Handyman Maintenance Business Plan

HandyMan Stan’s strategy for quickly gaining market share will be leveraging the competitive edge of reasonable hourly rates and a small, one hour minimum, encouraging more frequent service trips.

The marketing strategy has been designed to raise awareness of HandyMan Stan services among a community of people where there has already been a trust relationship established among the community. This supports the idea that HandyMan Stan’s business will be built on word of mouth referrals. Lastly, the sales strategy will emphasize the wide repertoire of qualified skills, encouraging current customers to use HandyMan Stan for a wider range of repairs.

5.1 Competitive Edge

HandyMan Stan’s competitive edge is the offering of reasonable prices and a one hour minimum, encouraging customers to call HandyMan Stan whenever a problem arises. A one hour ($30) service call is reasonable (not excessively high) but long enough so that several small items can be repaired in one visit.

90% of competing handymen have a two hour minimum creating a barrier for the customer to not call because the problem is too small to warrant two hours of paid work. HandyMan Stan’s one hour minimum develops a pattern of behavior for the customer to call anytime that they have small repairs.

This competitive edge also applies to property managers (especially managers who operate lower income property, typically less than $600 per month) who often balk at calling a handyman until there is a list of different problems.

5.2 Marketing Strategy

HandyMan Stan will employ a marketing strategy that seeks to develop awareness regarding HandyMan Stan’s expertise, high level of trust, and reasonable rates among a community of people. This will be accomplished by placing advertisements in organizational newsletters such as the Lions Club, religious organizations, and other social and sport associations.

These organizations will be targeted with the advertisements because once HandyMan Stan has satisfied several different customers within an organization, there is an increased likelihood that the organizational members will talk among themselves, sharing their good experience with HandyMan Stan among their colleagues.

This is a likely scenario because in this industry it is very common for friends and neighbors to ask friends for trusted service providers. When a person does not know a specific service provider, they will often act upon a recommendation from a friend who had a positive experience with one. These social, religious, or sport-based organizations tend to be quite social and often share their trials and tribulations regarding service providers.

5.3 Sales Strategy

The sales strategy will be designed to convert a current customer from using just one or two of HandyMan Stan’s skills to employing Stan for a wide variety repairs. This will be accomplished several ways. First, Stan will complete each repair with a level of professionalism which is unexpected for a handyman.

Providing this aura of professionalism will help create a very positive impression for Stan’s services. Additionally, Stan will always be on the look out for problem areas within the home and offer a solution that he believes will be attractive to the customer.

The key to generating increased tickets from an individual customer is based on the ability for Stan to showcase qualified skills, reasonable prices, and a trustworthy nature, enough so that the customer feels comfortable for Stan to be in the home even when they are not there. While this strategy should assist the business in increasing individual ticket prices, it will at the same time develop a vocal following for his services which will increase word of mouth referrals.

5.3.1 Sales Forecast

The sales forecast has been developed in a conservative manner to increase the likelihood of achieving the sales goals. The forecast (detailed in the following table) breaks down sales based on the activity that HandyMan Stan will perform.

Needed parts will be billed additionally, there are certain “consumables” such as nails, caulk, and etc., that Stan will be using that are included in the $30 hourly fee. These consumables are captured in the direct costs of goods as a percentage of the overall service charge. The different services have different percentages assigned to each type of service.

While Stan performs a wide range of jobs, he bills out at the same hourly rate. The competition typically bills out electrical work at a higher rate, and painting at a lower rate. Stan has chosen a single hourly rate to encourages customers to use him for multiple repairs on the same visit.

While he may not get as much painting work as he could because his rate is above the market rate, the variances in the long run average out and it creates an incentive for the customer to call Stan and throw a wide range of projects to him while he is at the project site.

5.4 Milestones

HandyMan Stan has identified several specific milestones which will function as goals for the organization. The milestones will provide a target for achievement as well as a mechanism for tracking progress. The following table will provide a timeframe for each milestone.