Commercial Painting Leads: Advertising Checklist

The lifeblood of any painting business is consistent, high-quality leads. Simply, to generate more business you must first attract more painting leads.

Whether you’re just starting out or have several experienced crews, finding commercial painting leads in your target service area can be tall order. While not as common as residential projects, commercial painting projects tend to have a higher price tag, larger returns, and are typically easier to manage.

Here we will review several methods of generating new B2B commercial painting leads in 2022.

Let’s jump in…

Google Ads and PPC marketing are among the best methods of attracting new commercial painting leads.

Pro Tip: Google Ads is among the best paid-ad platforms for B2B commercial painting leads. While social media ads can generate quality painting leads for residential projects, the buyer intent is simply not there to effectively acquire new commercial clients.

From a PPC standpoint, there are many different types of ads in which you can invest, such as: Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc. However, given your target audience will most likely start their search on Google, we recommend investing in Google Ads first.

The internet is full of creative marketing techniques that you can use as a launching pad for your digital marketing strategy. For painting lead generation ideas that work, look no further than your direct competition.  Start by identifying your largest competitor — Who brings in the biggest commercial painting jobs in your area?

Next, jump on Google and search for their business or terms their business should be ranking for, such as “commercial painter” or “painter near me.”

Check the search engine results pages (SERPS) for their website or ads. If they are using PPC as a marketing strategy you can use their ad copy as a starting point to develop your own advertising campaign to compete.

If their website is ranking organically on page #1 of Google, navigate to that page to see how it’s formatted. If your website differs significantly you may want to consider adding more content to your pages, or a complete painting website redesign if necessary.

Note: You should never copy another company’s marketing strategy without putting your own spin on it. Consider adding/adjusting the offer, using different terminology, or emphasizing a unique selling point of your business.

When it comes to commercial painting lead generation, forming partnerships and leveraging other business owners can be one of the best uses of your time.

Call up your local Plumber, Electrician, or Real Estate Agent and offer an incentive for any closed commercial painting job they refer to your business. We recommend a monetary incentive or discounts on their client’s services.

Pro Tip: To build new partnerships without cold outreach consider getting involved in local B2B events. Your local Chamber of Commerce will typically have information about these.

Building an email list is among the best marketing strategies a painting contractor can use to attract more commercial painting leads. Why? Because email marketing has a fantastic ROI. For this, consider using a free email marketing provider, like MailChimp, to test the waters in your service areas.

Email marketing can not only help you generate new commercial painting leads, but you can also identify interest and pre-qualify candidates. Most email marketing providers allow you to categorize contacts based on interactions (opens/clicks) or deliverability (spam/junk).

For Example: Consider flagging contacts that open or click on an email to help identify who might be interested in your services, otherwise known as a warm lead. You can then develop a different marketing strategy for those contacts.

Emails are also a great way to generate new business from past customers. For best results, create a referral campaign to incentivize your past customers to recommend your painting business to others.

Utilizing social media marketing for your commercial painting company is essential for finding success in 2022. With over 185 million monthly active users, the best social media platform to connect with business professionals is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a professional networking site that allows you to connect with potential clients and business partners. Leveraging LinkedIn’s algorithm to your advantage can create new opportunities for your painting business, with very little effort.

We recommend starting with frequent posts about your business (at least 1-3 times a week). To make things easy, anytime you post to Facebook or Instagram, duplicate the same post on LinkedIn.

Pro Tip: Join LinkedIn groups to target specific industries. Even if you’re not generating leads from these groups, they’ll provide valuable insight into industry weaknesses you might be able to solve with your services. Worse case, you’re getting free brand awareness!

LinkedIn also offers business owners the opportunity to run paid ad campaigns. This marketing technique allows for targeted advertising and can help you find exclusive commercial leads for your paint company, within your target service area.

You can reap many benefits when you join your local Chamber of Commerce. The principal mission of a Chamber of Commerce is to help its community’s small businesses. Therefore, it has a vested interest in helping your paint business succeed.

One of the first things you should do is post flyers or business cards for your paint business in the Chamber of Commerce’s office building. Doing so ensures that anyone who visits the chamber will see your business name.

The Chamber of Commerce may be willing to help market your business to the local community. For best results, strike up a relationship with the higher-ups at your local Chamber of Commerce.

Ask yourself: Does my website attract those interested in commercial painting services? Your website is an advertisement for your painting company, it’s your digital billboard. If you want to capture new commercial painting leads your website MUST be optimized to attract that type of traffic.

Pro Tip: Leads come from clicks, and clicks come from impressions. If you want more impressions your website must rank well on Google for your target search terms (such as “commercial painter”) in your target service areas.

As you know, the painting industry is extremely competitive. Each service area you target has multiple other painting contractors competing for the same set of eyes online. If your web content is vague (less than 750 words/page) or does not mention your commercial painting services, chances are you’re not ranking very well for those target terms.

Pro Tip: SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. It is among the best lead generation methods a business owner can use to attract new customers. Instead of paying for clicks, you’re paying for a long-term marketing strategy that can sustain your business for years to come.

A well-implemented SEO strategy can help boost the visibility of your painting business online without having to spend money on clicks that may not convert into jobs.

Customer trust is one of the most vital attributes of a successful marketing campaign. If you’re not confident in your ability to serve a particular type of customer, more than likely, they’ll notice.

There are many ways you can earn customer trust. For example, when a client asks you a question about your service, you should be able to respond immediately. If there is any hesitation, prospects will think you’re unsure of your answers.

What about building customer trust online? Simply, ask your past customers to leave a review. Reviews are not only one of the best ways to attract new business, but they’re also a critical ranking factor on Google.

If you’re like most Painting Business Owners, you probably feel a little intimidated by reaching out to potential B2B leads. Most say they do not want to ruin their chances of future business over a bad interaction. Cold outreach can be invasive after all.

Squash this mindset, now.

Even if your interaction does not immediately lead to a new customer, your name will likely be the first to pop into their head in the future. Don’t overcomplicate it. Brand awareness can be as simple as picking up the phone!

Pro Tip: For best results, warm up your leads with email marketing first. Start by contacting the prospects who interact with your email campaigns, they have the highest buyer intent.

Consider hiring a marketing agency exclusive to the professional painting industry. Why? Because they know how to target your customers better than anyone else.

Base Coat Marketing is the best marketing agency for painting business owners. Our SEO, PPC, and website design services generate consistent commercial painting leads throughout the year.

Are you ready to get started?