain the system and any reward structure you have in place, and tell them that they must be used before the end of the month to motivate them to act while their positive experience is still fresh in their mind.  This expiration date also improves the likelihood that their family and friends will get to see your work looking its best.

Who gets the reward?

This is completely up to you. Some business offer current clients a reward for bringing in new business, as a thank-you, while others prefer to offer new customer discounts to those referred by friends and family to further motivate them to complete a purchase. Typically, the most effective programs reward both parties, which encourages the current client to keep sending referrals your way, and sets a good example for your new customer. If you’re able to win over these new referrals, and turn them into repeat clients, this sets a good example for them to refer their own friends and family.

The Ask

Who?

The great thing about referrals, is that you can ask any happy customer. The important thing to remember turns out to be the most simple: Remember to ask. Despite 83% of customers reporting they’d refer friends and family to a business following a positive experience, only 29% actually do. It’s great to start planting the seeds early on, as long as you’re not too pushy about it. This is why we love pairing referral coupons with a welcome gift.

If you’re looking to start with an engaged group, try following up with clients who have reviewed your salon on third-party review sites like Yelp, Facebook, Google My Business, etc. These are your most easily-identifiable advocates. They’ve taken the time to sing your business’s praises, on their own free will, so chances are they’d be receptive to referring others. Send them a personal thank you for reviewing your salon, and offer a small token if you wish as a thank-you. Then, take the opportunity to put your new referral program on their radar. Outline the process for making and tracking, and be sure it’s easy to understand.

As a reminder, Signpost’s AI-driven technology, Mia, does this all for you. Mia identifies your advocates and targets them to drive more feedback, five-star reviews, referrals and repeat business. automatically.

Use events (and partnerships) to drive referrals

Event marketing is a great way to expose new clients to your work. Try hosting “bring a friend” nights where anyone who has a friend tag along gets a special discount for them both, or encourage them to bring a bottle of wine and provide glasses and light snack pairings. These could be planned in advance and made special by various creative ploys, or be used as a tactic during slow days.

The next time you have a lull, try sending out a SMS blast, which has amazing engagement rates in terms of read rate and for the fact that they’re usually read almost instantly.  Offer a 2 for 1 special or some sort of promotion that will get more people in, while also getting a chance to meet new customers. If you have some light bookings scattered across the day, you could alternatively try targeting those customers with a promotion that will encourage them to bring a friend in need of a manicure.

You can host events that teach tips and tricks for nail maintenance, or provide more information about newer treatments, so that clients better understand the benefits and help your technicians upsell them during their next visit. Encourage (or make it mandatory) to bring a friend to these. Try partnering with other salons or boutiques in your community to show how they can complete different looks or replicate their favorite trends of the season. If you do collaborate with partners, be sure to include their materials (any gifts, as well as business cards or referral coupons) to help drive referrals for them as well. Serve light refreshments, and either lead these workshops yourself, or invite representatives from various beauty supply companies to come give tutorials.

Be sure to take photos and videos for your social pages, so that your followers won’t want to miss the next event!

Get social!

It’s no surprise that taking to social media is a great way to drive referrals and word-of-mouth marketing, however it can be difficult to track. Encourage clients to post photos on their favorite networks, and run various social contests. Have clients take a photo of their nails while they’re still at the salon (and before they have a chance to chip or smudge!), and tag your business. Feel free to include any special hashtags or other criteria that you feel will enhance the results. At the end of the month, the post with the most likes will win a prize or free service!

And don’t miss out on these creative ways to boost referrals!

April is Contracting and Home Services month here on the Signpost Local Marketing Blog! This means that in addition to our usual posts with tips on connecting with customers, marketing strategy, and growing your business, we’ll be sharing insights specifically for local contracting and home services professionals. If that includes you, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get down to it. If not, don’t worry, we’ll still be sharing our usual resources that can help you effectively market your local business. And keep your eyes peeled, your industry might be the one we feature next month!

