Having your home flooded isn’t an everyday occurrence. Unlike plumber or handyman services, most people don’t have the contact information of a water damage restoration specialist taped to their fridges.
When there’s a flood, they’d most likely panic and bring in the first water damage restoration service they can find. They may read a few online reviews but won’t spend hours researching every service provider available.
Water damage restoration work is all about speed – your clients need to get their houses dried out as quickly as possible. In addition, most of the work is covered by insurance so prospects are less likely to spend hours looking for the “best deal.”
The challenge is – how can you be the first water damage restoration business they come across when they need help? What can you do to be the first to show up on the scene so you can get the job?
The secret often lies in getting your business found in online searches.
Did you know that 78% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase?
If you want to get more water damage restoration leads, you need to make sure your information shows up in relevant search engine results by using the appropriate online marketing and SEO techniques.
However, for most local service businesses, it’s quite challenging to get ahead in online marketing due to all the moving parts and constantly evolving new tactics.
Thankfully, you don’t have to spend a fortune on hiring a marketing team. There are many lead generation services to which you can “outsource” your prospecting efforts.
Some of these vendors drive traffic to their platforms where they match prospects with service providers. Others set up your marketing funnel and attract visitors to your website.
In this article, we’ll review 10 popular lead generation services for water damage restoration companies. You’ll learn how they generate leads and price their services to help you find one that works best for your business model, market, and budget.
|
Exclusive Leads |
Lead Verification |
Lead Source(s) |
|
|
33MileRadius.com |
Yes |
Yes |
Prospects contact the vendor’s network and the calls are routed to contractors |
|
ServiceDirect.com |
Yes |
Yes |
Prospects visit contractor’s website |
|
eForceWeb.com |
Yes |
N/A |
Prospects visit contractor’s website |
|
HopeMediaGroup.com |
Yes |
Yes |
Vendor generates leads using SEO and PPC techniques then route phone calls or emails to contractors |
|
Water-Damage-Marketing.com |
Yes |
N/A |
Prospects visit contractor’s website |
|
UnitedRestorers.com |
Yes |
N/A |
Prospects visit contractor’s website |
|
LeadAmigo.com |
Yes |
Yes |
Vendor generates leads then route phone calls to contractors |
|
ConnexionSolutions.com |
Yes |
N/A |
Prospects visit contractor’s website |
|
LeadSnap.net |
Yes |
Yes |
Prospects visit contractor’s website |
|
99calls.com |
Yes |
Yes |
Prospects visit contractor’s website |
Figure 1: How each lead generation service handles lead generation, verification, and distribution
How To Select the Right Lead Generation Service For Your Water Damage Restoration Business
There are various kinds of lead generation services and they attract, verify, and distribute leads differently. Understanding how they work will help you identify the method that works best for your business.
The Difference Between Shared Leads and Exclusive Leads
Some services advertise “exclusive leads” while others may indicate that leads are shared among a few contractors.
When you purchase shared leads, you’ll likely be competing with other water damage companies. The chances of winning the business will be lower and you could get sucked into a bidding war that could lower your profit margin.
The advantage of buying shared leads is that they’re typically cheaper so you can reach more prospects with the same budget. This strategy works for companies that are rapidly expanding and/or have the resources to go after a lot of new businesses.
When you pay for exclusive leads, you’re the only contractor to get the prospects’ information. The competition is much lower and you’re more likely to get the client.
Exclusive leads work well for companies that are relatively new in business or don’t have the time or resources to pitch a lot of prospects. Even though the cost per lead may be higher, it’s often a more cost-effective way to get new clients.
Understanding Lead Source(s)
Lead generation vendors attract prospects from different sources, such as online ads, organic search results, online directories, third-party review sites, referral, or offline promotions.
Many of these services use online marketing techniques, such as SEO or PPC, to drive traffic to a dedicated landing page on which potential clients submit a request.
Pay-per-lead or pay-per-call services gather leads from different sources, depending on their lead generation methods. You may have to try a few vendors to see which one delivers the highest quality leads.
If you use a service that drives traffic directly to your website, you can review the metrics to see which sources are sending you prospects that are most likely to convert. Many reputable vendors provide monthly reports and some even help you analyze your metrics.
You may encounter some pay-per-lead sites that offer a large number of leads for a relatively low price. Be cautious because often times, these vendors are simply buying and reselling information from third-party sources without verifying the quality of the leads.
