How to Dominate Your Local Neighborhood as a Painting Contractor (Part 1)

Now that the holidays are safely behind us, it’s time to begin picking our marketing horses for 2025. No doubt most of you are wondering how to boost business this year, and we’re seeing a dark horse making its way up the pack: Direct mail.
This oldie but goodie dates back to the days of papyrus and chiseled stone (like 1,000 BC), and even though direct mail took a backseat while people were moving online, it’s gaining popularity again as the digital world becomes more crowded.
So what’s the formula for winning with direct mail? Well, we would never claim that there’s one size that fits all. That’s why we create a custom marketing plan for each of our clients. But here’s a strategy we like to call Neighborhood Domination (it’s a lot friendlier than it sounds).
Neighborhood domination is all about knowing your audience, customers, and ideal prospects and reaching them in as many ways as possible. Once you know the areas you are targeting, it’s time to create a multi-pronged marketing approach that brands you as the go-to painting company. Today, we’ll cover direct mail and offline methods to this strategy; next month, we’ll cover digital.
Target Your Audience
- Neighborhoods you’ve worked in
- Neighborhoods you’d like to work in
- Demographic data that fits with your services (if your prices are on the higher end, you need customers whose income is on the higher end)
These are all things you should think about when choosing an audience to target. Some mail houses can use your current customer data to build a persona for you (be sure you have the proper permissions to share this information). No matter how you do it, the more you know your ideal client, the better.
Choosing Reach, Size, and Frequency
Next, look at your budget. Reach (right audience), size (right message), and frequency (right time) are all important. Also, remember that repetition leads to recognition. Most painters we’ve seen fail with direct mail have had a singular or disjointed approach. If you are doing a mailer here and there, your results will be poor. A good, consistent strategy and solid tracking capabilities are a must.
If you feel overwhelmed, you can reach out to us for a strategy session.
Truck/Van Wraps, Yard Signs, and Sharp Uniforms
- Wrapped vehicles are a no-brainer. You bought the vehicle, it might as well work for you.
- Yard signs (when approved by the homeowner) give you a chance to show off your work.
- Sharp uniforms on respectful and talented staff can build trust by tying your brand to a human being.
Radius Mailers
If you find yourself doing an award-winning job, working with a favorite client, or working with multiple clients close to each other, radius mailers are a great way to root out more great clients and jobs nearby. Chances are, they’ve seen your vans, maybe they’ve seen your work, and maybe they’ve even heard about you from a past client. You’ve already got a leg up. Radius mailers help you follow through.
Door Hangers
Last, door hangers are an excellent way to give a little extra love to the homes closest to your job site. It can be a challenge to work this into the on-site tasks, but it’s worth it to have painters take five minutes and pass them out to the nearest homes.
You can even get creative with gift cards and “Please excuse us…” notes. Here you acknowledge that it is never easy having neighbors amid home improvement projects. Share contact information for questions and concerns … and a little incentive to think about how their home would look with a fresh, clean coat of paint.
What all of this accomplishes is getting your name in front of your ideal audience over and over. Nail these branding basics and keep them consistent, and all your marketing becomes easier and more effective.
Stay tuned, next month we’ll discuss how to tie digital into your Neighborhood Domination plan.