Life was a lot easier when all it took to get a few new customers were print ads and sending out some flyers via direct mail campaigns. However, tactics like these provide no insight into their effectiveness, and nowadays their results leave a lot to be desired. Luckily, new tools and technologies have come along that provide better access to your audience, and improved ways to keep them engaged. The average return on investment (ROI) for email marketing is 4300%, and customers are 76% more likely to read an SMS marketing message than email, proving the worth of both strategies. Best of all, these tried and true techniques are also much easier to track and measure, so you can be sure that you’re focusing on growing your business in the best and most sustainable way possible. This allows you to be more data-driven in your approach and also to know what areas you can improve in.

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Email

1. The first step is deciding on an Email Service Provider (ESP) that works best for your business. Most ESPs provide email analytics and reporting on key metrics, including delivery rate, open rate, and click-through rate. In addition to sending out automated messages, Signpost also allows you to create custom email campaigns for this purpose. Find the right service for your business based on which offers the easiest list management, email templates and editing, and on which fits your budget.
2. Next, it’s time to begin building your email lists. Start by sending out an email to past clients stating that your business is starting up an email list and ask them to subscribe. You can offer a welcome offer of either a gift or a coupon for some routine maintenance or service checkup in order to entice them to join.  Extend the list for this initial email to anyone who requested a quote or an estimate, got in touch, or are current customers. This will give you a good base to start with!
3. Next, take some time to optimize your current website and social media profiles so that you can continue to collect emails and grow your list. Add a subscription form to your homepage, as well as any blogs or social media profiles you have established for your business, so you have all your bases covered.
4. Now that you’ve updated your online assets, make sure to also translate this practice offline. Add a field to invoices or estimates for the customer to provide their email address. Any paperwork that you provide to a customer should include this prompt to stay in contact.
5. Create an automated, welcome email (some ESP’s do this automatically) that requests a “double opt-in” or a confirmation that they’d like to receive emails from you. This helps to protect your future emails from being marked as spam.
6. You should ask that these recipients “whitelist” your email, by adding your address to their contacts to ensure that your messages will not be archived, or filtered out of view deep in their inbox. This is your best shot of ensuring your emails are being received and read. The above welcome email is a great opportunity to add a line requesting this.
7. It’s important to establish expectations with regards to the frequency of emails you’re planning on sending out. If you bombard your customers with a different email every day, when they use your services once a decade, they might end up being annoyed and unsubscribing. Transparency is always helpful in preventing this, so be upfront about how often they can expect to hear from you and what types of emails (instructional how-to’s, new products and offerings, discounts, etc.) they’ll be receiving from you.
8. Now that you’ve got some of the administrative tasks out of the way, you’re ready to start email marketing! First and foremost, you should focus on quality content that keeps readers interested and engaged. This is not the time or place for a hard sell—save that for 1-1 correspondence. Share your expertise with a series of how-to tutorials for simple maintenance or quick fixes for home repairs. Keep the text short and sweet, as many people will be reading these on smartphones or other devices with smaller screens and dislike scrolling through long, text-heavy emails.
9. Make your emails as visual as possible. Be sure to include at least one image (but not too many, as it can greatly affect load times), to keep your audience invested. Status photos, or before-and-after photos are perfect for this. Or, include short videos that show how subscribers can perform basic tasks to improve their own home.
10. Spend some extra time crafting a really terrific subject line. 33% of email recipients open email based on subject line alone, which puts the pressure on you to distill your entire email’s contents to an intriguing few short words.
11. If your home services business tends to have many quick visits or short-term projects (such as HVAC repair, plumbing, etc.), request an email address when your customers are making their appointment and send them a brief profile on the technician that is coming to service them. This helps foster a sense of community, and let’s them know who to expect. It also reduces the uncertainty associated with letting strangers into their home. And, if you include a few lines about the technician’s background and interests, it provides good topics for small talk.
12. In every email, make sure to clearly display your business’s contact info, including address, phone number, best email contact (may be different from the account you send out marketing emails from), as well as the hours of your office or headquarters if you have one. This way, when they’re ready to make a purchasing decision, not only will your business be top of their mind, they’ll also be able to easily connect with you.
13. Include social buttons so that they can easily find and follow any network that your business has a profile on. This gives you even more options for how to engage with your customers in the future. If you’re including good content, you might also want to consider adding social sharing buttons directly in the email. Not only does it allow readers to easily share your content and brand expertise with their networks on social media, but can also lead to an uptick in click-through rate (CTR) by as much as 115%.
14. Incentivize readers to stay engaged by offering exclusive discounts to your email subscribers.
15. Add a call-to-action (CTA) button to emails with an exclusive offer. Emails with a single call-to-action increased clicks 371% and sales 1617%. Whether it’s a discount with a link to “Request My Free Quote”, “Make an Appointment”, or “Schedule Maintenance”, include a focused CTA button, when applicable, to drive customers towards your website.
16. Remember to ask for referrals. You should always include a line about your referral program (if you have one), and otherwise asking subscribers if they’d like to recommend your business to a friend. It’s important to plant the seeds early and often so that when the subject comes up, subscribers will be reminded to recommend your business.
17. Schedule emails ahead of time, so you can plan in advance and not sacrifice the consistency that your audience comes to expect. Most ESP’s allow you to do this, which provides really great flexibility around your schedule. If you have a few spare moments in the morning or evening, draft out next week’s email blast and schedule it so you don’t fall behind. Or, you can utilize marketing technologies, like Signpost, that automatically send out emails to drive reviews, repeat business and referrals at the right time, without the need to lift a finger.
18. Devote time to evaluating your results, and finding areas to improve upon. Marketing is a process that’s never really finished. There are always new insights that can be analyzed from different types of campaigns, and refined for future efforts. Try to learn something new from each campaign or email you send out and you’ll be on your way to becoming a successful, well-oiled email marketing machine!

