Internet Lead generation companies

[cuttinupferalivin]

Internet lead generation companies like Home advisor/Angie, are dominating the internet. These companies are mostly comprised of start up businesses that are in need of work.
Anyone who operates a tree service knows that it is not a profession to be taken lightly. It is by sweat and blood many of the times that most owners have had to endure to make a honest living.
Lead generation companies are run by internet “geeks” who have absolutely positively unequivocally no, none , experience doing residential tree work the proper way. And they are luring in people with the same that also know nothing.
A most common reply to my complaint is that if you do good work word of mouth will follow. Sure it will, but in the meantime these pieces of **** are raking in the dough while the hard working that has paid there dues go behind them, dealing with underpriced job estimates, overpriced job estimates, slack work schedules at times, and just a plain old I’d like to get my hands on you attitude as the Angie groupies pass by with their plywood made chip boxes

 

[cookies]

In the automotive world we double the price on things others have messed with or the owners tried to do themselves because its 2x the work cleaning up behind others , seems you should be doing the same. Eventually these companies will burn up their online credentials and people will avoid them at all costs while real businesses mop up their messes for more money.

 

[ClimberBusinessman]

I'd stay far away from the lead generation companies of Home Advisor, Angi, etc. But getting a good, solid website up is necessary in this day and age. Hiring a company to put that up, if you can't figure out how to use Wordpress or something similar is almost always a good investment. Yes, you'll still need to pay close attention to your reputation if you want it to last--the choice to do marketing doesn't mean that you can let your quality suffer. But if you have a slack schedule, you absolutely have to do marketing. Word-of-mouth is nice, and getting it is great, but it shouldn't ever be thought of as a substitute for marketing, especially if you have a slack schedule. It's hard to cover fixed costs, like insurance, when you're not busy.

 

[esshup]

I believe even a good solid website isn't enough today, you have to be on FB or other social media. I think it has to be a multi pronged approach, there are old people out there (but they are dwindling) that don't do computer stuff and still read the local paper. It all depends on the market area that you are in.