Almost every industry experienced a decline due to the pandemic. However, this was not true for the home renovation industry, which is booming like never before. According to a Harvard study (JCHS), even though the US economy experienced a 3.5% decline, the home improvement industry saw a 3% growth.
This growth spurt in the industry is good news for painting businesses, as almost all home improvement services, like remodeling and renovation, require a paint job. However, there are better ways to go if you want to grow your business.
Business growth requires deliberate and strategic actions. Setting the groundwork for your future success requires you to take growth-oriented initiatives that scale your business rather than letting things happen naturally.
Furthermore, you don’t necessarily have to be the painter to grow your painting business – you can also be the entrepreneur. Today we present x growth strategies you can adopt to pave the way for business success.
Growth Strategies for Your Painting Business
To grow your business, you must look beyond the paintbrush and adopt strategies that improve your business efficiency, strengthen customer relationships, and optimize marketing campaigns. You can only fuel growth with strategic planning, having the right mindset, and taking decisive actions.
#1 Purchase a painting franchise
Starting your own painting business can be exciting, but it’s not without its fair share of challenges. Many people take this step with little to no idea about what it takes to run a business from the ground up. Not only do you have to oversee various aspects of the business, but you’re also responsible for marketing and business development.
If you’re new to the business world, one of the best things you can do for your business is to get your hands on a painting franchise. With a painting franchise, you can sit back and focus on doing your own thing. The franchise gives you a solid foundation to focus your attention on your craft. At the same time, it handles everything else, from branding and marketing to lead generation, business development, and even admin.
#2 Focus on business operations
You can always take charge if a painting franchise doesn’t fit the bill; the key to business growth is setting up effective procedures and practices within your business to maximize efficiency. If you spend most of your time on paint jobs, you should take a step back and rethink your priorities. After all, you won’t be able to oversee other aspects of your business, such as lead generation or customer service, if you focus all your energy and attention on painting.
Efficiency in business processes starts with effective time management. By effectively managing your time, you can reduce your time in production, free up resources, and use that time towards more strategically important tasks like lead generation. You can also rely on business tools like CRM, time management, and accounting to streamline business processes and manage your resources.
Effective time management also allows for a head start on the project, which gets everyone fired up and motivated. Apart from that, focus on time-consuming processes, and come up with workarounds to avoid slowing down the project. For example, color selection is one process that can stall progress. You can share tips and tricks with the customer to help them finalize all the project details beforehand to avoid slowing down the project’s momentum. Similarly, oversee your team to ensure that they effectively use the paint material and that nothing goes to waste.
#3 Enhance customer relations
Strong customer relations are the foundation of any lucrative business. After all, a business cannot survive without customers, and a painting business is no exception. For real growth, you must cultivate meaningful relationships with your client base. Delivering consistent customer service is the best way to land new clients, ensure customer satisfaction, and bring in new business via referrals and word-of-mouth.
When it comes to attracting and retaining customers, your communication skills play an important role. Effective communication can give you a significant boost over your competition.
Express yourself with assurance, expertise, kindness, and competence during every interaction with a prospective client. Another important point to win customer satisfaction is always punctuality, keeping your word, and delivering desired results.
After all, building lasting bonds with clients is the key to gaining word-of-mouth exposure and loyal customers. It starts with a focus on the client’s needs and a determination to meet those requirements. Business success and failure often hinge on whether or not an organization prioritizes its customers.
#4 Improve marketing initiatives
Your business can offer the best paint job out there, but without marketing, not many people will come to know about your service. Marketing is not rocket science; anyone can do it with the right motivation and strategy. Following are three ways you can market your business to increase exposure:
- Local Marketing
Starting at the grassroots level is an effective way to market yourselves when starting a new business. You can use strategies like placing placards near your office/job site and handing out business cards and flyers to increase your brand awareness in the neighborhood and reach potential clients.
You can also offer a referral discount to get your prospects to spread word of mouth.
- Social Marketing
An online presence has become essential for any business looking to grow, and a painting business is no exception. And with the increasingly competitive business landscape, it also provides a significant leg up your competition. An online presence can showcase your work, highlight customer reviews, and generate uncountable leads via inexpensive exposure.
Check out what works well on Yelp, Google My Business, Facebook, and Instagram. Take inspiration from what your competitors are doing and hit the toad.
- Leverage inbound and outbound strategies
Outbound strategies target potential prospects, and inbound strategies target existing client base. Strike a balance between the two to get the most out of marketing. To entice customers, you can reward prospects who follow through with your CTAs with discounts or other incentives. Furthermore, brushing your presence in front of options by following up frequently is a good strategy for retargeting.
Bottom Line
Growing your business is not always going to be a smooth-sailing ride. And it’s never a linear process. However, with a clear growth-focused strategy and consistent efforts, you can avoid making any expensive mistakes on your part. Establishing efficient procedures, prioritizing client needs, and making the most of your available resources can pave the way for business success. We hope you found this article helpful; follow these four growth strategies to scale your painting business and achieve your business goals.
