Finding new customers is time-consuming. Even more so when you’re on-site at your current jobs all day. It’s why many electrical contractors use lead generation services to make sure they have a steady flow of new electrical leads.
But buying leads gets expensive fast. 99 Calls found that electricians could pay lead generation companies up to $45 per lead. If those leads never turn into customers, those costs stack up fast. And if they only turn into small jobs, the lead generation company’s fees still eat up a large portion of the income.
Make it easy for customers to contact you from your website
When a potential customer lands on your website, you should offer them several ways to contact you about your services so they can choose the method that’s most convenient for them. Some customers may prefer to call you directly, but others may prefer to send an email, a Facebook message, or even a WhatsApp message.
Likewise,make sure to set up your website navigation in a way that makes it easy for customers to contact you. Add a “Contact us” section in your main navigation menu that brings up a dedicated page with your contact details rather than hiding them on your “About us” or “Our services” page.
Think with Google found that 68% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that has convenient communication options, so you should aim to make it as easy as possible for leads to contact you.
Your website should display your phone number and email address, but you could also add a contact form or links to your social media pages, where they can message you directly. And to help set customer expectations, consider adding your hours of operation so people know when to contact you.
The team at Salt Light & Electric takes it one step further. Not only do they list their phone number, email address, and link to their contact form on their home page, they offer a tool that allows new leads to book an appointment on their chosen date or time.
Caption: Salt Light & Electric makes it easy for new leads to book an appointment from their website’s homepage.
If you use contact forms on your website, you can use a tool like CallRail’s Form Tracking to see which pages on your website an electrical lead looked at and whether they found you through an ad on social media or Google. You’ll be able to see a simple timeline of all their activities, so when you eventually speak to them, you’ll have lots of extra information about what they’re looking for.
Use local SEO so potential customers can find you
When you’re looking for new customers, you’re only searching for electrical leads in your local community. Google My Business and local listings are a great place to start, making sure you show up in search results and get in front of local customers.
Google estimates 350 times more search interest for keywords ‘local’ and ‘near me’ compared with ten years ago. Local SEO optimizes your website and online presence to make it easier for potential customers looking for electricians and electrical services in their own city or town to find you on search engines.
As an example, here’s what you might see if you search Google for “electrician near me.” The search results show Google’s Local Pack, which shows you a map of business locations and listings for three businesses relevant to this search.
Caption: Google’s Local Search Pack results for ‘electrician near me’
SEO is a pretty technical topic, so here’s a guide that specifically focuses on local SEO. But as a starting point, here are three things you can do to build up your local search presence:
- Set up or claim your Google My Business (GMB) account. For your business to show up on the map in Google’s Local Pack (like the image above), you need to have a GMB account. This is the most important thing you can do to get your company seen by potential customers quickly. CallRail integrates with GMB, so you can easily track the new leads that come from your account.
- Set up a Yelp account. Yelp is another popular site for people looking for local services. SurveyMonkey found that “97% of people spend money with a business they find on Yelp,” so it’s important to set up or claim your business account, and make sure your listing details are up-to-date. Yelp ranks highly in search results, so it’s another way to help your business show up in local searches.
- Make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices so that it’s easy to use and all images, buttons, and links work correctly. This is more important than ever because, in March 2021, Google moved over to mobile-first site indexing. That means that when Google is deciding which pages rank best for particular keywords, it looks at how your website works on a mobile smartphone screen rather than a desktop or laptop computer screen.
Use social media to generate leads
Social media is a great place to find new leads and build trust with potential customers.
The visual nature of social media means it’s great for showing off your portfolio. Keep it up to date by sharing photos of recent projects and reviews from happy customers. This gives new leads the chance to check out your work so they can see if you offer the type of services they’re looking for.
For example, some electrical contractors may specialize in commercial projects while others might have lots of experience doing outdoor jobs. If they can see your work, potential customers will get a feel for whether you’re a good fit for their project.
Caption: Darrington Electrical uses Instagram to showcase different projects they’ve completed, using videos and before and after photos, as well as Highlights to feature work at the top of their profile.
You can also join local groups to find people looking for your services in the local community, and run ads to promote special offers. Sixty-four percent of people would rather message a business than call or email, so you should also set up Facebook Messenger to give new electrical leads a convenient way to contact you directly from your Facebook page.
If you run ads on Facebook, CallRail's Facebook integration makes it easy to track the calls, texts, and form submissions from people who view and click on your ads. This helps you see which of your customers came from ads to determine which ads are effective and which aren’t generating new leads.
See which direct mail campaigns deliver high-quality leads
Direct mail campaigns are still an effective way to get noticed by potential customers. In Lob’s The State of Direct Mail 2019, 64% of respondents reported that “direct mail delivers the highest response rate of any marketing channel they use.”
But if you send out direct mail campaigns, it can be difficult to know if your flyers bring in any calls from new electrical leads. Unless someone actually says, “We got your leaflet in the mail,” how would you know?
Make sure you’ve got the tools in place to track leads that come in from direct mail. Set up call tracking, which allows you to use a unique forwarding phone number on your ad so that you can see which of your electrical leads came from your direct mail campaigns. This will help you measure the success of your direct mail campaigns, so you can optimize and improve them in the future.
Ask happy customers to leave online reviews
The majority of potential customers read online reviews before choosing a contractor to contact
In fact, BrightLocal found that “79% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends or family.” So if your happy customers leave reviews and share photos of your work, these can turn into a valuable source of new leads.
Reviews on your Google My Business or Yelp pages offer two benefits: They build trust with your customers, and they can boost your visibility in search results. Create a link to share with your customers to encourage them to leave you a review. You can also ask customers to review you on Facebook and reuse quotes from these reviews as customer testimonials on your website.
Set up a referral system so customers will recommend you
Personal recommendations and word-of-mouth referrals are possibly your most valuable source of leads. People who are referred by friends and family are four times more likely to make a purchase. But to turn positive reviews and recommendations into actual leads, try offering a referral system.
Offer an incentive or reward (such as a small discount, coffee voucher, or Amazon gift card) for customers who refer new leads and customers to you. This gives your happy customers an extra reason to recommend you to friends and family and gives new leads a reason to get in touch.
You can set up a referral system on your website by:
- Creating a landing page that clearly states the benefit for new leads
- Setting up a contact form on that page for people to fill out when a friend recommends them
- Telling happy clients about your new referral program: Share the link to your landing page and let them know the benefit to them and their friend
- Using CallRail’s Form Tracking to track the new electrical leads who contact you via your referral page
Generate high-quality electrical leads instead of buying them
Make it as easy as possible for people to find you, see your work, and contact you so that new leads come to you instead of having to spend hours finding new potential customers. Use these tips to generate inbound electrical leads for your business, and stop relying on buying leads from third parties.
Once they’ve contacted you, new leads expect to hear back from you quickly, so you can use business communications software like CallRail’s Lead Center to track calls and set up auto-responses. This means you’ll never miss a message, even when you’re out on the job.
