Contractors and small business owners in the home improvement industry who offer their customers financing options consistently win more clients and close bigger deals than those who do not.
However, the draw only works when customers are fully aware of their financing options.
If you have struggled to effectively raise awareness and market financing options, you have come to the right place.
We’re here today to break down eight of the most popular strategies.
Strategy 1: Highlight Financing on Your Website
Your website is the digital home base for your construction or home renovation business.
It should prominently feature all your important information, including:
- Physical address and business hours
- Full contact information
- Client testimonials
- Products, services, and prices
- Direct calls to action
- FAQs
In essence, your website’s home page should feature what, who, how, and where:
what you offer,
who you serve,
how you solve their problems
where you serve them
If part of what you offer your customers is financing, that fact should feature prominently right on your home page.
For customers who are eager for a project but perhaps enjoying a bit less cash flow, the awareness that you offer financing can immediately disarm their reservations and move them toward the call to action.
When it comes to where to place your financing information on your website, it’s good to consider how people read web pages and respond accordingly.
According to experts, when people first land on a web page, they tend to quickly scan it in a Z-shaped pattern. Their eyes skim the header from top left to top right in a horizontal line. Next, their eyes cut straight to bottom left in a diagonal before ending up on the bottom right.
After this initial scan, readers bounce back up to whatever features on the page stood out or caught their attention.
With this in mind, the best place for your financing options would be in a banner across the top of the page.
For maximum effect, place financing banners on the homepage, service pages, and directly on quote request forms.
In addition, be sure to create a dedicated financing page where customers can learn everything they need to know.
Always be sure to:
- Fully explain terms
- Lay out the long term benefits of financing
- List pre-qualification options
Strategy 2: Mention Financing in Paid Ads (Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram)
There is a reason why social media channels made up the majority of ad spend in the United States in 2024.
When it comes to advertising, business owners are going where the people are spending most of their time—these days, that place is online.
Social media advertising not only connects with people where they are but also leverages the power of the algorithm to target specific audiences with pinpoint precision.
If you are planning to run paid ads, here are a few tips to ensure you are maximizing your investment and enjoying the highest ROI:
- Make every second count. Social media audiences have short attention spans. You must capture your potential customer within the first few seconds.
- Mention financing options in the ad. Be sure to specifically mention “affordable monthly payments.” Not only will this distinction get you closer to the right audience, but it will also inevitably help reduce any potential sticker shock down the road.
- Craft a simple CTA to send people directly to your website. Whether potential customers first encounter your targeted ads on Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, or anywhere else, they all need to end up in the same place—your website.
In targeting homeowners needing renovations in your paid social media ads, you have a good chance of capturing the attention of potential customers.
By mentioning financing options and sending them directly to your website to learn more, you can convert those views into sales.
Strategy 3: Social Media Strategies for Promoting Financing
One of the best ways to promote financing in your social media content is to create compelling visuals.
Compelling visual content may include original videos, infographics, and high-quality images.
Original Videos
Whether featuring client testimonials or success stories you have curated, original video content pulls potential customers in and gets them on the hook for more.
When choosing which client testimonials to feature, be sure to highlight situations that best illustrate how financing factored into the overall success of the project.
Infographics
Infographics are a great way to simultaneously deliver information in bite-size pieces and pull the eyes inevitably down the page toward your call to action.
In each infographic you create for social media, be sure to include statistics on how financing helps people achieve their goals.
High Quality Images
High quality images could include professional-grade photos or pristine graphics that feature charts and graphs to highlight your company’s services, features, and success stories.
Once you have caught a potential customer’s eye, be sure to incorporate information that showcases your current financing offers.
Strategy 4: Incorporate Financing into Email Marketing Campaigns
Despite all the buzz about social media marketing, email marketing is still an effective way to reach customers.
Whether you focus on newsletters, drip campaigns, engagement emails, or promotional offers, emails can reach customers where they are and move them toward a sale.
Email marketing campaigns:
- Are cost-effective
- Offer measurable results
- Increase brand awareness
- Allow you to customize your outreach
- Give you direct access to your customers beyond the reach of the algorithm
While it’s important to mention financing options in all your email marketing, perhaps the best way to maximize this opportunity is to create a drip campaign that focuses on financing.
You should also create email templates that highlight the availability of monthly payment options and set up automations to send these messages at various stages in the sales process, including after a quote is sent, during pre-project follow-ups, and any other place that feels suitable.
Remember, few people open every single email they receive—and even if you happen to work with one who does, there’s no such thing as over-informing a customer.
Strategy 5: Showcase Financing in Sales Conversations
It’s never too early to inform potential customers that you offer financing.
To that end, train your sales team to introduce financing as a standard option in every client conversation.
Not only will this reduce the potential for sticker shock, but it could also create opportunities for your sales team to introduce the concept of financing as a way to upgrade clients to larger or premium projects.
There’s no need to be pushy about this.
Your sales member could start by simply informing customers of the possibilities.
A customer may not have the imagination to envision a water feature at the bottom of the driveway or a pergola on the new deck.
But your sales member does.
They could casually say, “Wouldn’t a pergola look amazing right here?”
If the customer agrees but says they only wish they could afford to add one, this could be a good time to bring up financing options.
Strategy 6: Include Financing in Brochures, Flyers, and Print Ads
As you design print materials to promote your company, such as brochures, flyers, and print ads, don’t forget to feature financing prominently.
Any client who encounters your tangible marketing materials should have an immediate grasp of the flexible payment options available.
Strategy 7: Promote Financing at Trade Shows and Networking Events
Trade shows and other local or regional networking events are great ways to put your best foot forward in the community.
In addition to building trust with potential customers and seeking to make a good impression, you can make the best use of the promotional materials you bring to trade shows or other industry events (including banners, brochures, signage, flyers, etc.) by including information about financing options.
No one should have to worry that they will not be able to afford working with you.
Strategy 8: Partner with Suppliers and Industry Influencers
Investing in cross-promotions with non-competitors who also work in your industry is a cost-efficient way to build strong industry connections, enhance your reach, and build a more diversified audience.
As you choose potential partners and plan your co-marketing campaigns, be sure to start by setting your key performance indicators (KPIs) and crafting your call to action to point people in that direction.
Popular KPIs for cross-promotions include:
- Increased website traffic
- Lead generation
- Brand awareness
- Conversion rates
Consider collaborating with suppliers, manufacturers, or other influencers to co-promote your services to a wider audience—always being mindful to prominently feature financing options in each co-promotion.
Keep Your Customers Informed About Financing Options
Contractors and small business owners in the home improvement industry who seek to excel in marketing their financing options to customers must take advantage of the wide array of strategies currently available to them.
While it’s okay to start with one and add other strategies later, your marketing will be most effective when you take a multi-channel marketing approach.
But here’s the bottom line.
Marketing your financing options to home improvement clients isn’t something you can afford to be passive about. If you don’t reach your potential customers with financing options, one of your competitors will.
Therefore, don’t be afraid to take a proactive and aggressive approach in marketing your financing options.
This is the best way to stand out in the competitive home improvement market.
Ready to find out more about the benefits of offering financing to your customers? Book a demo of Hearth’s business-boosting tools today.