How Vendors Verify Leads
Most reputable lead generation services verify the leads to make sure they’re ready to hire a water damage professional before sending the prospects to you.
This is important because you don’t want to be paying for and spending time on bad leads.
When selecting a lead generation service, you should inquire how it verifies leads. Here are some examples:
- The vendor drives organic search traffic to a landing page on which prospects fill out a web form with details about their requests.
- After prospects submitted their requests, the vendor will contact them to ensure that the information is accurate.
- The vendor will verify that the prospects meet your criteria, e.g., budget, service area, type of service, etc. before sending the leads to you or setting up a call on your behalf.
How Pricing Structure Affects Your ROI
While choosing a vendor, you’ll encounter a variety of pricing structures. For example, some vendors charge per lead or per call while others offer their services at a flat monthly fee.
Pay-per-lead or pay-per-call typically works well if you only purchase leads once in a while. However, you may have to manage your account carefully so you don’t get charged for leads that you won’t be able to handle.
On the other hand, if you want leads sent to you on an ongoing basis, services that charge a flat monthly fee can help you better control your budget.
At the end of the day, you want to make the most out of your marketing dollars. Understanding the pricing structure, cost-per-lead, and your conversion rate will help you determine which service can bring you the optimal number of leads in the most cost-efficient way.
Here are the pricing structures of some of the vendors on our list:
|
Cost Per Lead |
Notes |
|
|
33MileRadius.com |
Depends on service area |
No setup or monthly fee |
|
ServiceDirect.com |
Depends on service area, size of business, years in business etc. |
|
|
eForceWeb.com |
Offers both pay-per-call leads and flat fee programs |
Get $100 free leads when you sign up |
|
HopeMediaGroup.com |
Depends on service area |
Pay-per-call, no monthly fee |
|
Water-Damage-Marketing.com |
Depends on the service package |
|
|
UnitedRestorers.com |
Flat monthly fee plus AdWords budget |
|
|
LeadAmigo.com |
$450 per lead |
Pay for verified calls only |
|
ConnexionSolutions.com |
Flat rate programs start at $499 per month |
|
|
LeadSnap.net |
Cost per call varies. Typically under $100 per call |
Get $100 free leads when you sign up |
|
99calls.com |
$89 per exclusive lead |
$299 set up fee |
Figure 2: Pricing structure comparison
Top 10 Lead Generation Services For Water Damage Restoration Companies
To maximize ROI, you need to understand how each lead generation service works so you can select the one that works best for your market and business model.
Here’s an overview of our top 10 vendors:
1. 33 Mile Radius
Pricing structure: Depends on the service area.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: Vendor drives traffic to its website using digital marketing techniques such as online ads.
Lead verification system Prospects call into the vendor’s network and the calls are routed directly to you.
Pros:
- You get exclusive leads for your service area.
- You only pay for valid leads.
- You’re assigned a dedicated account manager.
- According to the vendor, top partners close up to 90% of the leads.
Cons:
- Cost per lead can be higher than some pay-per-lead sites.
Reviews:
Source: Better Business Bureau
2. Service Direct
Pricing structure: Depends on service area, size of business, years in business etc.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: Vendor uses local SEO techniques to drive traffic to your website, which is included as part of the service package.
Lead verification system You only pay for valid calls.
Pros:
- You can control your spending by pausing your campaign any time.
- You can adjust the number of leads you get by adjusting your price per lead.
- You only pay for valid calls so you won’t be spending money on bad leads.
Cons:
- Full-service approach and pay-per-call pricing may be higher than most pay-per-lead services.
Reviews:
Source: ServiceDirect.com
3. eForceWeb
Pricing structure: The vendor offers pay-per-lead and flat fee programs.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: The vendor uses targeted local ads on Google and Bing to drive traffic to your website.
Lead verification system: Lead verification method on your website.
Pros:
- The vendor limits the number of contractors they work within each geographic location to ensure that its clients are getting enough exclusive leads.
- Local SEO and online ads are targeted to prospects in your service area.
- If you choose the pay-per-call program, you only pay for qualified sales calls.
Cons:
- Flat fee program may be more expensive than other pay-per-lead websites.
- You may not get the intended results if your website isn’t set up to capture leads effectively.
Reviews:
No review is available at the time of publication.
4. Hope Media Group
Pricing structure: You pay for each billable call. Pricing depends on the service area.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: The vendor drives traffic to its websites on which your business will be featured.
Lead verification system: You only pay for billable leads that meet certain criteria.
