The home improvement industry is an interesting space. Despite every other industry evolving at breakneck speed, this sector has remained relatively unchanged, dominated by very old and set-in-their-way market leaders. With giants like Angi.com and HomeAdvisor.com leading the way, there’s a consensus that this industry is primed for disruption. HomeBuddy.com is a fresh face, shaking things up in this space.
HomeBuddy.com is rooted in a forward-looking vision — to make home improvement a seamless experience. The brainchild of the award-winning digital marketing firm Siren Group from Switzerland, this groundbreaking platform aims to “create a friendly and trusted platform to connect homeowners with the right contractors more efficiently.” With an impressive global team, Siren Group isn’t just setting up a digital platform but building a revolution.
“We think there’s a lot of opportunity to bring the latest best practices from other industries into home improvement,” says a Siren Group representative. But what’s the real problem with the old guards of this industry, one may ask?
For starters, the marketing and advertising tactics. “Many price comparison platforms rely on hundreds of fly-by-night third-party affiliates to do advertising for them with little to no supervision,” the rep explains. “Those affiliates are paid for generating leads so their incentive is to get people to request a quote. The easiest way to do that is to mislead them about what the service will cost.” In short, the affiliates do not care about the customer experience when homeowners get blindsided by the actual quotes contractors provide as long as they get paid. Nothing could sour the experience more.
Another problem is the cut-throat competition traditional platforms promote. Instead of vying for quality, many contractors on these platforms scurry to offer the lowest price, leading to compromised service and materials. In fact, it’s not uncommon to hear homeowners complaining about contractors leaving behind a mess or using subpar materials.
The notorious bait-and-switch tactics used by contractors on price comparison platforms are another turn-off. “They first quote one price to get the job, but once the job has progressed they tell the client that they uncovered something during the work that would make it more expensive,” the Siren Group rep explains. “In the end, nobody is happy.”
Adding to the frustration is the mismatch of what clients want versus what the contractors they get matched with offer. For example, it’s common to find a customer who wants a full bathroom remodel paired with someone specializing only in shower replacements. These mismatches waste time and resources for all parties. Finally, there’s the age-old issue of unreliable contractors that either vanish with a client’s deposit or drag the job unnecessarily.
HomeBuddy.com is redefining this narrative by living up to its name. In less than two years, HomeBuddy.com’s vetted contractors have successfully completed over 23,000 hassle-free projects with homeowners. So, how do they ensure such efficiency?
“Our platform uses an advanced algorithm to pair homeowners with a contractor that has availability and fits their needs,” the Siren Group rep explains. “All contractors on the platform have been vetted by HomeBuddy.com’s team.”
HomeBuddy.com currently offers services in fifteen home improvement verticals with varying degrees of geographical coverage in each one. “We want to get to 20 verticals by the end of next year and cover most of the U.S.,” the team explains. They’re not just stopping at matchmaking. The team has already integrated modern technology — think big data, automation, machine learning — to further refine the home improvement process.
VentureBeat newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
Jon Stojan
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