For the most part, people are sheep and need to be told exactly what to do. This is why the best advertising gives explicit directions on what the reader is to do next; call, stop in or send an email. Because without such instruction, people would just walk around in tiny circles bumping into each other.
This phenomenon is even more prevalent in home services
Take me for example, I don’t consider myself a dumb guy, and I work with contractors every day, but I don’t know the first thing about doing construction. If you told me something was broken, then I would tell you to fix it. And the less someone knows about a particular topic, (insert home repair or remodeling here), the more they are seeking someone whom they can trust to tell them what they need to do.
Think about this scenario
Driving along, the car starts making a funny noise. I pull into gas station, guy says your flux capacitor is busted and it is going to cost $2,000. I tell him thanks, but no thanks, I will get it checked out by…MY MECHANIC.
Now, I go to my mechanic and he says…wait for it – Your flux capacitor is busted and It’s going to cost $2,000, to which I reply, knock yourself out, can I have it by Thursday?
Now, I know as much about cars as I do heart surgery, so I HAVE to trust someone. But I didn’t start out trusting my mechanic with $2,000 repair jobs. He won me over one $19.99 oil change coupon at a time, until I felt like he wasn’t going to screw me with my pants on.
Today, I trust him, and I have no problem with his estimate for my repairs. And you need to get to that place too, and I don’t care what it is you do. If people KNOW you are not going to screw them, they WILL buy from you over and over again.
BUT THEY HAVE TO FIND YOU FIRST!
So, if you provide a service that people don’t often buy (think roofing or remodeling) then you need to advertise…a lot, to build a solid brand and referral network of people saying good things about you.
If you are in a service where you see people often (say landscaping or pool service), then you have the ability to build that referral network faster, but your chances of pissing someone off is greater too, so you have to make sure you treat your clients or customers well.
And finally, don’t get me wrong when I say people are sheep. Given a choice, it has been scientifically proven that people would prefer to be told what to do next versus decide on their own, which is another reason you should offer people multiple price points and product offerings; to make it easier on them when they DO HAVE to make a choice for themselves…which offer to say yes to.