SMS Marketing

Although a similar approach, do be mindful of the nuances that set SMS marketing apart from email.

1. Similarly, with SMS, or text message marketing, it’s important to find a service provider. Again, Signpost allows you to establish an easy opt-in short code, track subscriptions, send out blasts (including automated ones) and track results.
2. Make sure you have permission. There are strict laws against sending messages to customers who did not choose to subscribe to your marketing list.
3.   Build your lists by placing the opt-in short code (or ‘Text “Start’ to this number” prompts) on in all print items including business cards, flyers, in-store signage, coupons, and trucks or vans.
4. Add the short code to your online assets, including your business website, social pages, blog, directories, and email signature.
5. Be mindful of character limits (usually 140), and be sure to keep your message brief and to the point. No one likes to read more than they have to in a text.
6. Text messages are received and read almost instantaneously. Take advantage of this by sending messages that convey urgency or are time sensitive. Incentivize the first 5 to respond. Whether a discount off their next maintenance, or a free tune up, this approach helps foster engagement while also proving the worth of subscribing to your SMS list.
7. Ask a trivia question about something in your field or something seasonal, or do a “pop quiz” based on an instructional how-to blog you wrote, or video you made. Reward those who answer correctly first, similarly to #4.
8. Send out a reminder the day before or morning of a scheduled appointment. This helps prompt them to do any prep you need completed before your arrival, and can convey any info you’d like to remind them of (what time, how long it will take, etc.).
9. Send text tips, based on different seasonal or weather-influenced conditions. Try “It’s going to be a sweltering week! Be sure to check the freon levels in your AC!  Schedule your annual maintenance today!” Or, “Time for Spring cleaning! Clean out those gutters, or we’ll do it for you with $25 off!”
10. While you can’t include images, you can link to a video, social pages or your website. Better yet, using a tracking link like bit.ly, which will not only save you some characters but will also allow you to also track how many people click the link.
11. Issue a “Thank you” or follow up messages after a visit or project. Keep the line of communication open, and request feedback to gauge their satisfaction levels, identify areas for improvement and prompt them to review you online.

