You could have all of the best marketing tactics and resources in the world as part of your contractor marketing strategy, but if you don’t have integrity and likeability, then you’re sure to lose contractor leads to your competition no matter what.

This topic came to mind when I was recently reading a post I found on a well-known website. As I was reading the comments of readers, several of them indicated that the title of the post was misleading, and they didn’t seem thrilled about it. It wasn’t that they found the post, which included a video, to be useless, but they simply didn’t feel the information they received was relevant to the title provided (which prompted them to read and watch in the first place).

As I reviewed the comments, it reminded me that integrity and likeability are crucial for local business owners, because without it, you’re sure to lose contractor leads to the competition, even if you have the top marketing tools and resources in the world. At the end of the day, consumers want to do business with people they like and trust, period. To make sure you fit the bill, keep the following in mind as part of your contractor marketing strategy:

Take responsibility. If you or someone within your business made a mistake, then own up to it immediately and take measures to mitigate any damages internally or externally. A consumer will be more likely to do business with you again if you own up to any issues or mistakes you’ve made with them and do what you can to make it up to them.

Be forthright and honest. You’re only as good as your word, so be honest when responding to questions or promoting your business.

Don’t try to trick your audience. When sending out emails, posting blogs, and so on, don’t try to get a contractor lead’s attention by using a title or subject heading that has nothing or little to do with the contents within your post or communication. Being creative is one thing, but tricking your audience will not go over well;, and they likely won’t do business with you.

Again, contractor leads are more likely to convert and do business with those they like and trust, so keep this in mind with every action you take and word you speak.

Chris Marentis has written 162 articles on this blog.

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For nearly three decades, Chris Marentis, Founder and CEO of Surefire Social, has been responsible for driving innovation and sales growth for large media and e-commerce brands as well as start-ups. With a long-history of counseling local businesses about their marketing efforts, Marentis provides insight on what it takes for small businesses to succeed and thrive in today’s evolving digital environment. His notable career includes creating the foundational blueprints for online marketing, e-commerce and content branding for AOL's Interactive Marketing group, where he served as Senior Vice President. While CEO of Clearspring Technologies, Marentis developed one of the most widely adopted venture-backed Web 2.0 technology platforms. Marentis is a frequent speaker at local digital marketing conferences and a contributor to SMB and technology-focused publications.

Tags: boosting contractor leads, contractor leads, honesty, integrity, local business marketing, local businesses

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2012 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.