Marketing is an important part of running a successful painting business. No matter how good you are at professional painting work, it won’t help you if you don’t have a marketing strategy to promote and sell the services you offer.
In this article, we look at how effective painting business marketing strategies can help your business get the painting jobs you need on a regular basis. We also offer ideas and tips for putting together such a marketing plan.
brand strategy
From the beginning, you should set out to develop a brand. Give some thought to how you want to shape public perceptions of your business. A great name and logo design can give your brand visual representation, but there’s so much more to it than that. A winning brand strategy is having the right attitude and adopting a business philosophy that ensures that you slowly begin to build a good reputation. Strive to be known as a trustworthy company that always meets and exceeds customer expectations.
Paint niche markets
Before you can begin to develop a marketing strategy, you need to know exactly what painting services you intend to sell. Depending on the size of your local market and the number of competitors, you may decide to specialize in a particular area or be a “jack of all trades.”
The market can be basically divided into two main areas, exterior and interior painting. Outdoor or exterior painting work is often easier to get as people are less likely to do it themselves due to the perceived danger of climbing ladders. The great thing about outdoor painting work is that clients are often less demanding than when painting surfaces inside their home. However, with outdoor painting, you need to consider safety to a greater extent, especially for multi-story buildings. You don’t even have to limit yourself to painting houses, as all types of buildings need painting from time to time.
Market research
Do extensive market research and identify all the opportunities that exist in the market. You should also try to understand who your customers are and how you can market your service to them in a way that they will respond favorably. Gather some customer profiles and chat with some typical customers to learn more about your prospects. Put yourself in the customers’ shoes and try to understand what they are looking for in a painting company.
networking tips
A great way to land some regular jobs is to approach people who you think are in a position to refer clients to you. Try to build relationships with real estate developers, interior decorators, real estate agents, home preparation companies, property management companies, and others that are available in the market. Other networking options include joining a local builders association or Chamber of Commerce.
Look for other well-established service companies that have large client lists and regular communication with them. You can find cleaning companies or lawn care businesses that will promote their service to your mailing list for a fee.
It can be great to have relationships with other painting contractors. While they are competitors in a certain sense of the word, they can also be useful. If you specialize in different types of painting or if you work in different parts of town, you may be able to recommend businesses to one another. If you’re lucky, there may be times when you have more work than you can handle. Being able to pass the work on to other painters that you know are trustworthy will be good for your clients and good for them. They can also correspond and send work your way.
A great place to meet people is at home improvement stores. The paint section at Home Depot can be a goldmine if you’re friendly and strike up a few casual conversations. You will meet other contractors there and may even meet a client as well.
Advertising campaigns
The obvious way for a new business to contact potential customers is through advertising. Try a variety of methods that will put you directly in touch with your target market. For more information see our article on Commercial Painting Advertising.
marketing elements
It’s helpful if you have some marketing materials to show potential clients when you meet them for a consultation. Prepare some brochures or at least bring a folder with photos of some of the work you have completed in the past. Testimonials from past clients also offer the prospect the kind of reassurance and “social proof” they want before signing the dotted line.
What can you do if you haven’t completed any paint job yet or don’t have proper photos? A great tip is to buy stock photography from an online retailer. Presenting images of beautiful paint jobs in your brochure or on your website is not fraudulent if you do not make false claims that the work depicted is yours.
Fine-tune your sales process
To be very successful in the painting business, you need to have someone on your team who can go out and sell their services. There are many different sales strategies and techniques and they all have different levels of success depending on the salesperson and the prospect. Learn about some of the different approaches, try them out, and then find out what works for you.
Don’t be intimidated by the idea that you have to sell. Sometimes if you just be yourself, stay positive and lead the customer through a nice conversation about how you can help them, that’s all you need.
Try to sell customers additional painting jobs. Once they’ve agreed to hire you to paint a certain area, you can also start suggesting other areas of your house or property that could use a little paint work.
Customer Service Insights
In the painting business you have to be a good communicator as well as a good painter. It is necessary to take the time to understand the unique requirements of each client. Always offer them the best level of service and make sure they have open lines of communication with you. This should start from the moment they contact you to inquire about your services. Try to have someone answer your phone calls in person, and if this is not possible, be sure to return calls as soon as possible.
Marketing to existing customers
Once you have a client and you’ve completed some work on their house, it doesn’t have to be the end of your relationship with them. Create a client list with notes on each property you have painted. You can then contact them from time to time and offer to do any other painting work they require.
There are many excellent guides available online that will give you additional ideas and strategies for marketing your painting business. If you study marketing in general, you will find that most of the concepts are related to the painting industry and can be applied in your business.
