At this point, you’ve mastered the basics of marketing your business: building great word of mouth, maintaining a professional image and showing respect to customers. Now it’s time to take what you’re doing to the next level and broaden your company’s presence.

Here are three ways that can help you get in front of more customers and reap a bigger return for your business.

Tell Your Story Online

Nowadays, consumers start their search for services online, making it more important than ever for your business to have a professional online presence. At the very least, you should have a website that lists contact information and a brief summary of services, helping potential customers find you online when they start looking for project partners. However, try not to simply list contact information and services, but focus on sharing your story and highlighting what differentiates you from the competition.

If you need help starting a website, there are many simple and affordable template options you can use. Companies like GoDaddy or WordPress are easy to use and can help showcase your business’s information, removing the need (and cost) of having a marketing specialist or technical expert on your staff.

For a more robust website, ABC Supply’s custom contractor websites offer content options that showcase your business to customers, including testimonials from satisfied customers, photo galleries, links to existing social media channels and even request-a-quote features.

This is also a great chance to describe the products you use and provide details about your company’s service guarantees, along with any noteworthy tools and resources.

Build Your Community Presence

As you’re doing work in the community, be on the lookout for additional opportunities to reach potential customers.

Sponsorships in your area like church and school events or youth sports teams can be a great way to reach area homeowners, keeping you top of mind when they start tackling their next home project.

Additionally, getting involved with any business and/or industry organizations in the area can be a great tool for business networking and is one of many ways you can grow relationships and your bottom line.

Tackle Social Media

In this digital age, maintaining a presence on social media is just as important as having a website. With 1.86 billion active monthly users on Facebook, consumers are using social media more than ever to connect to family, friends and businesses.

Between sharing project photos and providing company services and updates, there are many positives to your business being on social platforms. To cover all the bases, plan to acknowledge customers who leave positive comments and answer those who have questions or express concerns about a project’s status.

In the case of a negative comment, try these tips when responding:

• Respond quickly: A prompt response is one of the best things you can do, as it lets the customer (and entire page audience) know that you’re paying attention and listening. Try to respond to all comments within one to two business days.
• Say thanks: It’s always important to thank the customer for taking the time to write a note in the first place. This will help diffuse any aggression in the situation while showing you have class and patience.
• Take it offline: Describe any steps you’re taking to improve an existing situation and provide your direct contact information, so you can have a one-on-one conversation. Just remember all web communication—even private—can be shared publicly, so stay positive and professional.

As you try to take your business to the next level, consider these steps for the rest of 2017 and beyond. Keep coming back to the ABC Supply blog for more resources to build your business.