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Home improvement has always been popular, but the pandemic turbocharged that interest. According to research from money.co.uk, nearly two-thirds of homeowners invested in renovations to their properties during the first lockdown in 2020. Additionally, 40% said they wanted to improve their home’s appearance to avoid embarrassment on video calls. 

However, home improvement represents a major financial investment, one that many households often struggle to fund. That makes finance an attractive option to make home improvements viable for everyone, and in this blog, we’ll explore why it makes sense not only for consumers, but for your business, too.

What types of home improvements can be financed?

The range of areas where home improvement finance can be offered is more or less only limited by your imagination. If it comes with a significant price tag, then you can offer finance on it, including (but not limited to):

• Windows, doors, conservatories and extensions
• Renewable energy installations such as solar panels
• Roof and roofline work
• New kitchens and bathrooms
• Heating-related work such as new boilers, radiators, insulation or heating control systems
• Outdoor work including landscaping, driveways and gates

All this means that there are huge opportunities out there for virtually every kind of tradesperson to drive sales through finance.

Why consider offering finance?

There are lots of reasons why offering finance for home improvement makes sense. For starters, it makes improvement projects far more accessible to people who may be able to afford the cost if they budget ahead, rather than just paying a lump sum on completion. Finance means that the cost of the project can be worked around existing financial commitments and spread out over time.

Financing also means that customers can get their projects underway much more quickly than they would if they were having to save up the money. Additionally, they can do so in a way that potentially costs them far less in interest than it would if they paid in full using a credit card.

It’s also fair to say that when customers receive quotes for prospective work, they’re often put off by the big number put in front of them and don’t want to make such a big commitment. 

What can offering finance do for your business?

The benefits of home improvement finance aren’t just restricted to employees – there are plenty for tradespeople like you, too. Firstly, by partnering with a finance company, they take on the payment risk instead of you. Instead of waiting on the customer to pay up, you can get your money straight away and the finance company looks after getting their payment from the customer.

Being seen to be more flexible with your customers can also generate a lot of goodwill. In a climate where it’s harder than ever to generate loyalty from customers who can easily shop around, this can make a big difference to getting repeat business from them. On top of that, it will also encourage them to recommend you to their friends and family, and potentially get more business from them, too.

A good finance offering will also help you stand out in a crowded marketplace. Providing a facility that customers would find so useful can act as a major differentiator, one that could make the difference in attracting a customer’s attention.

How can you offer home improvement finance to your customers?

Implementing a finance offering in your business might sound like it’s overly complicated, and full of risk. But with the help of an expert partner, it doesn’t have to be.

With the help of the right technology, adding finance options to your website can be almost as easy as deploying your social media feed on your homepage. That way, at the point of sale, customers can select whichever finance option works for them and add it to their basket straight away. 

What those finance options are can be tailored, according to the products and services you sell, the type of customers you’re trying to target, and the profitability you’re trying to achieve. A good partner will have the expertise to be able to help you define these criteria, and ensure you’re offering finance that perfectly meets the needs of your customers. Want to know more? Read our guide on about the dos and don’ts of offering finance as a tradesperson.

Book a free consultation

Duologi can help you to provide affordable, flexible home improvement finance that your customers will love. To find out how it can work for your business specifically, get in touch with our friendly team today and arrange a free consultation.