Category Archives: Data & Case Studies
Your Leads May Have A 2nd Life
- |
- Comments:
- |
- Topic: Data & Case Studies, Lead Generation, Strategy
Buying leads is often a necessity for many small businesses as a well established form of advertising, to increase a company’s work flow. Here at CraftJack, we often stress the principals of one’s close ratio in factoring the cost per job versus the more commonly used (and frequently misguided) cost per lead. An example I have been known to use by comparison is advertising your business on a billboard by the side of the highway. Assuming an average of 5,000 cars drive past the sign in a given period and 5 calls (not projects) were a direct result of that advert, you wouldn’t call and request a refund for the other 4,995 cars. You would absolutely need to find out how much business you received from commuters who called after noticing the sign to accurately calculate what your cost per job was in order to determine if that billboard is a profitable form of advertisement for your business. The same is true for lead generation.
READ MORE
A Homeowner’s Perspective on Choosing a Contractor
- |
- Comments:
- |
- Topic: Data & Case Studies, Sales
I had an interesting experience this past week that gave me a new perspective on the process homeowners go through when using our service. Ever since moving into our most recent office space this past summer just north of Chicago, we’ve had some phone jack wiring issues that had affected a good portion of the work stations. When we first moved in, more than half of the phone jacks didn’t work. A problem that needed to be solved immediately, as all our phone and internet are connected and we are a 100% online digital communications business.
READ MORE
Demographics For People Seeking House Painters in 2011
- |
- Comments:
- |
- Topic: Data & Case Studies
Well, 2011 is behind us. Smart contractors will look back on 2011 and spot trends in their industry so they can make changes for 2012. And we wanted to help by providing some demographic data for all the house painting leads we received in 2011.
Here is a breakdown (highlights below the chart):
READ MORE
What Contractors Can Learn From ServiceMagic’s Remodeling & Repair Index
- |
- Comments:
- |
- Topic: Data & Case Studies
ServiceMagic just released their Remodeling and Repair Index for January-June 2011. The index contains data on service requests from ServiceMagic’s website, as well as surveys conducted with homeowners and contractors.
The index has a lot of good data, and while the method may be partially flawed (just because service magic saw a 52% increase in solar requests does not mean that the population as a whole is 52% more likely to request solar. It may just mean that ServiceMagic increased their advertising efforts for solar, which led to the increase in service requests), the data still shows interesting trends in the home improvement space.
The contractor survey (pages 17-22) shows some very interesting insights that have real implications as to how contractors should be following up with their leads.
On page 20 ServiceMagic asked the question “With the downturn in the economy, what changes have you seen in homeowners’ buying habits?” Only 5% of contractors reported that they saw no change. 95% reported changes in customer buying behavior that has an impact on their sales.
ServiceMagic also asked contractors how they are addressing these changes. 92% of contractors changed how they present estimates, price work, or pursue leads.
What does this information have to do with you? Well, it’s becoming quite clear that the landscape is getting more competitive and margins are going down as contractors compete for jobs. As a result you should place extra focus on how you follow up with leads and the little things you can do to stand out.
How have you changed your strategy since the recession?
World record contractor call with homeowner?
- |
- Comments:
- |
- Topic: Data & Case Studies
One of the technologies we offer contractors who use CraftJack is the ability to automatically track every call they make to each lead. This makes it easier for contractors to keep track of which leads have been called, when the last call was, and how long it took them (or their sales team) to make the first call. In the future it will let our system help contractors improve their follow up process by analyzing call data.
Today I was browsing through the call logs in our system. I was shocked when I saw a call that a contractor made to a lead we sent them that lasted 105 minutes!
That’s definitely a record for our system and it’s great to see contractors using our system to build great relationships with homeowners.
What’s the longest call you’ve ever had with a homeowner?
