Episode 001: Digital vs Traditional Marketing

Speaker 1 (Don) 0:31
Welcome to the Digital Marketing for Contractors podcast. My name is Don. I’m your host for today. We’re excited for you to join us on this brand new podcast. Let me tell you a little about what this podcast is all about. As the title says, it is digital marketing for contractors, anyone in the home improvement industry, whether you’re an exterior remodeler, a kitchen or bath remodeler, or you provide home services, custom building—anything in the home improvement industry, we want to help you level up the marketing for your contractor business. We are Fat Cat Strategies, a digital marketing agency based in Raleigh, North Carolina, specializing in digital marketing for home improvement contractors. We help you crush your lead goals and level up your business. As I said, my name is Don, I’m one of the account managers here at Fat Cat Strategies.

Speaker 2 (Janet) 1:27
And I am Janet. I am the Founder and Managing Partner of Fat Cat Strategies. We are super excited to have you join us today.

Speaker 1 (Don) 1:35
We are going to get started by talking about what digital marketing really is. There are two big categories of marketing for contractor businesses: digital marketing and traditional marketing. We want to highlight what these two things are. As a business owner in the contractor industry, you might know the category of marketing but may not understand the difference between what to do on Google versus what to do on the radio. We want to help you understand those two things. So Janet, as we talk about the difference between digital and traditional marketing, where would you start in helping a contractor understand the difference?

Speaker 2 (Janet) 2:23
When we think about digital marketing, we put your website at the center of our focus. You should do the same. First, think about your website as the center, then think about driving eyeballs to it through search engine optimization, pay-per-click ads, and social media. These are digital tactics to drive traffic to your website. It starts to blend when you talk about digital versus traditional marketing. For example, TV or radio ads often direct traffic to your website. Traditional marketing is driving traffic to your digital marketing. Digital marketing is anything online with a goal of sending eyeballs to your website to fill out a form or call your business for an estimate.

Speaker 1 (Don) 3:37
Okay, we’re trying to drive leads to your business primarily through your website. Are there other things online that fall into digital marketing, or is it just about driving traffic to your website?

Speaker 2 (Janet) 3:56
There’s email marketing, text-based marketing, and profiles on platforms like Houzz or Pinterest. These fall into a social media category but are part of digital marketing. Another key element is your Google My Business listing, which is crucial. It’s a free listing with your business hours, products, and reviews. Your digital online presence includes your website and your Google My Business listing.

Speaker 1 (Don) 5:10
Where do I find the Google My Business listing?

Speaker 2 (Janet) 5:23
On a desktop, search for your business name, and it appears on the right side of Google. On mobile, it’s front and center. It’s essential to claim and optimize your Google My Business listing.

Speaker 1 (Don) 6:38
So, digital marketing includes your website and Google My Business listing. Given that, should contractors go all-in on digital marketing? Is there a point to traditional marketing?

Speaker 2 (Janet) 7:11
No, contractors shouldn’t go all-in on digital. We’ve seen it fail, especially for newer businesses. The mix depends on your goals, business age, and brand recognition. Traditional marketing like TV ads, radio, sponsoring local events, and direct mail helps build brand awareness in your community. Contractors trying to break away from lead aggregators need a healthy mix of both.

Speaker 1 (Don) 12:24
That makes sense. Competing against big names like Home Depot and Lowe’s requires community presence.

Speaker 2 (Janet) 13:31
Contractors in their first year can succeed with digital by buying leads from services like Angie’s List. But generating exclusive leads requires a mix of online and offline strategies. Traditional marketing helps build brand awareness that digital alone can’t achieve.

Speaker 1 (Don) 17:04
How can contractors start with digital marketing to move away from lead buying?

Don 0:31

Well, welcome to the Digital Marketing for Contractors podcast. My name is Don, and I’m your host for today. We’re really excited for you to join us on this brand-new podcast. Let me tell you a little bit about what this podcast is all about. As the title says, it is digital marketing for contractors—anyone working in the home improvement industry, whether you’re an exterior remodeler, a kitchen or bath remodeler, or whether you provide home services or custom building. We want to help you level up the marketing for your contractor business. We are Fat Cat Strategies, a digital marketing agency based in Raleigh, North Carolina, specializing in digital marketing for home improvement contractors. That’s who we work with, and we try to help you crush your lead goals and level up your business. As I said, my name is Don, and I’m one of the account managers here at Fat Cat Strategies.

Janet 1:27

And I am Janet. I am the Founder and Managing Partner of Fat Cat Strategies. We are super excited to have you join us today. Yeah, absolutely.

Don 1:35

So we are going to get started by talking about what digital marketing really is. As we jump into this conversation about marketing, there are two big categories of marketing that we see contractor businesses work in: digital marketing and traditional marketing. We want to highlight what those two things actually are. As a business owner or someone who works in the contractor industry, you may know the category of marketing but not necessarily understand the difference between what you do on Google versus what you do on the radio. We want to help you understand those two things. So Janet, as we talk about the difference between digital and traditional marketing, where would you start in helping a contractor understand the difference between those things?

