Marketing for Small Businesses

Small businesses make the world go ‘round.

This week we interviewed a small business owner locally here in the Chicagoland area.

The home remodeling industry has been interesting lately, to say the least. With the commercial market taking a nose dive in new construction, the home market for renovations has increased dramatically. New construction for homes also declined, with more people opting to purchase existing properties versus invest in having something built. Residential contractors have been hit hard, just as most small businesses in this country.  Read the full interview below to learn a bit about how this small business was effected, but also how they will recover.

What is your company name?

Grizzly Home Renovations

It is owned by myself, Syed Ali and my partner, Diego Flores

How long have you been in business?

Since 2013.

How did you start the business and what motivated you to do it?

Started the business in Texas and was working for another company. Moved to Illinois in 2012.

What drives you to continue?

I enjoy rehabbing homes and it motivates him by satisfying customers. Syed is focused on the customer experience and loves creating joy in their lives from home remodeling projects.

What are your specialties/services?

Grizzly specializes in finishing basements, remodeling kitchens, and remodeling bathrooms.

What is something that separates you from the competition?

Very reasonably priced and high quality.

How has Covid effected your business?

We lost about 70% of our business due to customers not allowing people to come inside their homes. We aren’t gettingt as many phone calls, some existing projects stopped completely due to Covid.

What is different now than pre-covid?

A few projects are still paused. Many people are still afraid to have strangers in their homes due to fear of being infected.

What are some things you wish you could do better?

Use more precautions possibly for more business. Currently we take all the required precautions, but maybe if we took more people could feel more confident with us coming into their home. Currently we wear gloves and face coverings. Going into winter is always slow. Combined with the lockdowns will be tough. People get into the Holiday mode, and with winter, they don’t want to spend money.

What are your business goals for 2021?

Ramp up marketing, find other ways to get new customers versus existing platforms. Need more marketing, hoping for vaccine and the overall climate to change favorably to business.

How do you get most of your customers today?

Most of our business comes from referrals from our existing clientele. We also use Angies List and Porch. Not much luck with those existing platforms/tools. We primarily work in the southwest suburbs, but we cover the entire Chicagoland area. We are based in Naperville, IL

What is the best way customers can reach you on the web?

Website is best way to reach us. Facebook and Google. It seems like we get more traction with Facebook than from Google. Most customers find us that way.

What are some recurring questions you get from customers that you’d like to educate the general public on?

What is the best way to hire a contractor? Take your time, get a 3D presentation and rendering, along with a full explanation. You don’t want any surprises, and that’s what we do.

What is your suggestion to up and coming entrepreneurs trying to start a business like yours?

My suggestions are know your business. Become well-educated about safety, licensing, and overall process and skill. Look into certification- via the state you reside. Get a Facebook business page and website built – and find somebody who knows how to do that stuff.

If customers are interested in getting a quote, how can they reach you?

Syed Ali / Diego Flores – previously Flores Home Remodeling 

https://Grizzly-renovations.com or grizzlyrenovations@gmail.com

815-302-6502

The underlying message is; small businesses rely on marketing to survive. Now more than ever, customers are buying and researching online. If you can’t be found, you can’t be contacted. If you wish to learn more about how we can help with your marketing initiatives, please contact us.