How Consumer Demand is Changing Service Expectations in the Trade

Reading time: 4 minutes

1. Digitalise your services

Most of your customers will be online every day now, so you should be making every effort to promote your services digitally.

This means having a website for your trade company to improve customer engagement and increase your brand’s visibility with a source of direct communication.

You can keep your services in the minds of your customers too with an email marketing campaign. Something like a newsletter dropping into someone’s inbox every week or two allows your customers to stay up to date with your latest news, insights into industry trends and upcoming changes to your services. 

Across all digital channels that you set up, make sure to deliver a consistent brand message throughout by always using the same tone and language.

2. Don’t ignore promoting your services on social media

Social platforms also need to be places where your brand and services are promoted. 

Many millions of people are now active on social media. So, imagine just how much of your potential audience you can instantly engage with by marketing your trade skills in the following ways:

• Detailing a new service that you provide through a Facebook post.
   

• Showing before and after photos of your work on an Instagram post.
   

• Guiding customers through how-to guides with YouTube videos.
   

• Promoting your work in a unique way with a viral TikTok video.
   

• Allowing customers to contact you via a business WhatsApp account.

3. Educate customers about your products

Today’s consumers do not just want to buy high-quality products. This is still very important to them of course, but they now want to understand where these products originate from and why they need them.

Become an expert in your trade by publishing articles focused on your industry. Everything from simple-to-follow how-to guides to in-depth insight pieces and latest product trends lists will be appreciated by your consumer base, as they will feel better informed.

Need some inspiration? We always aim to keep tradespeople informed with the latest ideas and help them on their next project with the huge selection of articles we publish in our excellent Trade Corner hub.

4. Place a larger focus on sustainability

People have become much more environmentally conscious and will be doing their research to make sure a company has adopted sustainable practices.

In fact, a survey carried out by McKinsey which was reported on by award-winning change strategist Michael McQueen found that the use of sustainable materials is now an important factor to 67% of consumers when they make purchasing decisions.

With this statistic in mind, show you are committed to sustainability by using clean materials as much as possible in your operations and eliminating the likes of single-use plastic. Check out our illustrated sustainable products and services guide for some ideas on this subject.

There are more ways to reduce your carbon footprint too, such as limiting how much materials you waste and recycling wherever you can.

5. Remember that convenience and speed is important to customers

We live in a fast-moving world now. For your customers, this will mean they want your services delivered to them without delay.

Providing fast delivery times with your trade work as a result, as well as fulfilling jobs within the timeframe you have set out – or even quicker for increased customer satisfaction.

Also set up digital platforms which customers should have no difficulty getting used to. These platforms should give people easy ways to pay and contact you as and when they need to.

Our Trade Account service here at Travis Perkins is a great option for any of our customers who run their own business, for instance. Accessible either online or via a mobile app, it lets people manage their cash flow by:

• Giving them access to trade only prices.
   

• Presenting them with the opportunity to quickly check stock and place orders.
   

• Providing them with free branch delivery on applicable orders.
   

• Allowing them to easily view and pay invoices.

Looking for more advice to grow your trade business and increase its appeal to consumers in 2026 and beyond? We have a fantastic guide on how to expand your firm beyond your expectations that we encourage you to read through next.