Janet 2:23

When we think about digital marketing, we put your website at the center of everything. You should do the same. Think of your website as the center of all your focus and energy. Then, think about how to drive eyeballs to that website. This can be through search engine optimization, Pay Per Click ads, or social media. These are the digital tactics and strategies to drive traffic to your website. It starts to blend and get confusing when you talk about digital versus traditional marketing. You’ve seen TV ads or radio ads that end with “learn more at something.com.” That is traditional marketing driving traffic to your digital marketing. Digital marketing involves anything online with the goal of sending eyeballs to your website to fill out a form or call your business to get an estimate. Right.

Don 3:37

Okay, so we’re trying to drive leads to your business, primarily through your website. Are there other aspects of digital marketing that fall into this category? Or are we just focusing on your website and anything that drives traffic to it?

Janet 3:56

Well, there’s email marketing and text-based marketing. In the world of home improvement contracting, everything seems to be always evolving and changing. You can start talking about having a Houzz profile or a Pinterest profile, which fall into a social media category. But if we take a step back and look at our original definition, we’re focusing on your website and how to drive traffic to it. Now, there’s one big elephant in the room I haven’t mentioned yet, and that’s your Google My Business listing. It’s a free listing you can claim through Google, featuring your business hours, products, and reviews. So when we think about your digital online presence, we’re considering your website and how to drive traffic to it, but also your Google My Business listing.

Don 5:10

Okay. And so, just as I’m thinking about it, where do I find that Google My Business listing? Is it the thing that pops up on the right side of Google when you search for a business name?

Janet 5:23

Yes. If you’re on a desktop and you search for landscaping contractors near me or a business name like ABC Landscaping, you’ll see a box on the right side of your screen with a picture, the business name, and the phone number. That’s the Google My Business listing. On your phone, Google has made it even more seamless by pushing the Google My Business listing front and center, well above your website. For example, if you search for your favorite Italian restaurant, the Google My Business listing pops up, showing whether or not they’re open and providing a button for driving directions. All of these features are part of your Google My Business listing. If you haven’t claimed it yet, contractors, go out today and see if you have, because it’s pretty critical.

Don 6:38

Yeah. That makes sense. When we think about digital marketing, we need to consider both your website and your Google My Business listing. Google is actually trying to send as much or more traffic to your Google My Business listing as they are to your website. On mobile devices, maybe even more so to your Google My Business listing. These are becoming the centerpieces of what digital marketing looks like, and it’s really critical for contractors to pay attention to their Google My Business listing.

Janet 7:11

And Don, as we’re talking about this, we might have stumbled into a rabbit hole, which is fine. I think we can do that on a podcast.

Unknown Speaker 7:18

What makes podcasts fun, yeah.

Janet 7:20

So, you know, we could do a whole other podcast about Google’s strategy with the Google My Business listing and their other properties. Yeah, we probably will. There’s a whole topic called zero-click search. For example, if you want to know if Luigi’s Italian Restaurant is open at 7 p.m. on a Sunday, you Google Luigi’s, and the listing shows their hours and if they’re open or closed. That’s the Google My Business listing, providing the information you need without clicking anything. This zero-click search concept also happens with voice search. As digital marketers, we optimize for this for our home improvement contractors. But I have mixed feelings about it. Zero-click searches prevent eyeballs from landing on our contractors’ websites. The digital marketing landscape is tricky. Yes, you want to pay attention to your Google My Business listing, ensure people find your phone number, know your services, and post updates. But understand you’re playing a game where Google intercepts traffic that previously would have gone to your website. These are conversations we have with clients all the time. It’s confusing unless you live and breathe it every day like we do.

Don 9:05

Okay, so this is really helpful. When thinking about these umbrella categories of digital and traditional marketing, digital includes anything driving traffic online through your website or Google My Business. It could be Facebook, Google Ads, social media, email marketing—those tactics are digital. Traditional marketing includes radio and TV commercials, print ads, direct mail, and community sponsorships. Considering the importance of your website and Google My Business listing, it seems like most marketing traffic is happening there. Should contractors go all in on digital marketing? Is there a point to still doing traditional marketing if everything is moving towards websites and Google?

