# Customer acquisition for trades: enquiry plan | BrandHoop

Quelle: https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/

Find where suitable enquiries are being lost, clarify your services and compare marketing channels for your trades business in Austria.

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- Winning customers for your trades business: a plan for regular enquiries

[ Getting started](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/#start)Updated 17 October 2026

# Winning customers for your trades business: a plan for regular enquiries

Reading time: about 5 minutes for the main text. Use templates and details as needed.

[Full version with templates, calculations and further checks](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/full/)

More advertising will help your trades business once you know where suitable enquiries are missing. If very few people get in touch, it is worth reviewing how you present your business. If people ask about work you do not take on, your services need a clearer explanation. If suitable messages go unanswered, the work starts within the business. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

For your next step, one improvement whose result you can check yourself is enough. Correcting a service page or making sure someone takes responsibility for an enquiry gives you a concrete task. You cannot yet promise that this will bring in additional jobs. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

**Your plan for this guide**

- [Start with the enquiries you have already received](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#core-engpass)

- [Make it clear which jobs suit your business](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#core-angebot)

- [Compare the work and cost involved in attracting suitable enquiries](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#core-auswahl)

- [Check that enquiries reach your business](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#core-kontakt)

- [Write down your next task](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#core-entscheidung)

## Start with the enquiries you have already received

Looking at the messages you have received tells you more than simply asking which marketing channel is popular at the moment. What matters is whether the project fits the work you do and whether you can take it on in the requested place and at the requested time. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

An enquiry may have started with a recommendation followed by a Google search. That does not make it two enquiries. Record the route the person mentions and leave unknown details marked as unknown. What a prospective customer tells you will not necessarily capture every influence on their decision. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

What you notice in your business Which action to take first How to check the change
Very few new enquiries come in. Check your service page and Google Business Profile for missing or incorrect details. Are your services and contact options correct in both places?
Many of the projects are unsuitable. Describe the scope of your services and the area you cover more clearly. Can someone outside the business tell which work you take on?
Suitable enquiries are left unattended. Choose someone to handle each enquiry and take the next agreed step. Does every open enquiry have someone responsible for it and a next task?

This selection is a practical aid, rather than a ranking based on measured results. If you find a broken form, fixing it takes priority, even if visibility initially seemed to be the problem. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

[](https://brandhoop.at/ratgeber-materialien/A01/assets/anfrageweg.png)BrandHoop's own process sketch shows the path from choosing suitable jobs to a decision on a quote. Where enquiries are already being left unattended, the work begins before adding another marketing channel. [[c]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-illustrationen)

## Make it clear which jobs suit your business

A business offering complete bathroom renovations is looking for different projects from a plumber who mainly carries out repairs. A general description would leave this distinction unclear. To make a useful enquiry, a prospective customer needs to understand what your business does. Your calendar also sets limits. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

Start with one or two services for which you are actually looking for new customers. A project may be a good fit for your skills but still be too far away or fall in a period that is already booked. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

This fictional wording example makes the task more concrete:

“We carry out complete bathroom renovations within our stated service area. For an initial discussion, we need the location, a short description and your preferred timeframe.”

This is not an offer from BrandHoop. Only include services and commitments that your own business can fulfil. The details you need will depend on how you actually work. [[a]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-beispiele)

In the fictional example business, a suitable enquiry is also called “qualified”: the service, service area and requested timeframe must fit. A question about price alone is not enough to make that assessment. This rule is set before the results are reviewed, so that all cases are later counted under the same conditions. [[a]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-beispiele)

On your [service page](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-for-trades-businesses/) you can also explain how the first discussion works. Then ask someone unfamiliar with your business to describe your services and area in their own words. Wherever their answer is unclear, you have a specific place to start revising. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

A [bathroom renovation case study](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/project-examples-on-your-website/) can show the work you actually carried out and your business's own contribution. The necessary rights and permissions for publication must be in place. Someone else's before-and-after pictures do not demonstrate your own work. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

## Compare the work and cost involved in attracting suitable enquiries

Once your services and enquiry handling are clear, you can decide whether to add another marketing channel. Use suitable enquiries and jobs won in relation to costs and working time as a common measure. Conversations and quotes take time too. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

