As the colder months approach, it may be possible that you are witnessing a dip in calls and overall business for big home improvement projects. During the winter months, almost all the outdoor and big projects virtually come to a halt, in terms of execution. Moreover, the interest rate hikes have also pushed homeowners to stick to emergency repairs and seasonal jobs, that cannot be put off. Even for jobs like these, we found that a whopping 68% of homeowners still preferred to do their research and read reviews of pros in the area on HomeStars. So during these slower months, it is a good idea to upgrade your service offerings and cater to seasonal demands to get to the top of these homeowners’ lists who are looking for pros for their jobs at hand.
What Are The Jobs That Are In Demand During These Months?
As outlined before, the slower months are actually the months when homeowners simply switch to other categories of work which are not impacted by harsh weather or snow. So if you have the skills, tools or labour to accommodate seasonal jobs, you can upgrade to more categories on HomeStars during these months. This will help you get on the list of homeowners looking to hire pros for such jobs.
- Carpentry: Whether it’s fixing or making new wooden fixtures inside the home or even customizing furniture, different interior carpentry jobs are usually executed during the winter months. People also look for carpenters to build additional storage space or modify their home offices.
- Trim & Moulding: With 84% of homeowners deciding to stay put in their homes, interior projects to upgrade the look and feel of the homes like adding crown moulding can be expected during this time.
- Framing and Drywalling: Income suites and intergenerational suites are becoming fairly popular among homeowners and if they have additional space that they want to convert into individual suites, framing and drywall contractors can expect to get calls.
- Interior Painting: Recent reports about the past year found that 43% of homeowners chose to undertake painting projects and this was the easiest renovation that could increase the real estate value. So interior painting projects that can be easily executed in winters will likely be on homeowners’ minds.
- Refinishing: Refinishing or polishing old fixtures can lend a new look to the home and as these are hassle-free projects, homeowners are more likely to take these on during the winter months.
- Exterior Home Cleaning: With the Fall season upon us, more and more homeowners will likely need home cleaning services like driveway cleaning, gutter cleaning etc. to get rid of fallen leaves and debris. During this time, many people will also want to put up and subsequently remove Christmas lights from their roof etc. so if you have the bandwidth, you can also add this to your services.
- Fences and Decks: With thunderstorms and rains predicted in many parts of Canada, homeowners will need waterproofing and repair services for these categories.
- Emergency Repairs: As climate change impacts are increasing every year, last year we saw many homeowners looking for emergency repairs. From electrical fixtures to tree removal and basement flooding – there are many services you can offer during this time.
- Mold Inspection and Removal: With damp weather conditions, mold is an increasing worry on homeowners’ minds, especially those with young kids and pets. As these need to be treated urgently, homeowners are likely to look at highly rated pros in their area who can take care of these jobs.
- HVAC Services: As winter draws closer, many people will choose to uninstall their A/C units or service their home’s heating like furnaces, fireplaces etc. So during season change, homeowners are looking for experienced pros who can help them out with these HVAC needs.
If you have the tools and skills to offer these services, you should consider upgrading categories on your HomeStars profile to be seen by project-ready homeowners. If you are a pro who already offers these services, make sure you are marketing the same to get more bookings from homeowners. You can start by leveraging all the benefits your premium HomeStars profile has to offer during the slower season!
How To Use HomeStars To Market Services During Slow Season?
At HomeStars, we are in the business of growing yours. That’s why we have a number of ways to help out pros like you when you see seasonal fluctuations. By updating your HomeStars profile to include the above-mentioned categories, you can virtually increase your chances of getting hired. Here are some more ways you can use your HomeStars profile to market your business in the coming months:
- Update your ‘Displayed Category’: You can change your ‘Displayed Category’ on your HomeStars profile to reflect the seasonal jobs that you are taking on – this will tell at a glance that you are undertaking seasonal jobs and homeowners can quickly reach out to you for those jobs.
- Add more services to your profile: When you fill out the details on your HomeStars profile, make sure to include all the seasonal jobs that you are taking on during these months. This will help relevant project-ready homeowners find you quickly.
- Showcase your services with Featured Ads: As a HomeStars verified pro, you can place featured ads on the website, even on competitor profiles, to quickly stand out from the competition.
- Showcase seasonal jobs on custom galleries: You can use this slow season to create custom galleries on your HomeStars profile, which will tell homeowners about your experience with seasonal jobs.
- Stay connected with homeowners: While this may be a slower season, it’s important to remember that marketing your business during the slow season is beneficial in the long run. Even though homeowners are not hiring, they are still on the lookout for pros like you for their bigger projects that they want to execute in the next year. Projects like home renovations or outdoor renovations can take months of planning and researching and marketing your profile on HomeStars is a good way to stay on homeowners’ minds, when they do decide to hire.
- Hire subcontractors on HomeStars: Even if you do not have expertise in these seasonal jobs, you can always look for pros on HomeStars and hire subcontractors for seasonal jobs.
- Showcase Deals on HomeStars: If your business is based out of Toronto, you can offer deals on these seasonal jobs to make hiring decisions easier for homeowners.
- Use the HomeStars-Perch partnership to close deals: As more and more homeowners pause bigger projects or postpone them for financial reasons, you can leverage the HomeStars-Perch partnership to inform clients about refinancing options and help them execute these projects.
Leverage your HomeStars profile to the fullest and keep the business running even during slow months, by adding these seasonal jobs to your services on the HomeStars profile! Got questions on your mind? Reach out to your account manager today!
