3 Ways To Laser Target Your Customers & Take Your Marketing To The Next Level

One of the best things about running a handyman business is the incredible demand for your services.  There are hundreds of services you can offer and a huge variety of customers to offer them to.

This is great because you can pretty much run your business however you want.  If you don’t like working with certain customers, you don’t have to.  If you don’t like certain services, you don’t have to do them.

That’s pretty awesome.

However, this is only possible if you’re marketing is dialed in.  I believe that you’re ability to enjoy your business and craft it into something that works for you is directly tied to your marketing strategy.  

If your marketing strategy sucks, you’ll have to design your lifestyle around your business.  Not fun.  If you can successfully target the right customers for the right services, you can have a business that is designed around your lifestyle.

In this article, I discuss three ways you can target your customers to have a more effective marketing strategy (and more fun).

#1 Target By Service

One way to target your customers is to promote services that they are actively searching for online.  The internet is an amazing resource not only for finding information you need, but for generating hundreds of leads and staying busy.

As customers are getting more accustomed to the power of the internet and are finding it easier to find exactly what they want online, the way they search for handymen is changing.  For example, I’ve found that customers don’t typically find me for the keyword “Handyman” even though I’m on the first page of google in my city for that keyword.

Instead, they search for terms like “TV wall mount installation” or “Sliding Door Repair” and find me that way.  Basically, they are searching for EXACTLY what they need.  They don’t want to call around handymen and ask if they provide that service.  Customers are no longer just searching for information, they are searching for answers.

When targeting customers by service you’re going to want to consider the type of customers you will attract.  Certain services will attract certain customers.  For example, if you specialize in building custom cabinetry, you will attract wealthy clients.  If you specialize in plumbing or electrical, you’ll attract anybody who owns a home.

You could run a very profitable business by specializing in one or two services if you dial in your internet marketing and generate enough leads.  There is a lot of marketing power in specializing.

#2  Target by Location

The second way to target your customers is to focus on a very specific location.  As a handyman, you have the option to service as large or small of an area as you want.  I personally recommend going as small as you can.

For example, Michael Rodriguez, a handyman that I interviewed in episode 14 of the Handyman Startup Podcast, laser targets his customers by focusing on a single subdivision.  This keeps his service area super small and allows him to be very responsive to his customers.

This is an awesome business model because it eliminates a lot of drive time.  However, in order to survive in a very small service area you will need to offer a wide range of services.  As Seth Godin says, “You don’t need more customers for your services, you need more services for your customers.”

If you are skilled in many areas and can take on bigger projects as well as small repairs, this could be great business model.

Hopefully as you are reading this you have ideas spinning around in your head and can see how this significantly simplifies your marketing efforts.  To reach customers in a tight location you can do it a number of ways.

As always, you can network with other handymen and homeowners and try to promote word of mouth.

My favorite is still online marketing, though.  You can create a hyper-local online presence if you set up your website and online directory listings properly (Learn how to do that here).  This allows you to show up in a smaller area within your city and can even increase your chances of being found by homes in your area.  You still may get calls from customers outside of your services area, but you can decide whether or not you want to take them on.

Other marketing methods I would try would be door hangers, direct mail, and even signs around the neighborhood.  A highly decorated truck that really stands out could work it’s magic as you are seen in the neighborhood consistently.

#3  Target By Demographic

Another way to laser target your customers is to focus on a specific group of people or a certain type of person.  If you want to enjoy your handyman business, this is probably the most important way to focus your marketing efforts.

Common examples of this would include:

• Real estate agents.
• Local businesses.
• Working Professional mothers who’s income is $100K+.
• Elderly.
• Owners of a second home.
• Real estate investors.
• A local church.

You can get as specific as you want here and there are literally a million different ways to attack this.  But, the important thing to remember is to keep that group of people in mind when you are creating any type of marketing copy or writing the content on your website.

If you are targeting real estate agents, the content on your website and your pitch needs to be different than when you are targeting homeowners.  They have different goals, beliefs, and desires.

You can always target multiple different demographics and I actually recommend doing so.  It’s just important that you remember not to try to speak to them all with the same message.  Pick one as you primary focus and create your website with intention to sell to them.

The Right Combination

Depending on how you want to run your business, you should focus on one of these three methods of targeting customers.  However, regardless of your primary focus, you should always implement all three at some level.  The right combination is for you to decide.

In my handyman business, I implement all three of these methods for targeting customers with my website.

I have it setup so that it promotes specific services to attract traffic.  It’s also optimized for my city so I mostly show up in the areas that I want to show up in.  And, the content on my website is designed to take the traffic I do get and filter it even further.  It does this by appealing to the type of customers I want to work with and NOT appealing to everyone else.

This has allowed me to design my business in a way that I truly enjoy.  And you can do it, too.  It may not happen right away but slowly you can refine your marketing and by doing so, refine your business.

>>Click here to learn my step by step online marketing strategy for handymen.