Option What you need before starting What you compare later
Improve your existing website and Business Profile A clear main service, your actual service area, correct business details and contact options that work The costs and working time involved in the changes, compared with suitable enquiries and jobs
Test search ads for one service A suitable landing page, a budget limit and someone responsible for new enquiries Advertising costs and handling time, compared with suitable enquiries and jobs

A contact that costs little to attract can still take a lot of time to discuss the work with and prepare a quote for. Record costs and working time against each marketing channel to help with your later decision. You can then see where the effort goes and which suitable projects actually move forward. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

On your website, you can clearly name the work you actually do and state the area you cover. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen) Google recommends readable, well-structured content and page titles that accurately describe the content. [[5]](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide?hl=de)

Your Business Profile displays business information in Google Search and Maps. Complete, accurate details help Google match your business to searches; they do not give you a fixed position. [[1]](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=de) Search ads are paid text ads in search results. [[8]](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2567043?hl=de) The page opened after an ad click must be relevant, usable and working. [[9]](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6368661?hl=de)

For an ad about bathroom renovations, a page about that specific work is therefore a sensible choice. You can explain the scope and process there. Before the test, agree the total budget and when you will review the results. Alongside costs, consider the size of the projects won. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

Your profile's business details should include the appropriate category and services; contact details and opening hours should also be up to date. [[1]](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=de) Comparing the profile with your website shows whether prospective customers receive the same information in both places. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

The profile should show your actual service area: the places where you work. If you work at customers' premises and do not receive anyone at your business address, Google requires you to hide that address from your public profile. [[7]](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481?hl=de)

If this preparation is missing, putting it right is a more manageable next task. You can use the [detailed comparison covering recommendations and social media](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/full/#kanalwahl) when you actually need another channel. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

## Check that enquiries reach your business

Open your service page on a smartphone and go through the contact process yourself. The linked phone number should reach the right line. You must be able to complete the whole form, and it should clearly tell you whether submission succeeded. Clear labels and feedback on success or errors are also part of the W3C recommendations for forms. [[6]](https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/forms/)

Then check within the business that your test message has actually arrived. A success message on the website does not confirm receipt. If the process fails, the [guide to diagnosing a website with no enquiries](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/website-not-generating-enquiries/) can help you narrow down the problem. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

A real enquiry then needs someone responsible for it. A simple list can bring together the project, whether it fits and the next agreed step. Any promised reply stays visible there until it has been sent. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

You can use these fields as a simple starting point. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

Field What to record
Receipt and source Date received and contact method; where known, also the recommendation or marketing channel
Project Project type, location and requested timeframe
Suitability Whether the work fits your services and service area, and whether the timing is possible
Responsibility Person responsible and next agreed step
Status open, qualified, quote sent, job confirmed or closed without a job

During the conversation, agree when and how you will get back in touch. If a job does not go ahead, the reason can help too. If the location is repeatedly too far away, for example, that gives you a reason to explain the area you cover more clearly. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

## Write down your next task

The fictional business in the detailed example received 12 enquiries. Of these, 8 were suitable, 4 led to quotes and 2 quotes were accepted. The outcome of every case is now known. These invented figures are neither an industry benchmark nor an indication of the success your business should expect. [[a]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-beispiele)

A rate is a proportion expressed as a percentage. The example calculates two different proportions:

- Qualification rate: 8 ÷ 12 × 100 = approximately 66.7%.

- Quote acceptance rate: 2 ÷ 4 × 100 = 50%.

The first calculation compares suitable cases with all enquiries. The second is based solely on the quotes prepared. [[a]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-beispiele)

The figures alone do not explain why projects dropped out. For that, you need the reasons recorded while handling them. Open cases remain open; jobs from earlier months do not belong with newly received enquiries. With few cases, a single job can change the picture considerably. The [full worked example](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/full/#rechenbeispiel) shows which number belongs in each calculation. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

Platform figures also need to stay separate. “Calls” in Google Business Profile counts clicks on the call button, rather than confirmed conversations. “Website clicks” counts clicks on the website link. [[10]](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9918094?hl=de) Your own records show what actually came in and led to a job. [[b]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-empfehlungen)

Now choose a task based on what you have observed and record who will complete it, by when, and how you will check the result. The [fictional 30-day plan](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/full/#30-tage-plan) helps you plan a larger body of work; it does not promise jobs within that period. [[a]](https://brandhoop.at/en/ratgeber/customer-acquisition-for-trades/#quellenhinweis-beispiele)

If the task concerns your website, you can visit [BrandHoop's services page](https://brandhoop.at/en/leistungen/) to see suitable support for websites, SEO, technical setup and ongoing care. Bring your specific finding: the page affected and what a prospective customer should be able to do there.

