Handyman Maintenance Business Plan

HandyMan Stan has identified two distinct market segments, home owners and property managers. These are the most attractive customer segments as they are the customers who often have small repairs that are too small for a contractor but too complicated for the owner to perform themselves.

The handyman industry competes with the contractor industry for home repair jobs. Handymen are typically used for small items, contractors are typically called in for more extensive projects.

Customers will often call whatever service provider they are familiar with, regardless of the appropriateness. For this reason, word of mouth referrals will be very important. Potential customers will ask neighbors/friends and other property managers for recommendations on handyman service providers. HandyMan Stan will capitalize on word of mouth marketing by going the extra mile to keep customers satisfied. Exemplary service will result in new and repeat business.

4.1 Market Segmentation

The market has been segmented into two distinct customer groups:

Home owners

• The value of the homes ranges generally between $150,000 – $650,00.
• 47% of home owners attempt to make small repairs themselves, often starting the repair and realizing that they do not have the skills to complete it. The remaining 53% do not attempt to repair it, they call a professional from the start.
• 62% have owned their home for more than two years.
• 73% wait until several small problems accumulate before they call a handyman. This behavior can be explained by not wanting to incur a large upfront charge just to have someone fix one thing.

Property managers

• Manage between three – 20 units.
• Typically do not have their own in-house repair man in an effort to reduce overhead expenses.
• The range of monthly rental costs of their units is $350-$675.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

The two customer segments, home owners and property managers have been targeted because they are the most likely consumer of handyman services.

Unless the home owner is particularly crafty, he/she does not have the skills, time or desire to tackle most jobs. Their preference is to hire someone and have them take care of it.

The property manager are also likely consumers because they are managing a group rental property which needs periodic maintenance. Property managers with less than 20 units rarely have on-site maintenance personnel, it is less expensive to hire someone as needed.

It is rare that the property manager would have any maintenance skills themselves and those that do usually do not have the time in the day to perform the repair.

It should be noted that the majority of business will be coming from residents and rental property from within the Duluth city limits. As you venture farther out of town into the country people tend to have more free time and more fix it skills and are therefore more likely to try to repair things themselves.

4.3 Service Business Analysis

Handymen operate within the general home repair industry. This industry encompass both handymen as well as general contractors. The distinction between the two is as follows: handymen can fix most minor problems, items that are not to extensively damaged nor do they require expensive special tools.

Contractors are most useful for jobs that are very technical in nature, extensive in the repair, or require very specialized tools. A handyman is typically far more of a generalist, he can handle a wider range of repairs whereas a contractor has a smaller realm of expertise.

4.3.1 Competition and Buying Patterns

HandyMan Stan will receive competition from several sources. The most well-known competitors are detailed below:

Handymen

• Jack Of All Trades: This is a handyman company that employs six different workers as handymen. This is a large company (for handymen) with a far less intimate customer experience. If a customer used this service on four different occassions, they are likely to receive four different people on the service calls.
• Fix-It-Up: This is a one man outfit that specializes in plumbing and electrical problems. Painting and patios are not serviced. In speaking with several customers regarding their experience with this service, their impressions have been mixed.

Contractors (General)

• Duluth Contractors: This is a full-service general contractor. The organization is large with 17 employees. This company does a mixture of commercial and residential work. This company has a eight hour minimum.
• Red Rock Contractors: This is a small sized contractor of six employees. They concentrate on residential jobs and have a smaller minimum of four hour projects.

The buying patterns of consumers are largely based on who they know. Either they know a handyman or contractor whom they call or they will inquire with friends or neighbors as to who they recommend. They will often stay with that person unless they are unhappy with the service.

Stan plans to capitalize on word of mouth referrals, achieved by ensuring every customer has their expectations exceeded.

It is reasonable to expect that some of the larger contracting companies would be able to offer a better hourly rate due to economies of scale. This does not turn out to be the case since most of the large contractors perform a wider range of specialized services, necessitating many more tools and skilled workers, increasing overhead and therefore there billable rate.