BUYER BEWARE, means more than it use to, much more. The Latin phrase, “Caveat Emptor” meaning “Let The Buyer Beware” was pretty much exactly what it sounded like. It meant do your due diligence when choosing a company that provides a product and or service you are looking for, kind of simple stuff. However all that changed in the early 2000’s…. enter the internet.
Every business owner knows especially in the realm of the Home Improvement industry, that lead generation is the businesses most important issue, it is the businesses life’s blood. Simply put, without lead generation you have no company nor do you have business that’s keeping the lights on.
The internet changed everything, and not necessarily for the better. You see, before we were all connected via the World Wide Web companies had to earn their reputation, no matter what business you were in, the internet not only changed that, it made many businesses out of what was just a few once upon a time. If you doubt the last statement Simply go to a library and look in phone books pre 1993. You will see where today you have 60 custom woodworking shops in one county, but before 1993 there were only 9 custom woodworking companies in the local county phonebook and God knows in those days if you weren’t in the phonebook you Did Not Exist… PERIOD.
What is Online Lead Generation: Lead generation companies collect consumer and B2B data and sell it to businesses looking to buy new leads. They use different methods and tactics to segment and categorize the data as pre industry to make sure the buyers get somewhat relevant contacts, You sure of that?
ENTER THE INTERNET… suddenly, almost overnight by 1998 a one person business could produce a website an appear to be anything one could imagine. Overnight these tiny little businesses had websites and many that were done professionally could make these little companies look like IBM overnight. “Buyer Beware” was never as important as it suddenly became. But it got worse, much worse. By 2004 Lead Generation firms began to pop up when homeowners searched for the products or services they were looking for, while the local home improvement business began coming up lower, and lower in the search engines. One of the first was ImproveNet and they had a mega advantage. Let me explain. As a local business, you did work in let’s say a 80 mile radius, however Google had yet to provide geo-targeting, so your website ranked across the entire country. On the over hand these Lead Generation companies did business all over the country, and once they hooked-up with manufacturers especially in the replacement window and siding industry, the rest was history and Lead Generation seemed to get easier then ever before. No longer did a business earn its reputation, they could now join the numbers game and pay for Lead Generation. These big Lead Generation companies devised a scheme to send only 3 names of companies to homeowners looking for the product and or services they wanted. While these 3 companies paid the Lead Generation companies lots of money. However in the background much more was going on. Privacy was no longer respected, homeowner names and addresses were sold to all kinds of different businesses that sold primarily to homeowners, see the vicious cycle now, I’m sure you do. But by 2011 Google began its enhanched geo-targeting, so Lead Generation companies had to change with the times or go out of business, and many did. One familiar company is Angie’s List, which is now just Angi.
So not only do homeowners have to be careful shopping for products and or services but they need to do it with a keen eye, otherwise your email and phone calls are busy with companies looking for business. Another sharaid being played on the Internet, among others is car insurance. IF YOU FILL OUT ONE OF THESE APPLICATIONS SUDDENLY 6 INSURANCE PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SELL YOU INSURANCE… DON’T DO IT.
The point is… do business with companies that stand on their own. Maybe they get a great review from Facebook or Nextdoor, which is nothing more the homeowners telling other homeowners, they do it the old fashion way… people refer their experience with your company and wish to share it. In other words “They Earn Your Business”.
