Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
The air conditioner stops working on the hottest day of the year. A pipe starts leaking. The car won’t start. You discover raccoons have been using your attic as their own private condo. Suddenly, a business you weren’t thinking about five minutes ago becomes the business you need right now.
For many businesses, that’s the challenge. Their next customer may have no need for them today. But when that need arrives, the time between realizing there’s a problem and deciding who to call can become very short.
Home services are a perfect example. According to Angi’s 2026 State of Home Spending Pulse, homeowners are prioritizing essential repairs and maintenance over discretionary projects. Among homeowners who recently hired a professional, 58% completed a repair in the past month. Of those who delayed a project, 23% said an unplanned or emergency project had jumped ahead of it. In other words, “we’ll get to it eventually” can become “we need to take care of this now” pretty quickly.
The bigger opportunity for these businesses may be reaching them before they start looking for someone to do the work. Research from Modernize found that nearly seven in 10 homeowners research contractors online, relying on reviews, references and local reputation. Although price matters, other factors based on trust are also important, including availability, expertise, communication, professionalism and warranties or guarantees. Reviews have become an important part of the decision process. Ninety-seven percent of consumers read local business reviews, per BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey.
Search and reviews can help consumers decide whether a business is right for them. But what happens when the search results include a business name they’ve already heard? That’s where advertising before the need can matter.
Radio offers these businesses a platform to deliver consistent messaging that builds familiarity long before a consumer needs their services. And the audience is there. According to Scarborough, radio reaches 83% of adults who plan to have HVAC work done, 84% who plan plumbing work, 84% who plan to repair or replace a roof and 85% who plan to replace windows, doors or to paint or wallpaper the interior of their home.
Building familiarity doesn’t mean every message has to focus on an emergency. Advertisers can also encourage consumers to think about a need before it becomes urgent.
Home services businesses should consider messaging that tells homeowners not to “wait for an old pipe to burst or a circuit to overload.” The company introduces itself as a trusted neighborhood resource for plumbing, electrical and HVAC services while promoting planned projects such as lighting and energy-efficient system upgrades.
The message ends with a simple idea: Remember us when you need that repair, or call before you do.
Once consumers are ready to act, speed matters. Invoca’s 2026 Home Services Buyer Experience Report found that 37% of home services consumers prefer to call when they have a problem and need help, more than any other method of contact. Businesses need to be easy to find, easy to contact and ready to respond.
Radio gives local businesses an opportunity to build familiarity among consumers before they are under pressure to make a decision. They can talk about expertise, years in business, customer service, guarantees, availability or local roots. Customer testimonials included as part of a radio campaign can also give satisfied customers an opportunity to tell that story for them. Radio campaigns can also drive lift in search for home services like plumbing and HVAC, amplifying the role of search and other digital platforms in a media plan.
The need may happen without warning, but building awareness doesn’t have to wait until it does. Radio can help make a local business familiar today, so when “someday” suddenly becomes “right now,” consumers already know a name to consider. For need-it-now businesses, perhaps the most important question isn’t simply, “How do we reach someone who’s looking for us today?” It’s this: “When someone in this market suddenly needs what you sell, whose name do you want them to reme