Marketing for the trades / Reputation
Keep the referrals.
Build beyond them.
Word-of-mouth can be a strong source of work. It is also hard to schedule. Give that reputation a website, a local presence, and a follow-up process that help people choose you even before a neighbor makes the introduction.
In your corner
A referral still needs a path.
- A customer shares your name.
- The next person checks your business.
- They can reach someone and understand the next step.
Your business. Your decisions.
A clearer way forward.
Support the good word
Make your reputation
easy to check.
The goal is to help the next customer understand why someone recommended you.
01
Give the name somewhere to land.
A neighbor recommends your shop for a water heater. The homeowner searches your name. Can they find that service, see where you work, and reach you from their phone?
Try it: ask someone unfamiliar with the site to find one service and the phone number.
02
Show the work behind the recommendation.
Use real project photos with context: the type of job, the problem, and what was done. Add genuine customer feedback where you have permission to use it.
Avoid turning a good review into a promise that every customer will get the same result.
03
Keep a routine when the board is full.
Set aside a small, repeatable time to update work photos, check unanswered inquiries, and ask customers for honest feedback. Assign it to a person who can keep it moving.
Choose a routine your team can maintain during a busy week.
04
Make follow-up part of the job.
A referral can still end in voicemail or an unanswered estimate request. Decide who checks new inquiries and how they are handed to the person who can help.
Keep the lead’s source and outcome together so you can see what happens to referred work.
Put it to work
Check your last ten inquiries.
Use a small sample to spot questions worth investigating. Ten inquiries are a starting point, not a forecast of future results.
- Record how each person found you. Keep “unknown” when the source is unclear.
- Note the job requested, service area, and whether it fit your business.
- Check whether someone replied and whether there was a next step.
- Look for repeated gaps, then choose one to fix before adding another marketing channel.
Talk it through
Let good work
travel further.
Start with a website people can understand and a contact path your team can support. Read the website ownership guide or talk through the next step with Will.