What can the scientific method teach us about generating leads? Quite a bit actually.

The scientific method is simply shorthand for the practice of making a good guess and then putting that guess to the test to see if it produces the expected results.

When it comes to generating leads, the experts at RCG Contractor Marketing have been testing and refining what works to attract homeowner attention for more than three decades.

What have we learned? Here are three top advertising insights you can put to work for you right now:

Keep filling the top of your sales funnel

Your audience for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, roofing, siding, window and other home services is literally all homeowners. If you can afford it, a broad market strategy in things like radio, cable and TV can reach the largest number of potential customers at the lowest cost.

Digital advertising makes you “findable”

Your website and search marketing are critical to turning potential customers into hot leads. Digital works best when people search for you by name (familiarity established by the broad market campaigns described above) … but it’s important to use search engine strategies make sure your online presence doesn’t get buried.

Your website is the new telephone

Many leads still come in by telephone, but consumers are continuing to use online contact forms like they used to use the telephone. That means your website should pay off the expectations you’ve established in other advertising and put a way to get in touch with you right up front. And since many homeowners use their mobile phone to find you, it’s critical that your site displays well on a mobile phone with your contact form and phone number prominent.