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1. Offer Rewards for Referrals

Your customers may love you, but they have a lot on their minds and talking you up to their friends may not be a priority. Sometimes they just need a little incentive. Everyone loves a reward, even a small one. But, choose wisely. It should be enough of an incentive to make it worth their while to recommend you, but not such a good deal that they’ll set up a phony customer just to get the reward.

2. Encourage Customer Reviews

If you haven’t already done so, claim your Yelp page along with Google Plus and any other review sites, and optimize them with photos and helpful information. Then encourage customers to visit your sites and post reviews. Take advantage of the extraordinary circumstances when a client is extremely grateful and let them know how much you’d appreciate it if they would share their experience. There are many such opportunities, like when you squeeze in that last minute emergency appointment, or rescue someone from a bad perm or botched color.

3. Offer Introductory Specials

Lure in new customers with a “try me” special. Keep it safe and simple; let them get to know you before they trust you with their color or texture. If you have a deep conditioning treatment that customers are raving about, that’s a great way to give new clients a positive first experience. Combine it with a shampoo, trim, style or blowout and send them off looking and feeling fabulous. Post your introductory special on your social media sites, print it on the back of business cards for clients to give to their friends, hand out flyers or even send out postcards.

4. Leverage Social Media

People are increasingly mobile these days, so instead of chatting with neighbors over the back fence, they’re chatting on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. Conduct a survey of your favorite clients and find out which sites they’re frequenting, and set up business pages on those sites. Encourage them to like your pages so they’ll receive updates in their news feeds. Post daily specials, announce new products and services and offer helpful beauty tips and advice; things that your followers will want to pass on to their friends. You can even share funny salon-related pictures and videos in hopes that they will also be shared. Be sure to take advantage of the new call to action (CTA) buttons to encourage readers to visit your website or even make an appointment.

5. Partner with Complementary Businesses

Team up with other local businesses in the neighborhood that potential clients might frequent, such as fitness centers, cafes, boutiques and such. Offer to place their business cards and/or promotional materials on your counter if they will do the same. You’ll both benefit from the extra business, and it’s a great way to promote your introductory special.

6. Mail Out Postcards

Take advantage of the U.S. Postal Service’s Every Door Direct Mail service to geo-target specific neighborhoods in your area with postcards advertising your introductory special offer. It’s inexpensive, extremely simple and a great way to ensure that you’re reaching potential customers in your geographical area.

7. Throw a Party

Who doesn’t love a party? Pick a theme, whether it be girls’ night out, a holiday party, a grand opening or the introduction of a new product or service, and plan a very special evening. Have plenty of staff on hand to demonstrate techniques, products, services or just give a complete makeover to a lucky winner or winners, and be ready to wow your guests with the results. Be sure to have food, cocktails and door prizes, and promote it well in advance. Use flyers, posters, mailers, email, text messages and social media to remind all of your favorite clients to attend, and encourage them to bring their friends.

Remember, as a local business you want to attract local customers. Get to know and become a part of your local community, because that’s where your customers are. And don’t forget to nurture and leverage your greatest source of new customers — your current client base!

• Book Now
• Contact Us
• Use App
• Play Game
• Shop Now
• Sign Up
• Watch Video

Page administrators can use these buttons to help integrate their Facebook page with their website, appointment booking site, landing pages or a whole variety of functions. Here are seven possibilities to get you started.

 1. Bring customers to your website. This is the most obvious one — whether you want customers to browse your site and shop, get more information, or whatever, your CTA button now provides a large, clickable space for your website link. The photo, text box and CTA button itself all link to your website.

2. Get customers to book an appointment. Whether it’s an appointment for a massage or a haircut, a hotel room for the weekend or even a concert ticket, you can link your booking site directly to your Facebook page with the “Book Now” call-to-action button.

3. Get customers to view an informational video. Your products and services come alive with an informational video clickable right from your Facebook page with the “Watch Video” button. Whether it’s a short promo or an in-depth infomercial, or even instructional how-to video, it adds depth and color to your business page.

