8 Creative Locksmith Marketing Ideas

Locksmiths provide this essential resource to their communities. Whether you service small communities or larger cities, locksmiths are needed every day. While this ensures a demand, it also can produce a competitive market. 

Developing an effective marketing plan can help generate company growth. Marketing helps create a brand and recognition within your community. With the right strategy, your business can appear first in local locksmith searches.

If you’ve been wondering how to develop a marketing strategy, this article can help guide you. Let’s look at some strategies, price points, and tricks to help your business stand out. 

Why Your Locksmith Business Needs Marketing

Small businesses often must compete for space in crowded markets. There are over 24,000 locksmiths in the US. Staying ahead of the competition requires innovative and savvy business moves. Your locksmith services are valuable – and so is how you promote your business. 

Before choosing a locksmith company, 73% of consumers run a web search. Ensuring your business is at the top of these searches can help bring in new clientele. 

Even the simplest of locksmith business marketing ideas can generate leads. Minimally, you’ll want to ensure your company name is visible in local searches.

A solid plan is the key to success with small business marketing. Know your goals, your budget, and what strategies you will implement. With a clear budget, your business will have a basis for evaluating results and ROI.

Over three-fourths of local businesses report that marketing has directly affected revenue. Your business could thrive with the right marketing plan to back you.

Check out this Locksmith Invoice template by Service Fusion

What Are Effective Advertising Strategies for Locksmiths?

Every industry uses different marketing tactics to cater to its market. In the locksmith industry, a few techniques are proven to have high returns. Knowing which are the most effective can help you bring in more business.

Here are some marketing strategies to help you get ahead in the locksmith industry:

Google Ads

Google Ads places your ads on search engines, apps, videos, and other websites. This advertising strategy has an average of 200% growth in revenue. Companies can select bid prices, which will determine your placement. The higher the bid price, the better the advertising space.

You can set up Google Ads through your Google Business page. This page registers your business with Google, allowing you to verify your location. Once you’re verified, your ads and location will appear in local searches.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO uses keywords to direct searches to your business. It boosts the relevancy of your content. This way, your business may be the first to appear in search engines. 

Locksmiths can embed keywords in their websites and ads. Do this with page titles, meta descriptions, and headings.

Forty-nine percent of business leaders say that organic leads have the best ROI. Organic leads are generated, in large part, through SEO. Businesses can incorporate SEO into all content to help increase visibility and relevancy.

Social Media

Americans clock in about 2 hours of social media usage every day. Because of this, social media has become a useful tool for many businesses. Social media advertising can be a great way to build organic leads. 

Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube offer creative ways to advertise. It is cost-effective and gives you a way to interact with your audience. 

Small businesses can use social platforms to help build community and brand awareness. Creating engaging content and staying in touch with followers helps build your company’s reputation.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: Social Media for Local Marketing

Lead Generation

Many locksmith marketing companies sell leads to businesses. Pay-per-lead generates usable information about potential customers interested in locksmith services. Businesses pay the advertiser per generated or converted lead.

Most locksmith lead services cost anywhere from $7 to $75 per converted lead. These prices reflect the type of lead you’re purchasing. This could be names and emails, phone numbers, or quote services. 

Customer Reviews

Before choosing a product or service online, 99.9% of customers are looking for good reviews. Incorporating reviews of your services can help build trust with potential customers. They help boost transparency, which can help increase a positive reputation.

The best part is—customer feedback is free. Request that customers leave a review. Then, you can use the reviews for social media, your website, and any other advertisements. 

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

PPC advertising enables your ads to appear at the top of searches. This affordable digital ad method only requires payment if someone clicks on the ad. You can also pause a campaign at any time. You bid on keywords, and if your bids are higher than competitors, you’ll be the first to appear in the search.

PPC turns $2 for every $1 spent—resulting in a 200% return. Businesses can monitor their campaigns to gauge the success of each ad. To sweeten the pot, people who see your ad are 50% more likely to purchase your services.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: Everything You Need To Know About Local Service Ads

How Much Should You Budget for Locksmith Marketing Services?

A marketing budget is unique to every locksmith business. Budgets vary widely depending on a business’s goals, location, and revenue.

The average local business puts 5-10% of its revenue towards its marketing budget. Business leaders should consider what they have to invest and where they want to invest it.

Larger budgets can be up to $5,000 to $15,000 per month. More conservative marketing budgets will allocate less than $5,000 a month.

