Most Home Service Companies Are Failing at the Easiest Part of Marketing — Answering the Phone

Quick Summary: Answer the Phone and Win More Business

Most home-service companies are losing leads and revenue simply by not answering their phones even when they’re spending money to make them ring.

The Test: What We Found in Bloomington

We ran a phone audit on many lawn care and home service companies in Bloomington, Indiana as a way to explore what Anthony’s Lawn Care & Landscaping is doing right, and what their competitors are doing so wrong.

Calls.

During normal business hours we called each company and tracked what happened. The results were eye opening:

• Average answer rate: Under 40 % — more than half of callers reached voicemail or nobody at all.
• Multiple missed calls: Several businesses never returned our calls, even after two or three attempts.
• Wasted ad spend: Many of these companies were actively running Google LSAs, PPC campaigns and buying leads from HomeAdvisor or Angi, yet they weren’t closing the loop when the phone rang.

When you’re paying to generate leads, every unanswered call is wasted money. Imagine spending $2,000 a month on ads, getting 50 calls and answering only 20. That’s 30 customers who will never call again and 30 signals to Google that your business doesn’t respond.

Ads Don’t Matter If No One Answers

Marketing is about operations. At BlitzMetrics, we use the MAA framework (Metrics → Analysis → Action) to bridge marketing and operations. Metrics tell us what’s happening; analysis reveals why; action fixes the gap.

When we conducted a Quick Audit for Star Heating & Cooling in Fishers, IN, we tracked their calls and discovered they booked 19 calls in a week: 13 from existing customers, 3 from Google Business Profile, 2 from the website and 1 from Facebook (blitzmetrics.com). That simple metric told us to invest more in local ads (LSA and PPC) because organic GMB calls were the primary source of new business.

Andy Davis of Pilot Plumbing & Drain, was spending nearly $5,700 per month on SEO but his site wasn’t ranking. During our Quick Audit we uncovered a network of spammy backlinks and showed Andy the problem. His reaction: “Let’s fix this.” After implementing call tracking and real SEO, his team now owns their marketing and turns more calls into booked jobs (blitzmetrics.com).

This Is Why We Track Everything

Call tracking is the foundation of operational marketing. A platform like CallRail lets you assign unique tracking numbers to your website, Google Business Profile, Local Service Ads and Facebook Ads. That way you can see which channels drive quality calls and which are a waste of budget. As our CallRail guide explains, call tracking allows you to “compare in real time the quality of calls coming from your GMB vs Facebook vs website” (blitzmetrics.com). For example, you might discover that Facebook ads generate lots of calls but poor leads, while LSA calls convert into appointments. That insight helps you allocate ad spend where it matters.

Tracking calls also uncovers operational issues: which hours go unanswered, which team members need training and how many customers hang up before leaving a voicemail. By recording and reviewing calls, you can coach staff to be faster, friendlier and more helpful.

What This Means for You

Answering the phone is the easiest part of marketing and the cheapest fix. Before you throw more money into ads, close the loop between marketing and sales. Here’s how:

• Call your own number. Pretend to be a customer. What happens? How long does it ring? Do you reach a helpful person or voicemail?
• Implement call tracking. Use a tool like CallRail or Quick Audit to assign tracking numbers to each marketing channel. Measure answer rate, call quality and booked appointments.
• Review recordings. Listen to calls to understand what your customers experience. Note common questions, objections and pain points.
• Train your team. Set clear standards: answer within three rings, greet politely, gather customer info and book the appointment. Reward team members who hit answer rate goals.
• Fix your digital plumbing. Make sure your Google Business Profile and location pages are set up correctly, your website has clear calls to action and your ads point to the right numbers.
• Understand GCT. Make sure everyone on your team, including your VAs, understands the Goals, Content and Targeting (GCT) framework. Failing to grasp GCT is the #1 VA Mistake and leads to poor execution. Clarify your goal (e.g., “Generate 20 booked jobs this month at under $50 per lead”), create content that supports that goal (ads, landing pages and follow‑up scripts) and target the right audience.

The Bigger Lesson: Operational Marketing

This phone audit is about business health. Marketing succeeds when operations deliver. We call this operational marketing: making sure your systems, not just your ads, are doing the work. Every missed call is a hole in your funnel; every unanswered customer is a sign that your processes need structure, not just spend.

By aligning your marketing and operations with the MAA and GCT frameworks, you create a sustainable system. Metrics (like answer rate and booked calls) feed analysis (why are we missing calls?) which leads to action (train staff, adjust ad budgets). When you measure, analyze and act every week, your marketing dollars work harder and your customers feel taken care of.

Ready to Turn Calls Into Customers?

If you’re serious about growing your home‑service business, start by picking up the phone. Then let us help you build the systems to make every call count. Here’s how you can get started:

• Get a Quick Audit. Our Quick Audit checks your tracking setup, call handling and marketing funnels. We’ll show you exactly where your leads are coming from, which campaigns are working and how to fix any gaps.
• Learn more about call tracking. Read our step‑by‑step guide on how to set up CallRail for local businesses.
• Avoid the #1 VA mistake. Make sure your team understands the #1 VA mistake and how to avoid it by mastering GCT and MAA.
• See an example audit. Check out how we helped Pilot Plumbing & Drain take control of their marketing and ranking (blitzmetrics.com).
• Explore our frameworks. Dive deeper into MAA and GCT, our system that emphasizes metrics, analysis and action by reading our guide on How to Do MAA Like a Pro.
• Amplify your best content. Use our Dollar-a-Day strategy to test and scale your winning ads. Learn how in our Dollar-a-Day Program.
• Claim your Knowledge Panel. Follow our guide on how to unlock, claim and merge your Google Knowledge Panel to boost credibility in our article on How to Unlock, Claim and Merge Knowledge Panels.

Operational marketing isn’t glamorous, but it works. The businesses that answer their phones, measure their results and train their teams are the ones that win. Start there, and every dollar you spend on ads will pay off.