4. Get customers to download your store app. Got your own custom app for your business? Now you can not only promote it on your Facebook page, but customers can click and download right from the site with the “Use App” button.

5. Get customers to sign up for text messages. Customers can enter their phone number and be enrolled in your SMS marketing program while browsing in Facebook. “Sign up to get texts about last minutes sales, discounts and mobile coupons!”

6. Get customers to subscribe to your newsletter. Got a great weekly, monthly or quarterly newsletter and want more subscribers? Put a CTA button on your Facebook business page and get customers to sign up.

7. Get customers to contact you for more information. Get leads right from your Facebook page with a “Contact Us” button. If you’re a contractor, an architect, a landscaper or other professional who provides estimates for complex jobs, your Facebook business page is now another place where you can get potential clients to submit inquiries and make first contact.

Adding all of these CTA buttons adds a lot of functionality to Facebook business pages, almost like having a whole additional website inside Facebook. Sharp business owners will certainly want to take advantage of them, to showcase products and services, get more leads and get more business!

Massage Marketing Tips

1) Send Out Post Cards

Whether you offer mobile massage or your customers come to you, proximity is key.  If a client can stop in for a relaxing massage on the way home from work, that’s ideal.  The closer to home the better.  Who wants to jump right back into rush hour traffic right after a relaxing massage?  Target neighborhoods close to your business location with introductory postcards offering a new customer discount.  The USPS has a wonderful site where you can set up bulk mailings to selected neighborhoods, and even review demographics for those areas.

2) Host an Open House

It doesn’t matter whether you’re new to the neighborhood or just want to meet some new customers, an open house is appropriate any time you want to hold one.  Make up a flyer and post it on community bulletin boards, at libraries, medical offices, fitness centers and upscale apartment complexes.  Be sure to list it on local online event sites as well.  Make it a meet and greet with complimentary food and drink, and round up some massage students to provide chair massages.  Offer free massage sessions as door prizes.

3) Start a Loyalty Rewards Program

A customer loyalty rewards program is a great way to keep clients coming back, but it’s also a draw for new customers.  When shopping for a massage therapist, people like to know that they can accrue discounts and freebies over time, so be sure to mention your rewards program in all of your advertising.

4) Offer Package Deals

This one’s a no brainer.  When clients can get a price break by paying for a bundle of services up front, everybody wins.  They get a discount and you get the funds in your bank account.  Consider joining forces with a spa or salon in the same area to offer relaxing spa packages or even just reciprocal discounts.

5) Take Appointments Online

Free yourself from phone duty by setting up an online appointment service.  Customers will appreciate the convenience of being able to schedule immediately without waiting for a callback, and having an online appointment service will strengthen your web presence.

6) Publish a Blog

Post regular articles about the health benefits of massage therapy, the latest breakthroughs in homeopathic medicine, dietary advice, helpful stretching exercises and/or anything you specialize in that’s related to your business.  Publishing a regular blog centered on health and wellness and massage therapy will help boost your website’s local search results and establish you as an expert in the field.

7) Find Your Niche

Don’t be afraid to specialize, and then leverage that specialty by networking with health care professionals to get clients.  There’s no need to compete with fancy day spas offering relaxation massages when you can get all the work you can handle working with sports injuries, pregnant women, fibromyalgia patients, geriatric patients or any other specialty clients.

8) Go Mobile

For many clients, the worst part of a massage is the end, when they have to get dressed and drive home.  Consequently, mobile massage services are booming, especially in busy metropolitan areas.  A mobile massage business has little overhead, and can operate on a virtual shoestring.  Mobile massage equipment can also be set up at business conferences, sporting events, health fairs and many other types of well attended gatherings.

9) Go Corporate

Contact any local corporations or large businesses nearby and offer a corporate discount.  Go through the HR department and offer your services as a way to improve their health and benefits package.

