As the owner of a home service business – such as a contractor, plumber, or electrician – it’s critical to have a marketing strategy in place with a focus on customer engagement.

With approximately 70% of businesses stating that improving customer experience is their top priority, you’re not the only one focusing on how to boost engagement. There’s a good chance that your competitors, other home service businesses, are doing the same.

Fortunately, there are a variety of ways to engage with your customers, including:

1. Email Marketing

Make it a habit to collect the email address of every customer. This allows you to engage in many ways, such as:

• Industry tips and advice
• Coupons and discounts
• How and when to get in touch with you

According to HubSpot, email generates $38 for every $1 spent. With the opportunity to achieve a 3,800% return on investment, what are you waiting for?

2. Social Media

Even if you’ve avoided this in the past – maybe because you don’t have a lot of free time in your schedule – it’s a good idea to consider using social media in the future.

For home service businesses, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram deserve most of your attention.

There are many ways to engage your audience on social media, such as by providing a high level of customer service. Get this: customer service interaction on Twitter has increased by approximately 250% over the past two years.

3. Direct Mail

To a certain degree, direct mail is a thing of the past. This is due largely to the fact that you can spend less money connecting with your target audience online.

But, it’s not completely dead. There are many ways as a home service business to use direct mail to your advantage, such as:

• Sending postcards to remind customers they’re due for service
• Sending a sales letter outlining current promotions
• Sending a brochure that displays new products and/or services

With 70% of Americans stating that snail mail is more personalized than the internet, direct mail is still one of the better ways to engage with customers (and prospects).

Final Thoughts

Home service businesses face a lot of competition. If you want to reach the top of your market and maintain your spot indefinitely, it’s imperative to create and follow a comprehensive customer engagement plan.

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. If any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!