Janet 10:10

Don, you know my answer. We work together with clients, and my answer is no. You shouldn’t go all digital. We’ve seen contractors try that, and it hasn’t been successful. It can put us in an awkward place, but I believe in transparency and honesty. When supporting our clients and helping them grow their businesses, we almost never recommend spending 100% of your marketing money, effort, resources, and budget solely on digital. The mix of digital versus traditional depends on your goals, business age, and brand recognition. Most of our contractors fall into two categories: exterior contractors doing roofing, windows, and doors, and interior contractors doing quick turnaround bath projects. From working with our clients, we’ve learned that the most successful ones, especially in the bath world, have a healthy mix of online, offline, and showroom marketing. Offline includes TV ads, radio ads, sponsoring local teams, and community events to build brand awareness. This is traditional marketing. We’ve worked with contractors who tried to go 100% digital, and despite our efforts, it wasn’t successful for them. This is a warning sign, especially for contractors less than five years old trying to generate all their leads digitally.

Don 12:24

That makes sense. Even as an account manager working with our clients, I see that when you search for local contractor businesses, the ones doing well digitally still compete with names like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Amazon, or Angi’s. These national brands have huge brand awareness. When customers see a known name versus a local contractor they don’t recognize, they’ll likely click on the familiar brand. So, contractors need to do traditional marketing to help their local community know who they are and provide familiar, trusted ways to connect.

Janet 13:31

Don, I’m going to contradict myself and backtrack for a second. Here’s where I’ve seen first- and second-year contractors go 100% digital and be successful: buying leads from Angie’s List, HomeAdvisor, Modernize, and similar places. If you’re a roofing contractor still doing quotes and managing a small crew, you can turn these lead sources on and off as needed. I’ve seen new contractors get off the ground this way. When I say I haven’t seen success with 100% digital, I mean those trying to break away from relying on these lead sources to generate their own exclusive leads. Competing for the same keywords against bigger budgets like Lowe’s and Home Depot is tough. It’s a rock and a hard place—breaking away from lead aggregators but competing with them for ad space. A more successful approach includes digital marketing as part of your mix but also experimenting with traditional methods like radio, canvassing, and community sponsorships. For example, sponsoring a Little League team or a local 5k fundraiser builds brand awareness. Traditional marketing, including direct mail, still works. We have clients doing Valpak ads successfully. All these sources together can give you the lead volume to meet your goals. But if you’re within your first three years and trying to rely solely on organic SEO, you’re up against a steep challenge competing with bigger players.

Don 17:04

Sure. Okay, well, let’s talk about how a contractor in that phase can get started with digital marketing. If I’m trying to move away from dependency on lead sources like HomeAdvisor, what steps should I take to focus on generating exclusive leads through digital marketing?

Janet 17:33

I recommend a two-prong strategy right out of the gate. First, get your website sorted. We’ll have future episodes about your website and materials on our site detailing what you need to succeed. Focus on your website and your Google My Business listing first. If those aren’t in order, any vendor you work with will struggle despite their promises. Don, one of your recent clients is a classic example. A successful business trying to break out of $1.5 million in revenue and scale. The owner is ready to stop running all appointments and solve all problems. But, Don, haven’t you been struggling for weeks to claim that client’s Google My Business listing?

Don 18:42

It has been a big challenge, but you can see how important that listing is to them as a business because that’s where customers are finding them. Right? It’s been crucial for us to make sure we’re posting regular content, updating information, collecting reviews, responding to them, and uploading pictures of their work.

Unknown Speaker 19:09

What was the challenge with that?

Don 19:11

They didn’t own their profile because a former owner used a personal email to set it up. That owner is no longer with the company, and the personal email is still theirs, so they couldn’t access and manage the profile.

Janet 19:37

Let me clarify. The most basic thing you wanted to do—manage and optimize the Google My Business listing—was blocked because we didn’t have the login and password. And we couldn’t get it because the person who registered and claimed the listing no longer works there.

Don 20:12

Yes, it became painfully obvious how important it is to set that up correctly, ensuring ownership rests with the business, not an individual. We finally got it sorted out, but it took a lot of effort. These are the pain points we want to help customers avoid.

Janet 20:50

Circling back to Don’s question, what are the action items for listeners? Do you have a website? Make sure it’s working well. We’ll dive deeper into that in future episodes. Is your website in order? Do you own the domain? Can you log into it? Then, what’s going on with your Google My Business listing? Those are the two places to start. Prospective clients often want to start with Facebook, but if you’re breaking away from lead sources or just starting out, don’t focus all your energy there. It’s part of the equation but not the top lead generator. Get your website and Google My Business in order first. Once those boxes are checked, we can move to other items.

Don 22:20

Fantastic. This has been a great first conversation on the Digital Marketing for Contractors podcast. We have a resource to help you think through what we discussed and take action for your business and website. It’s called “Five Reasons Homeowners Don’t Choose You Online.” It’ll help you improve your website and digital presence. You can find it at fatcatstrategies.com/homeowners. We’ll also put the link in the show notes. Download that resource to get started improving your digital presence as a contractor business. Thanks for joining us today. We look forward to talking to you in the next episode of Digital Marketing for Contractors. See you then.

Digital Marketing for Contractors is created by Fat Cat Strategies. For more information, visit fatcatstrategies.com.