You have a lot to focus on as a field service business owner. Trying to fit marketing activities on top of all your regular duties may seem impossible. Use these six types of digital marketing tools to make better use of your resources.
1. Modern, AI-Lead Chat and Targeted Messaging Tools
Your website works for you 24/7, but you won’t always have someone available to answer someone stopping by in the middle of the workday. Modern AI-lead chat gives you an automated assistant that can answer basic customer service questions. It can schedule a callback or appointment, forward the inquiry to human staff members, and provide links to content that help to educate the prospect. AI chatbots use natural language processing, so the person doesn’t need to interact with the bot unnaturally. The bot understands common phrases and produces the responses most likely to be relevant.
Targeted messaging tools take your marketing opportunities to every page of your website. While many field service companies may focus on the generic calls to action on the main page, tools like Intercom give you the ability to add highly-targeted calls to actions on individual pages. When you offer multiple services, you can add information that’s specific to that offering. Drift is another example of a tool in this category with bots that can automatically assign appointments for your field service technicians.
2. Website Optimization and Analytics Tools
Your website is one of the first touch points for your potential customers. A well-optimized experience can make the difference between converting these prospects into your clients and losing them to your competitors. One way you can increase conversion rates is by using Unbounce, a landing page and lead generation tool that gives you several ways to keep visitors engaged with your pages and company. Inspectlet is another good option, which gives you insight into your website visitors as they use your site by recording their sessions.
Analytics tools show you useful information about your website traffic. You can see where visitors come from, the pages they look at on your site, how long they stay on each page, the search terms they use to pull up your website on the search engines, potential demographic information, and other defining characteristics.
3. Online Advertising Tools
Effective online advertising can be a challenging project to figure out. You don’t want to worry about wasting your ad spend on something that doesn’t end up working out. Online advertising tools can can show you the types of keywords for paid and organic search that should get you the best results, how much you can expect to pay for a campaign, information about what your competitors are doing for their ads, and other vital data. Look at Spyfu and WordStream to help you with your digital and search marketing.
4. Social Media Marketing Tools
These tools make it easier to engage with and attract leads on social media platforms. They monitor brand mentions, allow you to schedule posts, give you insight into your post reach and introduce you to hashtags and conversations you can participate in. These tools are particularly useful for addressing negative customer feedback before it blows up. Buffer is a great starting point. With Instagram leading the social media platforms, field service companies can also look at Later to up their Instagram marketing game.
5. Email Marketing Tools
Your field service email list helps you stay connected with leads, current customers, and former clients. By sharing valuable information and promotions, you make sure that they think of you when they need your services the next time. Field service companies new to email marketing can look to Mailchimp to set up both one-time and automated campaigns that can nurture their contacts. For a tool that helps you optimize your subject lines and get a higher open rate on your emails, turn to Phrasee.
6. Design Tools
Paying a designer for every single graphic on your website is rarely cost-effective, particularly if you frequently publish blog posts or social media updates. User-friendly design tools can cover these needs for you with basic templates and premade elements. Look at Canva and Picmonkey to get started.
Whether you implement one of these tools or a choice from all 6 categories, marketing software gives you the foundation for a competitive advantage in your field service market. Many of the tools mentioned also offer free plans or free trials, so they are worth at least checking out.
Tiffany G. is a contributing writer for mHelpDesk, a top-rated field service management solution.Her industry and market segment specializations include B2B, B2C, SaaS, cloud computing, consumer technology and digital marketing.
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