They say a large part of a tradesman’s workload is relationship management, which we tend to agree with.

The average service business owner, as we’re sure you know, wears many hats. You have the workers hat, which is the hat you wear for the tangible service you’re providing, the marketer’s hat, the one you wear when you’re drumming up work, and the salesman’s hat, the one you put on when you’re getting a lead across the line.

When chatting with our clients who operate a trade service business, we often ask them their end goal. In most cases this question is met with the answer “I want to eventually get off the tools”. 

To “get off the tools” so to speak, there are many important factors and considerations that need to be taken into account. No more so than the size and scale of the operation. Without a sustainable, efficient, and profitable operation, it’s difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

In order to grow, a business needs to have work coming through the door. In this day and age, digital marketing is perhaps the most effective method to help achieve this.

Digital Marketing Overview

Digital marketing presents service business owners with a cost-effective and scalable way to gain massive reach in a targeted manner. In short, digital marketing helps your business get found online. 

To comprehend the importance of being digitally active, consider your own decision making process. How do you source information about a brand, product, or service? Most people would say they “Google it”, or perhaps search on Facebook or Instagram for a company’s page. Whether we like it or not, this way of gathering information is now ingrained into our everyday lives.

So, if your business isn’t in a position to be found, then what chance do you have against competitors that can be?

The Role Digital Marketing Plays For Service Businesses

Digital marketing for a service business is much more than just uploading the occasional impulse photo to Facebook. It’s a process of research, strategising, executing, and refining. 

A brand’s digital marketing strategy is a personalised plan only the businesses key stakeholders are intimately aware of. This generally means that just because an approach has worked for one business within your industry, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for your business.

At Kings Digital, we work with a broad spectrum of service clients. For context, some common businesses we work with in this space are:

• Industrial and commercial trade businesses
• Landscape designers
• Builders
• Machinery hire companies

When working with these businesses we see similar issues arise, mostly commonly, lead generation. What we have learnt through our vast experience, is that there is no single clear cut solution to this pain point.

If you’re interested in reading more about what we mean by this, check out this recent article titled 3 Realities of Digital Marketing Most Agencies Won’t Share.

Balancing Brand Awareness VS Lead Generation

As business owners, we want our brand out there and known. We want it to be seen in a positive light, and be the first brand that is thought of when someone considers our operating industry. However, awareness doesn’t make a phone call, nor does it pay the bills. That’s where lead generation comes in. 

Part of growing a successful business is learning to find a healthy balance between brand awareness and lead generation. If executed effectively, they should both complement and drive each other. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done.

For service business owners, brand awareness is important as it:

• Gets your brand name out there.
• Informs the audience about your service offering.
• Lays the foundations for lead generation.

An example of brand awareness in action is you reading this article. You’re learning more about our brand, Kings Digital, our position, and the knowledge we have within the digital space. 

For service business owners, lead generation is important as it:

• Means people are actively finding your service offering.
• People are ready (or at least considering) to engage your services.
• Leads can potentially result in sales (which keeps the lights on!).

An example of lead generation would be when we suggest you reach out to us for a consultation, filling out the form on the Contact Us page (no pressure). 

Creating a Digital Marketing Strategy for your Business

Like with most rewarding things, they say the best time to start was yesterday, but the next best time is right now. Building a digital presence is no different.

When it comes to creating a digital marketing strategy for a brand, we follow a 4-stage process, where each stage flows into the next, with each just as important as the others.

Stage 1: Research and Strategy

We start all digital marketing work with thorough research. Made up of a mix of qualitative and quantitative sources, this usually begins with multiple conversations and workshops with you about your goals, your constraints, and your current marketing efforts. We also take a look at your competitors, which channels are relevant to you and your industry, and then tie it all together into a clear and actionable strategy.

Kings Digital’s best piece of advice for this stage:

Data doesn’t lie.

Certain assumptions you have may in fact not be the case. For example, you may think that users land on your website and want to see an ‘about us’ extract upon loading. The data, however, objectively points out that users land on your site, scroll past the ‘about us’ extract and continue scrolling until they see a ‘service overview’ section, after which they click to ‘learn more’. 

This assumption could be very costly, particularly when you consider how many people have potentially left the site after an initial scroll, unable to find what they require upon the initial viewing.

Stage 2: Create

Now that a strategy has been put in place, there is work to be done. Depending on the strategy, a variety of assets will need to be designed and created in order to launch the digital marketing plan.

Each client is different, so designs will inevitably vary. As a full service digital agency, we often work across the broader team to create marketing collateral, as well as any of the more technical web-based work that may be required, utilising our in-house development team.

Kings Digital’s best piece of advice for this stage:

You are only as good as your creative

For smaller brands competing in highly competitive markets, high-quality creatives can be a noticeable point of difference on a digital marketing front.

Even in the ‘Meta-sphere’, there has been a gigantic shift in the power the creative has on an ads-front. The introduction of the Dynamic Creative function within Meta Ads is a perfect example. In short, Meta’s Dynamic Creative feature tests multiple creatives to determine which is the most effective ad variant for the relevant audience. 

Stage 3: Launch

Launching is the implementation stage of the marketing strategy. This is a gradual process during which we pay close attention to the details and make a lot of minor adjustments and tweaks. Data streams will be active and at your fingertips so you can know what is and what isn’t working as expected.

As each client is different, there’s no standard practice to what this will necessarily include, however, some of the most common paid channels we provide specialist services across include the likes of Google, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and LinkedIn. We can also work with you on your website, organic social media, emails, video, photography, brand, and everything in between.

Kings Digital’s best piece of advice for this stage:

Be where your audience are

Having a broad range of marketing channels is only great IF they are relevant to your business and audience. Think 80/20. The goal is to maximise both your time and budget.

Stage 4: Ongoing

Once your digital marketing strategy is in full swing, campaigns are delivering, and data is flowing, we start to look at ways that we can build on what exists.

Like all other stages, this is contextual to the relevant business, but ultimately our goal and focus is on providing ongoing value. This stage involves a monthly meeting (approximately) to ensure you’re up to date on all campaign work and upcoming changes.

Kings Digital’s best piece of advice for this stage:

Keep testing

Continually testing is the proactive way to answer the question “how can improve?”. Testing can come in many forms. It can be something as large as A/B testing multiple campaigns across Meta, or something as small as adjusting a single button’s position on a landing page. Ultimately, the goal is to continually find ways to improve your output, return on investment, and the brand’s performance.

Need Help?

If you’re a business owner, and think you may need some external help in increasing your digital presence, we have a team of experts in-house who are here and ready to help carry some of that burden.

Reach out via the Contact Us page, and let’s get started.