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- A Marketing Budget Danger to Avoid
Hello home service operators,
Big or small, your marketing budget is your marketing budget. You have what you have.
So, remember this: Make. Every. Dollar. Count.
Below, I talk about a hidden danger that’s lurking. It’s coming for your marketing budget and is likely to drag it down if you’re not careful.
Let’s review some resources first…
An online supply house can complement your local supply house (here’s one of my favorites)
Is bad communication the biggest problem in the HVAC industry?
This HVAC startup has big ambitions and the industry is beginning to take notice
This home service operator has different business goals than a lot of people—and it’s a breath of fresh air
Want to save money on parts and supplies? Get 20% off your first online purchase here (use promo code: OWNED20)
Make Good Things Happen to Your Business
Appletree Business Services knows HVAC and plumbing. They understand ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, and the ins and outs of M&A. That means less stress for you and more time to focus on running your crews.
Could you benefit from this type of partner? You wouldn’t be alone…
Appletree provides proactive advice when you need it. They act as a one-stop shop for bookkeeping, payroll, taxes, and acquisitions for your home service company.
If you can’t (or don’t want to) manage everything in-house, get in touch with Appletree. They’re currently offering my readers a free financial and tax review or 10% off QOE for acquisitions.
Don’t Spread Your Budget Too Thin
We’ve all been guilty of it. Budget season rolls around and suddenly there’s a 50-line Excel sheet of “opportunities.” Radio. SEO. Billboards. Maybe even field marketing just to check the box.
I’ve done this myself. And every time, it felt like progress. Until it didn’t.
Because here’s the truth: spreading your budget thin doesn’t create growth.
What Actually Works
The companies I know growing the fastest aren’t doing ten things halfway. They’re running one or two channels up to $100K a month.
I’ve seen it firsthand. A friend in Chicago pushed PPC to $90K a month because that’s what worked for them. We did the same thing with LSAs: $80,000, $90,000, $100,000 a month. Why? Because it filled the board.
It wasn’t flashy.
It wasn’t new.
It was just the same channels we’d already proven, scaled up until they were maxed.
And the result? The board stayed full, which is the only thing that matters.
Why Spreading Fails
Spreading your dollars across too many tactics feels like progress. But when you’re buying billboards, church bulletin ads, and/or community sponsorships while the board isn’t full today or tomorrow, you’re fooling yourself.
At best, those branding plays help years from now. At worst, they burn cash that should’ve gone into proven lead capture.
Even when our ad budget grew to millions, I thought we’d be doing splashy things like sponsoring sports teams, big community campaigns, and brand-first plays.
The reality was much different. We were still just buying leads. Just a lot more of them.
Demand Capture First
Every dollar of marketing spend falls into one of two buckets:
Demand capture: LSAs, PPC, SEO, reviews, lead partners. These fill the board today.
Demand generation: TV, radio, billboards, sponsorships. These build brand for tomorrow.
Both matter. But the priority depends on one question: is the board full today, tomorrow, and the next day?
If the answer’s no, you don’t need branding. You need leads. That’s why for years our mix was 85% capture and 15% generation. Only recently did we even loosen it to 75/25.
Because nothing else matters if the board isn’t full.
Scaling Isn’t Sexy
This is where most people get it wrong. They think hitting a million-dollar marketing budget will change the playbook. But it doesn’t.
At $200K, $2M, or $20M the strategy looks the same. It’s just more of that same.
More LSAs.
More PPC.
More investment in SEO and reviews.
That’s how you actually scale. Boring, repetitive, and effective.
The Lesson
Growth doesn’t come from spreading thin.
Run your winners until they’re maxed.
Keep the majority of your budget on capture until your board is full every day.
Treat branding and spread as supplements, not the main course.
Spreading slows you down. Concentration fuels growth.
Here’s a video that dives even deeper into this topic.
Every Conversation Matters
If you run a business, every missed call means money left on the table.
It’s as simple as that.
Rather than leave money to your competitors, you need a phone system that keeps up and helps you stay connected. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
OpenPhone is that solution. It allows your team to share one number and collaborate on customer calls and texts like a shared inbox. Any teammate can pick up right where the last person left off, keeping response times faster than ever.
OpenPhone is offering my listeners a 20% discount on their first six months.
Is your marketing budget designed to keep your board full? Or is it spread so thin that you continue to fall short where it really matters?
How do you feel about today's newsletter? |
👊 John
Disclosure: Some of the content and links in this newsletter are sponsored or affiliate links, which means we may receive payment or earn a commission if you click through or purchase. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
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