Your Marketing Plan Sucks Because...

Hello home service operators,

Let me be a bit harsh for just a second.

Many home service operators have a marketing plan, but they suck. Sure, there are components that work, but the problem is that there’s no real strategy involved.

I’m here today to talk all about strategic marketing. Taking the right steps upfront will yield positive results down the line.

Before we get to that, let me share some valuable resources with you.

• Lawmakers in House and Senate move to maintain Energy Star

• How one operator went from a single truck to a $10M+ HVAC empire

• Want to sell more? Get serious about integrating AI into everything you do

• AI is helping many home service operators maximize booking rates across channels

• Avoca is designed from the ground up to drive revenue and elevate CSR performance

• Liberty Service Partners has acquired Restivo’s Heating & Air, a trusted HVAC leader serving Providence and communities across Rhode Island

Strategic Marketing = More Leads

A big portion of today’s newsletter is about strategic marketing as a means of generating leads.

When it comes to lead gen, there’s only one thing that matters: results.

And when it comes to driving results, Service Scalers is my go-to provider.

This year alone, they have generated thousands of leads for my business, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. I’m in good company…

Don’t sleep on your lead generation strategy. Implement a plan that keeps your pipelie full, month after month.

Contact Service Scalers for 1-month free with any 12-month contract...good for any service.

Spray and Pray Marketing is a Losing Strategy

There’s a mistake in marketing that almost no one talks about. Do you know what it is? I bet you do…

It looks smart at first glance: spread your budget across as many channels as possible like bus stops, radio, billboards, and social media.

On paper, it feels strategic.
You are everywhere at once.
Your brand looks big.
And you can tell yourself you have covered all your bases.

But here’s the catch: that approach rarely works. What you are really buying isn’t reach, it’s noise. Nothing but noise.

Why “Everywhere” Isn’t Strategic

Operators fall into this trap because being everywhere feels safe. If one channel doesn’t hit, maybe another one will. No wasted opportunities. No gaps.

But none of that is true. Consider these points:

• A $10,000 radio campaign stretched over twelve months is background noise.

• Discount billboards bought because they were “available” don’t move the needle.

• Social ads running without a clear funnel burn money instead of generating leads.

Strategic marketing is not about being everywhere. It is about being in the right places, at the right times, with the right intensity.

What Strategy Looks Like at $100K

At a $100,000 budget you do not have room for experiments. You have to be deliberate. Half to sixty percent should go to digital foundations: SEO, PPC, LSAs, and Google My Business. That is your safety net. Everything else you do should push people back there.

With the rest, don’t waste three grand a month on weak placements. Concentrate it. Run $15,000 campaigns in the spring and fall when call volume peaks. Use TV or a handful of well-placed spots to answer the questions that matter most: why me, why now, and how can you afford us.

Spread too thin and you disappear. Concentrate and you create spikes you can actually measure.

What Strategy Looks Like at $500K

At half a million you start to feel like a brand. You are big enough to play consistently in both digital and traditional. But the trap is thinking you can suddenly be everywhere.

The allocation still looks similar. Around 50 to 60 percent digital, 30 percent traditional, and a small slice miscellaneous. The difference is consistency. You can run TV 52 weeks a year in most markets. You can branch into streaming video in targeted zip codes. You can start caring about lead quality instead of just volume.

But you still cannot dilute. I have seen $500,000 budgets broken into ten different tactics that each get pennies. The operator feels good about coverage, but the results vanish. At this level the game is depth, not width.

What Strategy Looks Like at $1M

At a million dollars you are a brand in your market. You are no longer competing with Chuck in a truck. You are competing with regionals and with the Angies of the world.

This is where traditional begins to dominate. TV, streaming, and selective billboards make your name impossible to ignore. Consistency builds brand searches, referrals, and credibility. You are not just filling the funnel. You are protecting your customer base from competitors who would love to poach them.

Digital maxes out here. LSAs and PPC only go so far before costs spike. The last twenty percent of search traffic is often unaffordable. That is why traditional matters. It creates the halo effect that makes your digital channels convert at a higher rate. Leads tied back to strong traditional branding often convert at over 40 percent.

At this level, you also need accountability. Someone in-house should manage the budget and keep agencies honest. Not to replace them, but to make sure every dollar is tied to strategy, not noise.

The Better Question

The next time you look at your marketing plan, don’t start with how many channels you can afford. Don’t start with how to diversify your spend.

Start with the only question that matters: where can you go deep enough to make an impact?

Because spray and pray campaigns don’t build brands. Concentrated, strategic campaigns do. And if you are not willing to go deep, you might be better off not going in at all.

If you want to learn more about marketing and lead generation, my recent podcast episode with Tony Castelucci of Wanamaker is right for you. ⬇️ 

The Smarter Way to Staff Your Call Center

Hiring CSRs doesn’t have to be difficult…but many home service companies find that it is.

Rather than continue to struggle, it’s time give Quick Staffers a closer look.

Here’s what they bring to the table:

CSRs who actually know what they’re doing
Trained in CRM tools, scripts, SOPs, and how to talk to customers like pros—not robots.

Payroll relief that doesn’t sacrifice quality
Rates start at just $2,000–$2,500/month, so you can reinvest the difference into growth.

Longer retention, better performance
Fewer headaches. More consistency. And no revolving door of reps.

Scales with you
Need to add another rep? No problem. Quick Staffers grows with your demand.

Want another reason to use Quick Staffers?

Right now, you’ll get $500 off your first placement. Click the button below to grab your discount and finally get the CSR help you need.

Review your marketing strategy today. Not tomorrow, today.

If you don’t like what you see and it isn’t sustainable, you need to make immediate changes.

👊 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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