To start, I am an avid DIY’er
As with many contractors and handy persons, I began my education by way of DIY. Doing it oneself can be enjoyable, a source of pride and satisfaction, and of course, a way to save money and maybe get it done sooner. Not to mention avoiding the task of finding and hiring good help. It would be disingenuous of me to try to manipulate a potential client into hiring me by instilling a fear of failure, or causing major damage. Yet this is what many trade and service people (larger outfits too) do in their marketing. I suppose it may be effective at some level, but for the type of customer I wish to attract, it should come off as tawdry. Also, I trust my ideal customer is smart enough to know their limitations. Put simply, I don’t want people to be afraid of their homes. And I certainly don’t wish to deprive anyone of the joy DIY can bring.
“But you’re running the risk of losing work by giving them a reason to not hire you.”
Sure, I may lose some work. That’s ok–I have a full schedule. There’s more than enough work to go around. Second, while I like to share tasks where I’ve developed creative solutions to problems (my favorite part of this job), there are plenty of others capable of this, and some share their methods on YouTube. There’s never been a better time to be a DIY’er, and the information is already out there.
So why bother with it at all?
A few reasons, which ultimately, relate to my philosophy on marketing: Informed customers make for the best clients–I want the people I work for to know what goes into a job. Sometimes you have to know what’s involved to appreciate a seemingly high price tag. Also, I sell my services on quality and integrity: by showing how I work, I hope to give potential clients insight on how I do things in the hope they feel comfortable hiring me. I’m not the price leader; don’t want to be. Rather, I offer value. I’ve pulled apart enough stuff to see the shoddy results of cut corners. Which always seems to happen when there are surprises, but the service person has to complete the job on schedule, to get on to the next one. Which is the result of competing on price. I’m going to do it right even if I have to do it twice, and perhaps that commitment to quality will come across in these posts.
So go ahead and tackle a job you might think is beyond you. Just be safe about it. And if you chose not to, or simply don’t have the time, just shoot me an email.
–Wilson