Showcasing Your Premium Painting Service

The low­ball con­trac­tor, Chuck in a truck (I’m sor­ry to all the Chuck’s out there – that is just bad luck), the sta­tion wag­on ban­dit! If you’ve been paint­ing for more than five min­utes, you’ve heard all the terms for the con­trac­tor who sells low-price paint­ing ser­vices. I’m not vil­lainiz­ing it. A lot of con­trac­tors got their start this way, but as paint­ing con­trac­tors become more skilled, hire high­ly skilled painters, and cre­ate back­end effi­cien­cies, their cus­tomer expe­ri­ence and qual­i­ty increase. It also means their price increases.

When you break into the realm of high-qual­i­ty paint­ing con­trac­tors, the chal­lenges don’t stop, they just change. It’s no longer about just get­ting a job, it’s about get­ting the job at a price that makes sense for your company. 

Nego­ti­at­ing is just a part of busi­ness, but it can get a lit­tle dicey when online price guide­lines for con­sumers pub­lish prices that are low­er than what you offer.

Last month, Amer­i­can Paint­ing Con­trac­tor pub­lished an arti­cle called What Cus­tomers Expect to Pay for Your Work shin­ing a light on this exact issue. It called atten­tion to Nerd Wal­let​’s paint­ing pric­ing guide­lines. Many paint­ing con­trac­tors lament­ed that the prices were too low. 

First, it’s impor­tant to note that the pric­ing guide­lines were derived only from jobs booked through Angi and Home Advi­sor. We are not crit­i­ciz­ing either of these plat­forms. Many con­trac­tors have found suc­cess through lead gen com­pa­nies. How­ev­er, this is a sin­gle source of infor­ma­tion, so it cer­tain­ly does not rep­re­sent the uni­verse of paint­ing contractors.

That said, the infor­ma­tion is out there, so it’s impor­tant that con­trac­tors know how to pre­pare for and over­come price objections. 

What mar­ket­ing strate­gies attract high-end paint­ing clients who pri­or­i­tize qual­i­ty over price standards?

Even though much of the price con­di­tion­ing relies on skilled sales and esti­ma­tors, effec­tive mar­ket­ing can attract cus­tomers look­ing for qual­i­ty over price. 

• A strong brand pres­ence – A pro­fes­sion­al web­site, high-qual­i­ty imagery, authen­tic con­tent, and con­sis­tent mes­sag­ing about the val­ue and expe­ri­ence you bring to the table sets a strong tone. ZK Paint­ing is a great exam­ple. Zach Ken­ney is active and inten­tion­al in show­cas­ing his high­est-end work. Peo­ple don’t look at his Insta­gram and think ​“eco­nom­i­cal,” they think ​“top of the line”. Price shop­pers move on quick­ly; qual­i­ty shop­pers inquire. Grant­ed not every­one is doing high-gloss work with Fine Paints of Europe, but the strat­e­gy trans­lates to any­thing you are doing excep­tion­al­ly well. 

• Reviews mat­ter – Build­ing a stel­lar online rep­u­ta­tion is para­mount. Get as many reviews as pos­si­ble, and (when you can) ask peo­ple to focus on the qual­i­ty of your work and the val­ue of the experience.

• Right audi­ence – Accept that not every­one can afford your ser­vices, so tar­get your mar­ket­ing to those who can. Mar­ket­ing in areas where home­own­ers can’t real­is­ti­cal­ly afford pre­mi­um ser­vices is a waste of resources.

• Com­mu­ni­ty pres­ence – Get out into your uni­verse. I had an old boss who always told me to see and be seen. Spon­sor local sports, sup­port local char­i­ties, or hold a gala if you are so inclined. Just earn the trust of your community. 

Aim to build a brand that has cus­tomers seek­ing out your paint­ing ser­vice specif­i­cal­ly. Com­mu­ni­cate that it’s not just a paint job, but an excep­tion­al trans­for­ma­tion of an impor­tant space with a seam­less and enjoy­able expe­ri­ence to boot.