Services are difficult to market properly. Services can’t be returned. Therefore, the consumer needs to trust your brand 100% before they purchase. Sometimes hiring a marketer, for example, is a hit and miss. You can’t really check their past successes so a lot of emphasis is put on reviews and social proof. Service marketing is a whole different game, and it needs to played right.

Here are a few of the best tips that will help you better market your services.

Focus on the customer

In the service industry, it is crucial to remember you are selling value, not price. Think of Apple iPhones. The reason they are priced so high is not because of the fancy technology that they have inside of them, but because the perceived value that the world attaches to them. So Apple maximizes their price in order to match that perceived value, and that’s how they are able to be one of the leading technology companies today.

In the business world, a company that has extraordinarily low prices is usually considered not trustworthy. It is better to focus on what the customer wants rather than haphazardly lower your prices.

Customers want to feel engaged with your brand. Practically, that means improving how you treat customers, decrease delivery time, and have trained staff members that can provide expert information to the client in a smooth, pleasant way.

Crystal clear communication

Images and videos are not necessarily available to businesses that sell services so you must make sure what you are offering is communicated in a crystal clear fashion. A common challenge among those selling services is honing in on one service. Since there are endless services to choose from, they end up selling everything to a mediocre degree and not getting the business they anticipated.

With that in mind, choose one service to focus on in the beginning and really fine-tune that before adding a second service. This way your message will reach your audience in a clear, distinct manner and they will know exactly what to expect. Even when writing a press release, you need to keep that in mind.

Online directories

Imagine looking for something and not being able to find it. Now imagine you are the thing that needs to be found and can’t be found. Which is worse? For the business owner offering a service, the latter is more unfortunate. That is why it is so important to get onto as many online directories as possible.

It will boost your visibility when someone searches a keyword that is related to your services. Additionally, it will save you a lot of advertising costs. If you can show up in more searches you won’t need to advertise as much.

Testimonials

Too many websites have testimonials hidden at the bottom of the page. People trust fellow shoppers like themselves and like to see right away what others are saying. Testimonials and reviews can make or break your business so it is imperative that your service provides a perfect path for 5-star testimonials.

Make testimonials a major part of your freelance marketing flows. Make sure that you ask each customer for feedback and if it’s positive kindly ask them to leave a good review of your business. You can use email automation tools like Mailchimp or Drip to set up automatic email flows that will send emails on your behalf.

The power of referrals

Did you know that more than advertising, 80% of people look for personal recommendations before a purchase? You want to build brand advocates that will talk about your business for you. This way you can cut down the costs of advertising and bring people who already trust you to your site  The best way to get your name out there is through word of mouth so getting referrals is a must for quick, easy, and free growth. You may also use deep linking here.

Recap

The service industry is truly a commendable business to be in right now. More than ever, people crave quality, pleasant experiences with brands. However, there are a number of challenges when it comes to branding yourself as a service provider. How can you give over the information that your company offers the best service around with the best prices? That’s where focus comes in.

Focus on the consumer and what the consumer wants. Focus on pleasing your clientele and they will do the advertising for you. After all, people trust their friends more than strangers right? So become your customer’s friend!

Clearly state what you can do for them and make sure they can find your site easily. Once you understand that you need to market yourself differently than a brand selling physical products and act accordingly, step back and watch your business take off like never before.