10) Leverage Social Media

Make use of a host of social media tools to connect with your clients online.  Survey your best customers to find out what sites they frequent and set up business pages on those sites.  Offer them a discount on their next service if they like or follow your page.  Post links to informational articles and blogs about health and wellness, and updates about new services or discounts you’re offering.  Remember, it’s not enough to just have a page; you need to keep it fresh and interesting.

11) Email and SMS Marketing

Collect client email addresses and phone numbers and use them to send out notices of special discounts and availability.  SMS texts are an especially useful tool for filling in slow spots where you don’t have any appointments.  You can instantly message your clients that you have an open time slot at a specific discount.  Your clients will feel special being privy to these exclusive deals, and you’ll be able to fill up any gaps in your schedule.

These are just a few helpful ideas to add to your overall marketing plan.  Between connecting and marketing online, via email, text and also networking with local businesses, there are a wealth of opportunities available to broaden your massage therapy client base.  The key is to know and understand your local customer demographic, and choose the methods that will best reach them.

You know how to promote your massage therapy business. Now what?

Be prepared to communicate with them! Download our free guide to see our TOP tips for communicating with customers online and over the phone!

Choose a Service Provider

If you don’t have time to handle each step separately, you may decide to go straight to a direct mail advertising company, such as DirectMail.com, PostcardBuilder.com or CactusMailing.com. These services can handle everything from designing and printing the postcards to creating the mailing lists and dropping them off at the post office. If you’re more the hands-on type – and want to save a little money – USPS.com’s Advertising with Mail page has quite a lot of helpful instructions and recommendations.

USPS also offers an Every Door Direct Mail delivery tool that allows the user to map out a target area using demographic data – including age, household income and size – select a delivery route, choose a mailing date, and even pay online. This is perfect for local businesses who want to target specific neighborhoods. For those seeking to reach a more select demographic, you’ll need to pay for a specialized address list from a mailing service.

Determine Your Budget

If you go with a direct mail marketer, you’ll be given a quote for a set number of pieces. If you decide to do it yourself, you can find some helpful cost estimates at the USPS website. If you need a specialized address list from a mailing service, you’ll need to add that to your budget. Other costs to budget for include graphic design, printing, alterations and proofs, a quality control check, and, of course, postage. A list of estimated costs can be found at the USPS website.

Decide on a Format

For most direct mail marketing campaigns, postcards are the best bet. They’re a cost-effective way to announce new products and services, promote sales events, and extend special offers. They can be posted on a customer’s refrigerator or carried in a purse or briefcase as a reminder to attend a special event, or used as a coupon or invitation.

Flyers allow more space for your message, but require extra handling costs for folding. The next step up is letters in envelopes, which are somewhat more costly than flyers and postcards. Letters are used for more formal requests or invitations, and can include coupons, tickets, or other items in the envelope. Should you decide to send out brochures, pamphlets, or reply mail, you’ll definitely want to purchase a mailing list so that you can target more strategically, as printing and mailing costs for these items are significantly higher.

Create Your Message

Get the most out of your mailing by persuading the recipient to hang on to it. Use a call to action that says something like “present this coupon for” and include your offer, whether it’s a general discount, buy-one-get-one-free, free add-on service with purchase, or introductory special, among other things. Now your postcard will remain in the customer’s purse or briefcase, in the console of their car, or on their refrigerator, providing free advertising every time they look at it, right up until they remember to come in and present it. Don’t forget to include an expiration date.

Find a Local Printer

The USPS website has recommendations for local printers if you don’t already have one. Ideally, you should be networking with other local businesses so this shouldn’t be too difficult. Hopefully your local printer will happily keep some of your postcards on his or her counter for customers that come in.

Many printers have graphic designers they work with, or you can hire one separately. While it isn’t necessary to budget for a four-color printing process, you should add at least a pop of color to a basic black and white design to highlight key parts of the message. Be sure to proof your design carefully before it goes to print and make sure to get a quality control check along the way. Once the pieces are printed, you can take them to the post office yourself, or many printers will even drop them off for you.