Sources as checked for the previous version on 16 October 2026; editorial revision on 17 October 2026. Numbers link to sources; letters explain editorial examples or recommendations. Each note states what the source supports.

**[c] Editorial illustration.** The illustration explains a relationship. It is neither a real client case study nor evidence of a measured effect.

**[b] Practical recommendations.** The suggested processes and decision aids are editorial applications of the principles cited. Their specific effect on enquiries or jobs has not been measured here.

**[a] Editorial examples.** Content labelled as an example or fictional illustrates possible situations. It does not describe real client cases or provide evidence of a measured effect.

Sources and context (10 sources)

- [Improve your local ranking on Google](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=de) — Google Business Profile Help

Supports the explanation of local display in Search and Maps, the importance of complete and accurate information, and the factors of relevance, distance and prominence or popularity. It supports neither a fixed position nor more jobs as a result of the editorial choice of channels. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Privacy — Maps User Generated Content Policy](https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7401426?hl=en) — Google

Google Maps prohibits interior photos of private flats and houses. The cited platform rule does not apply across the board to your own website; other private places and identifiable people have their own conditions. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Prohibited and restricted content](https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114?hl=de) — Google: Maps User Generated Content Policy

Supports the requirement for genuine experiences, the prohibition of incentives and selective requests for positive reviews, and the permission to ask neutrally without exerting influence. Makes no claim about the financial effect of reviews or the likelihood of recommendations. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Telekommunikationsgesetz 2021 § 174: Unerbetene Nachrichten](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/eli/bgbl/i/2021/190/P174/NOR40238632) — Austria's Legal Information System (RIS)

Supports the requirement for prior consent to advertising calls and, as a general rule, electronic mail for direct marketing, together with the conditions of the exception in subsection 4 that must all be met. This account does not assess any individual message or replace checking all other applicable rules. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Starter Guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide?hl=de) — Google Search Central

Supports the explanation of SEO's purpose and the recommendations for readable, well-structured content and descriptive page titles. The trades example and selection of service pages remain editorial applications; no guarantee of rankings or jobs. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Forms Tutorial](https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/forms/) — W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

Supports the guidance on clear field labels and notifications of success or errors. No empirical conversion figure; no evidence that a form message is delivered to the business. Testing receipt is a separate editorial recommendation. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Manage service areas for service-area and hybrid businesses](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481?hl=de) — Google Business Profile Help

Supports the explanation that a service area describes the area served and that a business address where customers are not received should be removed from the profile. No evidence of guaranteed geographical reach in search results. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Choose the right campaign type](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2567043?hl=de) — Google Ads Help

Only confirms the classification of search campaigns as text ads in search results. Advertising claims, ROI percentages and other performance promises on the page are not adopted here. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Destination requirements](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/6368661?hl=de) — Google Ads policies

Supports the explanation of a landing page or destination page and Google's requirements for a relevant, working and usable destination. It does not establish that a particular trades service page generates more enquiries. Checked: 2026-10-16.

- [Business Profile performance and statistics](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9918094?hl=de) — Google Business Profile Help

Supports the definitions of the profile metrics Calls and Website clicks as clicks on the relevant button or link. These figures do not establish that conversations took place or jobs were won. Checked: 2026-10-16.

About the author

Ilian Mykhailets

Web projects since 2020 · more than five years of experience

We build and improve websites for trades businesses in Vienna and across Austria. Our work focuses on technical setup, content and SEO.

[Our services](https://brandhoop.at/en/leistungen/) · [How we work](https://brandhoop.at/en/arbeitsweise/)

BrandHoop · English edition for Austria · Practical guide

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