Painting Contractor: Challenges & Solutions for Delivering Quality Services - Essay Sample

Introduction

A painting contractor is an individual who accepts that she or he will deliver all materials and labor necessary to carry out painting services, on behalf of the customer. The contractor will distribute equipment such as scaffolds, drop cloths, paint trays, rollers, brushes, and ladders. There has to be an agreement between the contractor and client regarding the costs upon satisfactory fulfillment of the services.

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The Marketing Challenges

There are several marketing challenges that painting contractors can face, such as setting a price that would attract clients they are interested in working with and eventually making a deal. Another problem is failing to advertise effectively on social media. Social media is currently a useful tool when one wants to save time, money, and reach a wide audience at the same time. Many contractors underestimate online marketing. Clients would prefer giving contracts to a company that has a strong media presence and reliable website (Ryan, 2016). Contractors who would otherwise use traditional methods of advertisement such as billboards and television would spend much money.

Some painting contractors would use the traditional methods because there are not knowledgeable about social influence, and perhaps hiring an influencer or social media marketer might be expensive. Another issue is the lack of knowledge regarding the security of the contractors' social media sites, including the website. There are a majority of the contractors oblivious to the essence of cybersecurity. The security measure can safeguard their sites against cyberbullies who may want to jeopardize or steal their contracts or projects, and customers' details (Ryan, 2016).

Marketing Strategies

Marketing strategies are a business's plan to reach potential customers and managing to lure them towards purchasing services or goods. Several organizations focus on marketing strategy; thus, the latter contributes to general firm performance (Saif, 2015). There are two categories of marketing strategy, namely active and passive. A passive approach is the content on the business's website, directories, and listing on Google my Business. Passive marketing enables customers to reach out to the business for queries or orders. Active marketing involves paid commercials on sites such as Facebook and website retargeting, in which contractors can apply to reach potential clients.

Marketing strategy is used as a method of attaining a competitive advantage. Marketing revolves around the place, promotion, price, and product, also referred to as the 4Ps. The 4Ps marketing strategy is critical towards determining the client's repurchase intention or attracting a new client towards the business. There is the essence for a paint contractor to know all the products used in painting and how to market his or her business; therefore, know the platform and set price for the products.

The Marketing Initiatives That are Difficult for the Painter Contractor to Execute

There are various marketing initiatives such as Facebook advertising, promotion of local events on social sites, and community outreach through sponsorships and fundraisers (Forbes Los Angeles Business Council, 2017). The disadvantage of the Facebook advertisement is when the paint contractor has to prove to his or her client that his staff can provide excellent services. The business is a service, making it difficult for the potential customer to ascertain whether the contractor has quality laborers. There is also difficult when the contractor decides to utilize social sites to promote local events, especially when there is inadequate knowledge concerning the ways of influencing people through the sites. Painter Contractors can manage to portray their skills or that of their employees, more on a personal level compared to through technological devices. One of the options of securing a deal with a client is by, for example, attending exhibitions and doing several types of painting. Potential customers can then see and judge based on their level of experience, knowledge, and skills regarding painting.

How to Collaborate With Agencies or Companies

The painting contractor should start by establishing a presence online. The contractor, if not familiar with social media marketing, can hire a qualified marketer to increase engagement. The marketer can ultimately manage to prove to the company about the site's readers or pageviews by consistent posting and developing quality content.

There is a need to email the company that the contractor is willing to work with by introducing oneself, informing them about the business blog, and the reasons for being interested in it is a brand or particular products that have caught the contractor's attention. There is importance in informing the company about interests in working with them and the benefits that come along with the deal. The benefits should align with the company's or agency's goals, objectives, and targets. The contractor can then share his or her statistics and links.

Painting contractors can participate or sponsor local events with companies they wish to work with in the future, sponsoring industry events, sports teams, fundraisers, and community gatherings are an effective way of collaborating with other businesses. The strategy assists one to show his or her efforts. Another method of collaboration is by creating unique offers or coupons, for example, both businesses giving unique discounts.

References

Forbes Los Angeles Business Council. (2017). Seven Marketing Initiatives That Are Helping Local Los Angeles Businesses Grow. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeslacouncil/2017/12/28/seven-marketing-initiatives-that-are-helping-local-los-angeles-businesses-grow/#7661e9c81198

Ryan. (2016). 7 Biggest Challenges Contractors are Facing. General Contractors License Guide. https://www.constructconnect.com/blog/4-major-challenges-facing-the-construction-industry

Saif, N. M. A. (2015). How does marketing strategy influence firm performance? Implementation of the marketing strategy for firm success. International Journal of Innovation and Economic Development, 1(3), 7-15. DOI: 10.18775/ijied.1849-7551-7020.2015.13.2001