I got this email about targeting home improvement prospects from Tony’s Home Services:
Dear DataDale –
My Home Improvement Company offers many services to Homeowners. I want to lead my advertising with the improvement item that will bring me the most profit. Which project is most popular right now? Who should I market to?
Anthony DeSclera
Tony’s Home Services
Levittown, NY
Answer
Dear Tony –
Thanks for the question. Many home improvement companies are targeting baby boomers for “aging in place” projects, like walk-in showers with grab rails, solar panels, non-slip flooring. This segment has the dollars to make an investment in their home.
The most popular projects tend to be ones that are more easily affordable. For example, replacing a garage door or replacing windows with more energy-efficient ones. Sal Alfano, editorial director for Remodeling Magazine also added exterior painting to the list. Other popular are projects are those that add space without increasing the footprint of a house.
On average, U.S. homeowners who made home improvements in 2011 only picked up 58 cents in home equity on their remodeling dollar. This is according to the Cost versus Value survey released on Thursday by Remodeling Magazine. That’s down sharply from the 2005 peak, when a new project immediately earned back 76 percent of its cost in higher home prices.
The project with the highest cost-to-value ratio on the list for 2011 was a mid-range replacement of the front door. That cost an average of $1,238 and raised the average sales price of a home by $903, or 73 percent of the project’s initial cost.
Based on all that research, my suggestions would be to lead with Door & Window Replacement. You might also want to use terms like energy-efficient in your marketing; since many states offer rebates for upgrading window/doors
You will want to reach out to affluent Homeowners in single family homes, where the homes are 7-15 years old. Depending on the direction of your marketing, you might also want to overlay eco-consciousness on the list. If you are marketing by phone, you can get this list with scrubbed telephone #s. You will also want to market by mail.