Make More of Your Local Reputation

If you run a successful trades business in Eastbourne, there is a good chance you've already built one of the hardest things to create in marketing: a reputation people trust.

You've Built the Reputation. Let's Make More of It.

Tradespeople can spend years building a reputation without ever thinking of it as a marketing asset.

Every recommendation, review and piece of positive customer feedback adds to the picture.

The problem is that the picture can become fragmented.

You might have excellent reviews on Google. You may have built a strong reputation through Checkatrade or TrustATrader. Perhaps customers have been recommending you locally for years.

That's not something we need to replace.

Instead, we want to understand the reputation you've already built and help you make better use of it.

If customer after customer talks about your reliability, communication, workmanship, professionalism or the care you take in their home, those aren't simply nice things people have said about you.

They're reasons why the next customer might choose you.

And the more we understand what your customers value about your business, the more intelligently we can help you market it.

Your Reviews Can Tell Us What Makes You Different

One of the things we've learned from working with local businesses is that reviews can tell us considerably more than a star rating ever could.

Sometimes business owners are so close to what they do that the things customers value most don't feel particularly remarkable.

You might think arriving when you say you will is simply part of doing the job properly.

Your customers might repeatedly mention it because their previous experience with tradespeople has been very different.

The same could be true of how clearly you explain a job, how tidy you leave someone's home, how quickly you respond or the confidence you give somebody when something has gone wrong.

When those themes keep appearing in customer feedback, we can use them.

They can strengthen your business feature, influence the content we create with you and help potential customers understand why people recommend you.

Kevin at the Rosy Lee has described using thebestof Eastbourne review cards as a “game-changer” for his business, helping them collect more than 200 reviews and stand out from the competition.

Rosy Lee isn't a trades business, but the principle is exactly the same.

A reputation becomes considerably more useful when you actively collect it and then put it to work.

Put Your Business Where Local People Are Looking

When somebody needs work doing, they aren't necessarily searching for your company name.

They're looking for a roofer, electrician, plumber, window company, decorator or another tradesperson who can solve their problem.

That's why the wider structure around your business matters.

Potential customers can find recommended businesses through our Tradesmen Directory in Eastbourne, with relevant services also appearing throughout our Home & Garden and Property Services directories.

Those different routes give somebody an opportunity to find your business while they're researching the particular problem they need solving.

But simply appearing in a directory isn't enough.

Once somebody reaches your business, we want them to see the reasons they should seriously consider contacting you.

That's where reputation, reviews and useful expertise start working together.

Your Expertise Can Become Marketing Too

You probably answer questions every week without thinking of yourself as creating content.

A customer asks whether something can be repaired or needs replacing.

Someone wants to know why a particular problem keeps happening.

They ask what something should cost, how long a job might take, whether they need planning permission, what maintenance is required or what they should look for before employing somebody.

Those conversations contain valuable expertise.

You don't necessarily need to sit down and write marketing articles yourself.

Tell us about one interesting problem you've solved recently.

What happened? Why was it a problem? What did you recommend? What should somebody facing the same situation know?

We can help turn that knowledge into useful content that answers genuine customer questions, demonstrates your expertise and gives people another opportunity to find your business through Google.

There are no promises about where an individual article will rank.

But once that useful content exists, it becomes another marketing asset we can work with.

If somebody asks that question again, you have something useful to show them.

If somebody searches for the answer, your expertise has an opportunity to be found even while you're out doing the actual work.

Reputation and Expertise Are Stronger Together

This is where the proposition becomes more interesting than simply collecting another batch of reviews.

Imagine somebody finding your business because they're researching a problem with their home.

They read an article where you clearly explain the issue.

From there they can see the business behind that expertise and the reputation you've already earned from customers.

They're no longer simply comparing a list of company names.

They can see what you know and what other people think about the way you work.

That's a much stronger introduction to a trades business.

And it's something we can continue building over time.

The more we understand the work you particularly want, the questions your customers ask and the things your reviews tell us people value, the more useful our marketing support can become.

The Trades Businesses We Can Help Most

This isn't designed for somebody looking for a magic source of leads while giving us nothing to work with.

The trades businesses we can help most have already built something worthwhile.

You might have an excellent collection of reviews. You might have years of specialist experience. Perhaps there is a particular type of work you want more of, or an area of the business you want to become better known for.

Tell us.

We don't need you spending hours every week doing marketing for us.

But give us something genuine to work with.

Your reputation. Your expertise. Your customer stories. The particular work you'd like to grow.

The clearer you can be about what you want your business to become better known for, the more intelligently we can focus our attention.

Rather Than Tell You, We'd Like to Show You

If you're an established tradesperson in Eastbourne and you've already built a strong reputation, we'd rather show you what we could do with it than simply make another marketing promise.

First, let's have a conversation.

Tell us about your business, show us the reputation you've already earned and tell us about the type of work you'd particularly like to grow.

If we believe we're a good fit for each other, we can start putting together a demonstration of what your business could look like through thebestof Eastbourne.

Then give us one thing you genuinely know about.

A question customers regularly ask. A common problem you solve. Something people misunderstand about your trade. Something a homeowner should know before employing somebody to do the work.

We'll work with you to turn that expertise into a useful article and give it the opportunity to be found through Google.

Then we can see what actually happens.

No promise that an article will suddenly reach number one.

No promise that putting your reviews in front of more people will instantly create a queue of enquiries.

Instead, you get to see what we can actually do with the reputation and expertise you've already earned.

You've done the hard part.

Let's see if we can help you make more of it.

Could We Help Your Trades Business?

Not sure what your business needs next? That’s exactly the kind of conversation we can have.

Want to talk it through? Send me a WhatsApp or email and tell me what you’d most like your trades business to become better known for.