Pros:
- The vendor manually reviews each call recording to ensure it’s a billable call.
- There’s no monthly fee and you can cancel any time.
Cons:
- Pay-per-call pricing can be more expensive than most pay-per-lead websites.
Reviews:
Source: HopeMediaGroup.com
5. Water Damage Marketing (by Stellar eMarketing)
Pricing structure: Depends on the service package.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: The vendor drives traffic to your website using SEO techniques.
Lead verification system: Lead verification method on your website.
Pros:
- The vendor uses highly targeted SEO techniques to get leads that are likely to convert.
- Optimizing your website for SEO helps create long-term results.
- The vendor claims to have extensive knowledge of the water damage restoration business.
Cons:
- Like most SEO tactics, there’s a period of trial-and-error and results may vary.
- You may not get the intended results if your website isn’t designed to capture leads effectively.
Reviews:
Source: Google
6. United Restorer
Pricing structure: Flat monthly fee plus AdWords budget.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: The vendor drives traffic to your website using online ads (Google Adwords.)
Lead verification system: Lead verification method on your website.
Pros:
- You have complete control of your monthly budget.
- AdWords tends to generate more immediate results that put your website on the top of Google search results than SEO.
Cons:
- You may not get the intended results if your website isn’t set up to capture leads effectively.
- The service doesn’t include optimizing your website for SEO so you may not get the long-term benefits of being ranked for organic searches.
Reviews:
Source: United Restorers Website
7. LeadAmigo
Cost per water damage lead: $450 per lead.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: The vendor generates leads through online ads and sends calls directly to your phone.
Lead verification system: You only pay for verified calls.
Pros:
- You can view all the leads on your smartphone and see the lead sources as soon as the calls come in.
- Flat fee and no long-term contract make it easy to control spending.
Cons:
- Some customers have trouble getting responsive support from the vendor.
Reviews:
Source: Google
8. Connexion Solutions
Pricing structure: Lead generation service starts at a fixed rate of $499 per month.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: The vendor drives traffic to your website using online marketing techniques.
Lead verification system: Prospects fill out a web form to request quotes.
Pros:
- The vendor builds your website and takes care of the advertising, SEO, and social media marketing.
- Packages include the development of a mobile-optimized website that can benefit your business in the long-run.
- The vendor guarantees minimum lead calls and form fills each month.
Cons:
- The service may cost more than other pay-per-lead websites.
Reviews:
Source: Facebook
9. LeadSnap
Pricing structure: Cost per call varies, typically under $100. You get $100 free leads upon sign up.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: The vendor drives online traffic using paid ads and SEO techniques to generate calls through mobile-optimized websites.
Lead Verification System: Ads target local prospects that are looking for a water damage restoration service and the vendor sends the call to you in real time.
Pros:
- The vendor offers exclusive leads based on geographic territories so the competition is lower.
- The vendor claims that clients typically start receiving calls within 24 – 48 hours.
- The vendor offers tracking phone numbers for inbound calls so you can analyze metrics and improve results.
Cons:
- Price per call is typically more expensive than shared leads from other pay-per-lead sites.
Reviews:
Source: LeadSnap Website
10. 99 Calls
Cost per water damage lead: $89 per lead plus $399 setup fee, which includes a highly optimized website.
Lead distribution system: Exclusive leads.
Lead source: The vendor uses SEO strategies to drive your website to the top of search engine results so it’ll get found by high-quality prospects that are looking for a water damage restoration specialist in your local area.
Pros:
-
You get exclusive leads that are looking for water damage restoration service in your area.
-
You get an optimized website that will rank high in organic searches, boosting SEO and generating long-term results.
-
Your company will be listed on prominent directories. These profiles, along with a Facebook business page, will be properly set up so you can promote special offers to attract potential clients.
-
The vendor guarantees a minimum number of leads per month or your bill is prorated.
-
Packages include monthly reporting to help you track results and maximize ROI.
Reviews:
Source: Better Business Bureau
Also see:
Google reviews for 99 Calls
Facebook reviews for 99 Calls
Conclusion
With the increasing occurrences of storms, fire, and flooding, the demand for water damage restoration service has been raising in the past few years.
Even though water damage restoration is a rather competitive business, there are a lot of opportunities for growth if you can get in front of those who have an immediate need for such a service in a timely manner.
For these prospects, time is of the essence. Using a lead generation service can help you respond quickly to their requests so you can win the jobs and increase your revenue.