Keep Track of Returns

One of the benefits of having the customer return your postcard is that it provides an immediate, physical validation of the success of your mailing, and addresses from returned postcards can be used to make up a preferred customer mailing list. Be sure to track the return rate of each mailing to see which messages, offers, and deals are the most effective.

Get Found With These 3 Chiropractic Marketing Strategies

1. Develop an online presence. If your chiropractic office is not online, you should be. If you don’t have a website, get one. While it often takes years to get a decent ranking in Google and other search engines, you can speed up the process by listing your business in every online directory of chiropractors you can find, and you’ll soon discover that there are many out there. Start with the ones that pop up first when you search for chiropractors and work down. Yelp may have already created a page for you with basic information, but if not, you can create one yourself. It’s fast, easy and most importantly, free!  Be sure to include pictures and lots of pertinent information, along with a catchy slogan like “Live the active lifestyle you deserve.”
2. Leverage social media. More and more consumers are finding local businesses through social media pages such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  At the very least, create a Facebook page.  Once you’ve developed a following update it from time to time with helpful advice on nutrition, exercise, stretching techniques, etc.  If you don’t have time to write posts, you can always include links to relevant articles instead.
3. Make connections with other businesses.  If you don’t offer massage at your office, scope out businesses that offer therapeutic bodywork and offer to trade referrals.  Connecting with other medical professionals and perhaps acupuncturists is a no-brainer, but what about seemingly unrelated local businesses?  If your office has a favorite health-conscious place to order lunch, consider leaving a menu and/or a few business cards on your counter.

Get Customers with These 3 Chiropractic Marketing Initiatives 

1. Use the power of positive thinking. Many people may be unfamiliar with chiropractic techniques and unaware of their benefits. Encourage your patients who have had remarkable outcomes to share their experiences on your Google+ or Yelp page. You can then also post those reviews on your own website. Fill your Facebook page with links to articles about medical breakthroughs that are providing hope for people in chronic pain. All of these positive results will encourage patients who might be on the fence about seeing a chiropractor to come in and explore the possibilities with you.
2. Offer a new patient special. A patient who is on the fence is more likely to come in and give you a try if they’re getting a good deal. Whether you offer them a free consultation, a free X-ray or a whole discounted package, the trick is to get them in the door so they can find out what you have to offer. Be careful with offering a free or discounted massage, however. You may get many customers coming in for a free massage who have no interest in long-term chiropractic treatment.
3. Incentivize referrals. Offer free or discounted services to customers who refer their friends and family. This will make your current patients happy, while also growing your client base. Be sure to promote your referral offers on your social media pages and your website as well as in your office waiting room.

Get Repeat Business with These 3 Chiropractic Marketing Methods

1. Stay in contact with your patients.  Encourage them to give you their email address, and send them notices of special promotions, new equipment, changes in office hours and anything else that might be of interest, such as new blog posts or even a monthly newsletter.  It also allows you to ask your customers for their feedback.  Be sure to keep the emails infrequent however, maybe once or twice a month, or they may get annoyed and unsubscribe.
2. Offer “frequent flyer” type discounts and memberships that will keep patients coming back to achieve certain milestones for rewards, such as a free massage.  If the “reward” is an introduction to another service or treatment you offer, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.  Offering package deals such as a 10% discount on ten treatments when purchased in a block ensures that they’ll keep coming back at least nine more times, giving your patient a discount and you the money up front to help pay the bills.
3. Treat every patient as if they were your best customer.   Sometimes when a business offers a coupon or special deal, they get an overwhelming response which can lead to unfortunate and unintended results.  If you didn’t read this blog in time and offered say, a free massage, and now you’re inundated with takers, it’s critical that you somehow manage the flow. Customers who feel they’re somehow being treated differently because they have a coupon are quick to complain about it on your Yelp page.  It’s okay to give your current patients priority scheduling as long as you carefully explain to your new customers that you’re inundated with new patients right now and will schedule their treatment as quickly as you can.  Don’t overbook, and make a concerted effort to give each patient your very best. Remember, this is why you offered the coupon, and this is your chance to show them why they don’t want to go another day without your services!