Photo by Colleen Koenig

How does your business treat do-it-yourselfers (DIYers)? Do you only offer premium products that require a special service call to install/maintain? Do you offer services that only your skilled factory technicians are allowed to do (otherwise the customer will void their warranty)? Since do-it-yourself-ers (DIYers) make up a vocal minority, make sure that your marketing doesn’t ignore them (or worse, fight against them). If you don’t have a plan to work with DIYers, you’ll eventually be wondering why your always-successful business is starting to struggle.

Some DIYers enjoy learning new skills. Others may simply like save money. Sometimes even it’s just the point of feeling like they could, if they wanted to, do it them self. Whatever the reason, DIYers are never passive customers. They ask a lot of questions. They study your marketing materials very carefully. They want to understand both the short-term and long-term implications of your offering. And once they choose, they’re quite loyal and vocal. They proudly tell others about their latest projects, challenges, and accomplishments. They’ll share their techniques with their friends.

It’s easy to dismiss DIYers as annoying prospects. They don’t follow your standard marketing pitch. They don’t accept what you’re saying at face value. They want to dig for details. They want to engage your technical people at length. If you have your own fleet of service people, DIYers want to know why they can’t do the service themselves. They can read manuals. They have their own tools. They are smart. And they can be stubborn.

Instead of working against DIYers, freely share your (non-confidential) information with them. Let them understand the skills necessary and the risks that they’ll face. You might find that DIYers won’t really want to do the job themselves once they comprehend the full scope of responsibility. And instead of pushing DIYers away, you’ll develop a passionate group of vocal ambassadors.