How to Market Your Service Business

A service business uses expertise to meet a customer's needs, like graphic design projects for brands or fitness coaching for individuals and groups. One of the most important aspects of your service business will be marketing your brand and connecting with the people who it’s best geared toward. By using smart marketing strategies, you can share what makes your services special, create a recognizable brand, and build a group of loyal customers.

Marketing doesn't just let people know about your business; it also shapes how they see your brand. This spreads the word about what you offer, leading to more sales and revenue. Marketing a service business will be specific to the service that you’re offering, but here are some approaches you can factor in when creating a marketing plan for your services.

1. Define your unique selling proposition (USP)

With so many service businesses available to consumers, providing a service that is too similar to an existing one will hinder your ability to stand out from the crowd. Clearly stating what makes your service business unique compared to competitors by identifying strengths such as customer service, distinctive offerings, or specialized expertise will go a long way in helping you establish your own voice and what you can offer to the customer that is unique.

To define your USP, do some research on your competitors and peers. Think about what their USPs are and any common trends among them. Then use that to think of ways your services, brand, or expertise can differ. 

2. Create a professional website

Develop a professional and user-friendly website with essential information like services, pricing, contact details, and customer testimonials and ensure that it's mobile-friendly. This will often be the first touchpoint that customers will have with your business, so having it be an accurate reflection of your brand and what you offer is vital.

There are many website providers out there that provide options to build a website. Squarespace makes it easy to get started with project management tools, scheduling options, and more to help build your online service.

3. Search engine optimization (SEO)

Having a discoverable and easy to search website will make sure that it’s accessible to a wider audience, driving organic traffic to your site. This increased visibility enhances the potential for attracting new visitors, customers, and opportunities. Improve your SEO by optimizing your site for search engines using relevant keywords in your website copy and creating quality content relevant to your business.

Keep in mind that the more unique the perspective you bring to your SEO content, the more likely it is to stand out from the other competing services out there. This aligns strongly with your USP as search engines will always prioritize content that is more interesting to searchers.

4. Content marketing

Being a trusted authority on the service you’re providing will ensure that customers have confidence in what you’re offering. Your authority also helps to differentiate you from peers and competitors. Create valuable original content such as blog posts, articles, videos, or infographics, to showcase your expertise.

Share this content on your website, social media, and other platforms like email to engage your audience and establish a following. While it might be overwhelming to consider what content to create, everyone can be a content creator with some guidance. Start small with topics you’re knowledgeable and passionate about or common questions you get from clients and acquaintances that you could answer in more depth.

5. Social media marketing

Using social media platforms to connect with your audience is a necessity in today’s digital landscape. By sharing updates, promotions, and participating in conversations through these platforms, you’ll create a deep awareness of the services you offer and build connections with current and potential clients. Typically the main two categories for social media marketing fall into B2B and consumer-based targeting.

Choose platforms aligned with your target audience, like LinkedIn or X for B2B services. These might include financial advisory, IT consulting, or legal services. For consumer-oriented services, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest are ideal platforms to promote design and art, travel, tourism, food, and fitness services where visuals play a big part in how you signal the value and quality of your work. Whatever your services are best suited for, linking your social media to your site is a must to build relationships with your visitors.

6. Email marketing

Email marketing is one of the most reliable forms of marketing for your service. It’s highly cost effective, you can target your messaging to specific groups or demographics , and an email marketing tool like Squarespace Email Campaigns can provide results tracking and automation tools.

Automating the way that you communicate to your customers can be a huge time saver. Build an email list and send regular updates, newsletters, or promotional offers to keep your audience informed and engaged. Or keep in touch with existing clients by sharing business updates, asking for testimonials, or offering referral bonuses. 

7. Online reviews and testimonials

There is often no form of marketing more impactful than testimonials provided by customers who have already used the service you’re offering. These act as social proof—confirmation for potential clients that someone like them has had a positive experience with you. Encourage satisfied clients to share positive reviews with you by sending a testimonial request email or asking them to post reviews on industry-specific review sites.

It’s also important to be proactive in engaging with the reviews by offering professional but friendly responses to both positive and negative reviews. Even if you engage privately, respecting all feedback will showcase your commitment to your customers.

8. Partnerships and collaborations

Partnering with related or complementary businesses can be a great way of boosting awareness and reach for your own services. Attending industry events, joining local business groups, and networking with peers to build relationships can lead to referrals and partnerships. Plus, it helps you build a support system to turn to when you have questions about your business or need to bounce ideas off of someone else.

Think about other entrepreneurs in your field that might work well with your services if you joined forces. For example, if you run a career coaching business for freelancers, it might make sense to pair up with a tax professional who specializes in small business taxes. Or if you’re a fitness coach, you could partner with a mental health or beauty services provider to offer a holistic set of self-care services. Partnering with similar service providers can be hugely beneficial for everyone involved.

9. Free workshops or webinars

Everyone loves free content. Showcasing your expertise by offering free workshops or webinars provides value to potential clients and helps establish your authority in your field. This can be a great way to upsell your services by presenting your knowledge in a compact and accessible format that’s engaging and gives a greater sense of how your service can benefit the customer.

At the end of a webinar or workshop, you can briefly highlight the services or paid workshops you offer. Or if you ask your webinar attendees to opt into marketing emails from you, you can follow up with details about your services and a discount code as a thank you for joining. If your service would benefit from hosting webinars, there’s a variety of free webinar services that you can use.

10. Referral programs

On top of partnering and collaborations, it’s also beneficial to start a referral program to encourage existing clients to refer your services in exchange for bonus incentives or discounts.

This provides a reason for your customers to promote your services and encourage them to try more offerings from your business. For example, if you run a skincare consulting business, you could offer clients a discount on their next appointment or an add-on service for every new client who they successfully refer to you. Or set up your own affiliate program with the impact.com Extension and let your clients earn money by referring new clients to your business.