9 online marketing tips for the craft

Online marketing has also become an integral part of the skilled trades sector. Customers predominantly search online for service providers to solve their problems. Hardly anyone still looks in a phone book for a fitter or heating engineer.

That is why it is also immensely important for your craft business to be found online in order to reach new clients. We show you which measures will really get you ahead.

Before you get started with any online marketing efforts, it’s important to first recap what forms of online marketing you’re already investing in with your craft business. Perhaps some of this is already having a positive effect on customer acquisition.

You should answer the following questions:

Is there or was there already an online marketing plan?
Which channels are or were served?
Is there an advertising budget, if so, how much is it?
How successful have the marketing measures been so far?
Were your previous marketing efforts focused on specific regions?

Then, evaluate which of the actions are worth continuing and which new actions they should take.

To ensure that your marketing measures are well received, you need to know your target group well so that potential clients feel that they are being addressed. If the focus of your craft business is on winning large orders in the B2B sector, you should also tailor your advertising measures to this.

Especially in the B2B area, it is often the case that several decision makers are involved. Therefore, you should satisfy the needs of all parties and put aside their problems and doubts.

If you address rather private people, usually only one person decides to whom the order will be assigned. Accordingly, here it is important to completely satisfy the needs of the individual.

With the right content for your craftsmen website, you will achieve a clear competitive advantage and manage to generate new orders and win loyal customers.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, many of Germany’s craft enterprises do not yet have a website, or have one but are only half-heartedly taking care of it. In order for you to hit the ground running with your online marketing, it is immensely important to have a good website of your own.

Your website is like a business card for your company and much more. Introduce yourself, your team and your work. Show why potential clients should choose you and not your competitors. Showcase your achievements and flaunt special projects.

This builds trust with potential customers and demonstrates your expertise. People are more likely to award contracts to service providers whom they trust and who they trust to carry out the task in the best possible way.

Clients do not want to hire the second-best roofer, but the one who appears to have the most expertise and appears trustworthy.

That’s why a search engine optimized website is one of the most effective online marketing efforts. If potential customers find you in search on all topics related to their problem, it fuels confidence in your craft business.

If you already have a website or have yet to create one, be sure to optimize it for use on smartphones and other mobile devices.

Search queries from smartphones are becoming more and more frequent. The first searches for services take place almost exclusively via smartphone. That’s why your website should also be mobile optimized, so that even on the road your business is number 1 in search.

Local SEO helps you gain new clients in your city and catchment area. This is because the search queries for services in one’s own city or in the immediate vicinity are constantly increasing.

Thus, more and more are also looking for electricians in Berlin or bricklayers in Munich. If you then appear directly among the first search results, you will reach an immense number of potential customers and are thus guaranteed to generate new orders.

In addition, you also have the possibility to appear in the so-called Local Pack in the search results, which once again draws additional attention to your company. With a Google business profile and a Google Maps listing, you support local SEO for your website and gain new customers.

Another advantage is that you can also have your company profile advertised and thus be displayed separately higher up in the search if your company is not among the top three companies in the Local Pack.

With SEA ads you manage to attract even more attention to your business. Be present when clients are exactly looking for your services and convince them that you are the right choice.

Google Ads and Co. are particularly recommended for highly competitive search terms, where it is often more difficult to get to the front with pure search engine optimization.

Advertise with Google Ads in the most used search engine on the Internet and use this platform for targeted advertising. Think about the other ad display opportunities as well. Google in particular offers you a few more ways to promote your business with the Google Display Network.

However, do not disregard the possibility of advertising on other search engines. For example, with Microsoft Ads you can also successfully advertise on Bing.

To make your craft business appear trustworthy, it helps to generate reviews about you and your work. After a successful order, simply ask your customers if they would like to submit a Google review of your performance.

Feel free to do this in person, or point this out to customers in an email after a project is completed. There are a few ways to effectively ask customers for reviews. Here you also often have to find out for yourself which method is best.

It is also important to respond to reviews about your business. Especially if they are negative reviews, you should respond to them. This demonstrates that your customers’ concerns are important to you and further builds trust.

Also, don’t underestimate the opportunity to attract new professionals to your business with online marketing. Young people in particular search for and inform themselves about possible careers online. So promote your craft and get them excited about it with customized content on your website and social media channels.

Also, use features like Google Jobs to highlight your job postings in search results to make job seekers aware of your posting.

Online marketing efforts are not only great for landing new customers, but also perfect for attracting new and fresh professionals.

In any case, you should regularly monitor your advertising successes and evaluate which of the measures bring the most success. Be aware that some actions will take more time before you see big results.

A classic example is search engine optimization, especially if you don’t have a website to begin with. With search engine advertising, you mainly achieve success very quickly, but it can also quickly go into the money.

In order to keep track of your measures, the support of an online marketing agency for the trade can be helpful. They can develop a holistic strategy for you and additionally track which measures bring you the most profit.

Not only will you miss out on valuable customers if your craft business doesn’t have a presence online, but you’ll also have a harder time attracting new skilled workers.

With the right measures, however, you will not only manage to attract new customers, but also to turn them into returning customers. Because good online marketing ensures that clients trust in your business and your expertise. This also helps to recruit new employees.

So take your chance with effective marketing to pass your competitors not only in terms of orders, but also in the battle for the all-important skilled workers.