What to Focus On + Interview with Chris Marentis, CEO of Surefire Local
Part 1. What to Focus On\nWhat are your top priorities in the next 30, 60, or even 90 days? While most home remodelers will have a quick answer to this simple question, it is still possible the things they\u2019re focusing on are not necessarily the right ones. \u201cI don\u2019t think there is a cookie-cutter answer to that,\u201d says Mark Richardson. \u201c\u2026But what I do know is there are a few questions that you can ask yourself\u2026that you can determine for yourself or your team can determine what they should be focused on.\u201d\n\nWhat do you know?\nThe current situation we\u2019re experiencing right now remains full of uncertainties, from possible government restrictions relating to COVID-19 to doubts whether the continuing interest in home improvement will last. But what you do know is that your clients are probably your biggest assets. You\u2019ll want to focus on projects that will give them greater peace of mind in terms of health and safety, while ensuring you can produce fast but excellent results. \n\nWhat do you have?\nLeads are an opportunity--not a real client, and design agreements don\u2019t always guarantee you\u2019ll have a project to work on in the future. What you DO have, however, are real projects under construction, and real clients that need you to meet their expectations. Make sure to focus on these things, along with cultivating a good relationship with your team members because they are more important to your business than ever.\n\nWhat can you control?\nAvoid getting into the media hype surrounding the pandemic--it\u2019s a situation you can\u2019t control. You\u2019ll want to focus on things that you can, including the time and energy you spend on your team members and clients, and on opportunities for greater leads and business growth. You can control your sales process, and how much safer you can make the remodeling experience for everyone, as well. \n\nBottom line is to focus on what you know, what you have, and what you can control right now instead of looking too far ahead in these unprecedented times.\n\nPart 2. Interview with Chris Marentis, CEO of Surefire Local\nIn this section of the podcast, Mark discusses with a leader in the digital marketing space, Chris Marentis, CEO of Surefire Local, how this particular aspect of marketing has been affected this year by the pandemic. \u201cThe trend of consumers and households using digital to find and buy products and services accelerated greatly,\u201d says Chris. This shift to driving their business online has allowed for record-breaking years in smaller retail shops. \u201cProfessional services and local business spaces have been going through that same transformation and acceleration into digital.\u201d\n\nChris also shares how a few years ago, most businesses would typically focus on building a website to make themselves more visible online, but now they have access to more digital marketing vehicles, such as using Google My Business reviews and email marketing to build their company. \u201cMarketing is pretty simple--social or digital--if you have all the data coming in and it\u2019s all in a way that you can understand it and act on it.\u201d \n\nListen as Mark and Chris further discuss why businesses should focus their efforts on advanced digital marketing strategies.