Marketing for a decision that takes months

Someone searching for a kitchen remodel today may sign in the spring. Advertising built for same-day calls fails at this, and the owner concludes it does not work.

Module 5 of the Castells Media academy for contractors: Marketing basics.

Why the emergency playbook fails here

What to measure instead

The two costs, in a slow trade

Seasonality is real here too

What a signed job cost, counted properly. Compare that with what a remodel leaves you, not with what a click cost. A $1,600 acquisition cost is terrible for a service call and can be excellent for a $60,000 kitchen. Counting by month instead of by cohort is how owners get this backwards.

Do this next: Write down, for your last five signed jobs, when the customer first contacted you. If the gap is months, your reporting has to work in months too.

Written by Castells Media, a marketing agency at 1298 Antelope Creek Drive, Roseville, California, working with home service businesses across the US.

Castells Media Inc, 1298 Antelope Creek Drive, Roseville, California