Social Media/Web 2.0 Marketing in the Service Industry

[Allison Barber]

In some recent thinking about different industries and their relationship to different marketing trends, how would you all incorporate digital marketing efforts into consumer service industries (i.e. HVAC, garage door, plumbing, etc.)

The problem I'm finding is not that there aren't places online people are searching for this kind of stuff, because there are (i.e. yellowpages.com, servicemagic, etc.) but that there isn't really anything social or engaging about these types of businesses.

I will say that I have considered blogs/forums/discussions among stay-at-home moms as a likely audience. Any ideas on how you think marketers are going to change the engagement from the printed yellow pages to web 2.0/social media engagement or is this a lost/SLOWLY emerging cause?

[Robby Slaughter]

It's not a lost cause, but consumer service businesses have traditionally set themselves up in a way that does not lend itself well to social media.

For example, if you are Joe of Joe's Appliance Repair shop, your business is based on quality referrals. People usually find out about you because you did good work for somebody else, and then your magnetic sticker is on their fridge for eternity. You never really develop a relationship because you come to their house for a few hours every few years.

However, these businesses could become highly social. They could engage people with regular tips about how to maintain equipment on their own. They could provide a free Q&A service via Twitter. ("My A/C unit has frost on the pipes." A: "You may need a coolant charge.") They could go to social media events to do demos or to conduct informational seminars.

Best of luck!

[Jennifer Nixon]

My husband owns an auto repair business from our home. He's been very reluctant to even set up a web site because it's such a localized business. That said, he's also a member, provides tech advice, and moderates for Performance Years, a very large Pontiac online forum with over 26,000 members worldwide. I've noticed that the members come from all walks of life, are very social, and visit similar sites to post on their forums. Once you find the right niche it's surprising how connected they are.

We may set up a web site and a Facebook fan page for his business at some point, but for right now the forums are the way to go.

[Bill Bean]

Jen, I would suggest you see a basic web site as comparable to the most basic listing a biz can have in the phone book. For some people it is an issue of credibility. Doesn't require doing much but having something out there is important. And given how cheap it is to do something these days it doesn't make any sense not to.
Would be glad to engage in a side conversation with either of you. Feel free to message me.

[Bill Bean]

I suggest that the people who are experts use the social media tools that seem most appropriate to be truly helpful to current and potential customers. As individuals slowly build their online reputation it will become much easier to select what service professionals to use based on what kind of person they seem to be, as well as their expertise in a particular area. It is difficult to get people to take a long term view. Everyone is looking for immediate impact.

[Michael Henry Starks]

Alison,

I've been thinking about this, too. One of my Zionsville buddies owns a pest control business. I can't get out of my head the question of how he might use social media to achieve marketing goals. I think it probably is about sharing his expertise online. It's spider swarming season: How, specifically, does he go about preventing or getting rid of large spider populations? What are the techniques, chemicals and other materials? Perhaps he could write a blog with information that actually could be used by someone who's interested in doing the job himself. Perhaps a very few die-hard DIYers would actually apply my friend's advice and do the work themselves. But, at the same time, a larger number of property owners would be impressed enough by my friend's expertise, as demonstrated on his blog, that they would hire him to do the job.

If I'm right, that approach should work for any crafts- or tradesperson. The trick would be getting the client's blog exposed to real prospects. But there must be some way to reach homeowners, landlords and building managers online.

What do you think?

Pax,
Michael

[Allison Barber]

I think this has spurred some unique discussion. The idea has to be to build the communities/relationship as Bill has said. There isn't really an immediate pay off.

I do like the Twitter and blog ideas. I am envisioning the groves of service industries migrating to online mediums as they begin to see how much money they are wasting on the traditional yellow pages and begin to see that their customers are finding their service men and women online.

Good luck to everyone in these industries or working with clients in these industries.