We love this time of year—holiday spirit is in the air, hot cocoa is flowing aplenty, and industry trend predictions are giving us ideas on how to boost our business. The amount of content out there can be overwhelming, though, so we dove into the industry reports for you and put together the top 3 home service mega-trends you’ll be seeing in 2018. Enjoy, and then download our marketing planning template to make your 2018 plan!

1. Older Homeowners Will Continue to Be the Readiest Buyers

In 2015, homeowners age 55 and over made up 51.6% of home improvement spending. By 2020, this market share is projected to reach 54.2%*. This probably isn’t a surprise—this age group continues to grow, and they have the spending level to match. But the continued growth means it’s extra important to tailor your marketing to this audience. Consider boosting your Facebook presence—72% of 50-64 year-olds and 62% of those 65 and older are using Facebook regularly.

*From Harvard’s 2017 “Demographic Change and the Remodeling Outlook”

2. Biggest Challenge- Recruiting and Retaining Talent

Hiring qualified employees for the home improvement industry will continue to be a pain point. In 2016, 33.6% of Qualified Remodeler’s Top 500 Remodelers listed it as their biggest challenge, and the industry is still finding its way through the pain.

One trend that’s emerging is how top home service companies are recruiting and retaining their workforce—the company culture. Millennials truly value a good work environment, and top home improvement companies will be adapting to meet these desires. Consider using 2018 to focus on clearly defining career paths, enhancing the employer experience through better communication tools, and offering more learning and development opportunities.

3. A Shift Towards Commoditization of Services

2017 brought us major changes, including the HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List merger as well as the expansion of Local Services by Google (formerly Google Home Services) and Amazon Home Services. In 2018, you can expect these programs to ramp up as they compete to be the top players in service sourcing for consumers.

As these programs grow, expect to see a shift in the way consumers interact with your services. With dozens of options right at their fingertips, consumers will start to look at home services as more of a commodity, and their expectations in terms of reviews, response time, and pricing will shift in the process. Your marketing strategy will have to adjust with their changed behavior. You should be optimizing your reviews, boosting your paid search strategy, and exploring ways to streamline your lead management so you can stand out from the stream of competitors.

Start Preparing!

Succeeding in 2018 means addressing these trends head-on. Download our 2018 Digital Marketing Plan Template below to help you organize and implement your goals!