Reaching Homeowners During Summer’s Shifts in Media Consumption

At RCG, our team members are experts on providing consistent media messaging to homeowners for the success of our home service contractor clients.

In previous articles and blogs, we’ve discussed many of the influential media channels where we typically recommend placing advertising. We have also been proponents of remaining consistent with your advertising to build a successful strategy for educating homeowners.

But in the height of summer, it’s usually your peak season to earn revenue. With only a few regional and business-line exceptions, summer weather means the time is ripe to carry out your largest and most profitable projects.

But even now, in busy times, it’s important not to neglect filling your funnel of future business.

Creating a balanced strategy that both drives demand during peak season and leaves enough budget to remain consistent in the market is one of the secrets to RCG’s success in helping contractors grow.

While we see some contractors pour all of their marketing dollars into one or two “hot” seasons, RCG knows homeowners think about things a little differently. Sometimes, and especially with bigger investments, homeowners need time to consider the purchase and “get used to” the idea of having work done. Being top-of-mind during this consideration phase can build a foundation for a future sale.

Summer Media Shift Planning

What happens if you haven’t built this foundation? Well, some advertisers actually see lead flows lower than expected during the summer season. This could be due to other advertisers having built a better connection with the homeowners during the prior months, more ad clutter by other advertisers in the category, or homeowner distracted by busy summer activities.

RCG has three ways to improve reach to homeowners as they adjust their viewing habits and decision making during the summer season.

• Spread your advertising investment beyond just “peak” season.
  1. As we mention in our blog, When Should I Start My Ad Campaign, we need to give media time to have it’s reach and message frequency work. Sometimes as much as 5-weeks.
• Adjust your ad spend to compensate for the months of July and August consistently delivering lower viewing audiences.
  1. Homeowners have other options available rather than being at home or consuming media.
  2. Homeowners might also shift the types of media they consume as their daily habits adjust during the summer.
• Understand that homeowners are more distracted in the summer
  1. Homeowners go on vacation.
  2. Families have children who are on summer break.
  3. Outdoor activities and events are more widely available.

The largest takeaway is that homeowner media habits shift during the summer and your annual strategy should plan for that. We recommend spending strategically before, during and after your peak season to generate the leads you need to meet goals.

Check out our blog on Tips for Marketing to Offset Seasonality to see ways you can generate leads in the off seasons.

Contact our team at RCG Contractor Marketing to learn more today.