If your business is just starting out or has limited funds for marketing, it might be good to start small. Keep these things in mind when setting a budget:

• Consider your business goals and match your financial strategy to them.
• Evaluate your current sales cycles and dial in your budget accordingly.
• Develop and refine your marketing strategy. 
• Leverage organic and free ad channels to save money.
• Test and revise your budget often to ensure the highest return.
• Don’t invest in marketing help right away. A little bit of knowledge can go a long way.

Many of these principles roll over for an increased marketing budget as well. However, once your business starts investing more in marketing, there can be more risks. Here are a couple more things to consider once your budget has increased:

• Assess your company size and if you can scale up operations to match increased leads.
• Consider the local market and what competitors are doing with marketing.
• Match your budget to your revenue. Don’t overspend if you don’t need to.

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS: How To Economy Proof Your Business With Strategic Marketing

8 Locksmith Marketing Tips from Industry Experts

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Once you’ve developed a marketing plan, you can focus on finetuning your strategies. The majority of marketing investments go towards digital marketing. Since digital marketing makes up over half of all marketing, this makes sense. It can be necessary to keep up with these digital advertising trends.

However, traditional marketing still has its place in generating locksmith leads. Studies have shown that consumers trust traditional advertising more than digital ads. Many effective offline strategies can help get your name out there. 

Digital Marketing Strategies for Your Locksmith Company

Let’s look at a few effective digital marketing ideas for both types of advertising:

1.  Create short video tutorials.

We’ve all seen or heard of YouTube shorts, Instagram reels, and TikTok. But have you considered using this video content as a marketing tool? According to recent studies, short-form video content is the most engaging form of content. 

Many businesses create fun videos that promote their products or services. Locksmith business owners might consider short tutorials for simple repairs. Or maybe a skit about your business rescuing someone locked out of their car.

Video content offers a lot of room for creativity and information sharing.

2.  Build a top-shelf locksmith website.

It may seem obvious, but a streamlined website is crucial for business. This is where your community can determine if your business caters to their needs. Locksmith websites should be clean and easy to navigate. 

Incorporate your SEO strategies. This will ensure that every page is primed for discovery and visibility. 

To help increase SEO and clicks, you could include a “frequently asked questions” page. This page could answer essential locksmithing questions. That way, when people google something like, “How do I get a broken key out of my ignition?” they’ll find your website.

3.  Place Facebook ads.

Facebook Ads is one of the best tools in social media. Next to Google ads, Facebook ads have the highest return rate for paid advertising. 

These advertisements can be a bit more targeted than the average PPC ad. The platform offers features to target specific demographics. This can be age, location, interests, etc. 

Facebook also offers a great retargeting system.

4.  Retarget locksmith leads.

Retargeting sends ads to anyone that has shown interest in your content. It helps keep your locksmith business fresh in their minds. If you have a lot of clicks on your website, this is a great option.

Your website, social platforms, and Google Ads all offer data for what was viewed. Use this data to create targeted content. These ads can promote your most viewed services. 

Traditional Locksmith Advertising Strategies to Attract Potential Customers

Traditional ads can still help build momentum for your locksmith company. Here are a few strategies to advertise within your local community:

5.  Build relationships with local property managers.

Partnering with local property management companies can help bring in business. Locksmithing services are necessary for most rentals, commercial and residential alike. Establishing a relationship with the management company could help guarantee their business.

Locksmith business owners could offer property managers discounted rates. In turn, these properties could use your services in their rental programs. 

6.  Connect with local car dealerships and auto shops.

Locksmith companies may also want to consider reaching out to local auto businesses. Vehicle lockouts are one of the most requested services in the industry.

You could offer discounts to customers of these shops. And, in exchange, the shops can recommend your business to clients. This can help establish consistent work and help get your name out to your community.

7.  Offer flat rates for emergency locksmithing.

People get locked out of their homes, vehicles, and offices all the time. The experience is frustrating enough, let alone having to pay high prices. 

Your locksmithing company might consider offering and advertising flat rate pricing for emergency services. Flat rates can guarantee a set price for getting a key made or a car door unlocked. 

Customers prefer flat rate pricing, especially for straightforward services. 

Locksmith Software can help you solidify your pricing. It can also save time during emergency calls. GPS tracking and dispatch can get your crews there quickly every time.

8.  Try vehicle branding.

This tried-and-true marketing technique is still holding strong. There is a 97% recall rate on vehicle advertisements. 

Use your vehicle to promote your locksmithing services. Include your logo, company name, and contact information.