A Fresh Start for Spring: Refresh Your Painting Business Automations

Key Takeaways:

Understand the pros and cons of automations.

Learn practical ways to “spring clean” your automations to help your painting business grow.

Spring is a season of renewal. Homeowners are eager to refresh their walls with a fresh coat of paint, and you’re likely preparing for a busy season. But while you’re focusing on new projects, have you checked what’s running on autopilot in your business?

Imagine a potential customer reaching out for a quote, only to receive an auto-reply with outdated pricing or a winter discount that expired months ago. It’s an easy mistake but one that could cost you business. Let’s go over why reviewing your automations is important, which ones might need updates, and how to do a “spring cleaning” of your automated systems.

Why Automations Are Great—Until They’re Not

As a painting business owner, automations not only help streamline your processes, they can also boost your emotional health. According to a recent survey from Bizee (formerly Incfile), 29% of business owners say they use automation as much as possible to help prevent burnout.

Automations are also essential for a good customer experience with your brand. Take your auto-reply for quote requests, for example. It’s often a customer’s first interaction with your business, so it needs to be right! If your pricing, services, or response times have changed, your automation should reflect that.

Professional painter Stacy recently realized that her email auto-response still included an old phone number, meaning potential leads were calling a disconnected line. If customers can’t reach you, they’ll move on to someone else.

What to check:

• Is your pricing information accurate?
• Are you mentioning services you no longer offer?
• Is your contact information correct (email, phone, website links)?
  

Appointment Confirmations & Reminders

Your automated appointment confirmations help reduce no-shows, but if they contain outdated information, they may confuse customers. Consider Mark, a painting contractor who updated his business hours last year, who forgot to update his confirmation emails. His customers were expecting him to arrive outside of his new schedule. This led to multiple last-minute reschedules.

What to check:

• Are the time slots, locations, and business hours accurate?
• Do your emails mention old policies (like outdated cancellation fees or deposits)?
• Does your branding and messaging still match your current business approach?

Seasonal Promotions & Discounts

If you’ve run promotions in the past, make sure old offers aren’t still floating around in your automated emails. This happens more often than you might think — and it can steer customers away from you rather than toward you.

Imagine painting business owner Luke who noticed that his winter discount email sequence was still being sent in April. This resulted in his customers expecting a deal that was no longer available, which in turn, leads to frustration.

What to check:

• Are you still promoting a winter discount in spring?
• Have you updated expiration dates and terms?
• Do your promotions align with your current pricing and profit margins?

Follow-Up Emails & Review Requests

Automated review requests help boost your online presence. However, outdated ones can lead customers to the wrong platforms or to expired incentives.

Picture Johnson’s Painting Co., who discovered that their review request emails still offered a $10 discount on future services for leaving a review — a promotion the team hadn’t honored in over a year. Some customers were so peeved at this oversight that they sought out a competitor for their next painting project. 

What to check:

• Are customers directed to the right review platforms (Google, Yelp, Facebook)?
• Are incentives still valid?
• Are requests going out at the right time? (If they’re sent too late, customers may forget about their experience.)

Social Media & Email Marketing Sequences

If you pre-schedule social media posts or email campaigns, you may be sending out irrelevant content without realizing it. Say you scheduled a series of social posts about cozy winter color palettes, only to realize in March that they were still going live. Instead of engaging your audience, the posts felt out of sync with the season.

What to check:

• Are winter-themed promotions or posts still scheduled?
• Are you advertising last year’s paint trends or services?
• Are email newsletters repeating old information?

A Fresh Start for Your Painting Business

Keeping your automations up to date saves time, prevents mistakes, and ensures a better customer experience. By regularly reviewing your automated systems, you’ll make sure your business is running smoothly and professionally all year long.

Need a visual guide to make updating your automations go more smoothly? Use this checklist as a reference.

1. Take Inventory of Your Automations

• List all automated emails, text messages, scheduling tools, and social media posts.
• Check for outdated pricing, policies, and promotions.

2. Test Everything as a Customer

• Submit a quote request and review the auto-reply.
• Schedule a test appointment and check confirmation details.
• Read through automated follow-up emails and review requests.

3. Update & Improve Messaging

• Rewrite outdated responses to sound fresh and reflect current services.
• Fix broken links, phone numbers, and pricing details.
• Remove or adjust seasonal references and expired promotions.

4. Ensure Social & Email Sequences Are Current

• Check for pre-scheduled posts or emails with outdated themes.
• Update content to match the current season and trends.

5. Set a Reminder for Future Check-Ups

• Automate a bi-annual review of your business automations.
• Spring and fall are great checkpoints to keep everything running smoothly.

Need a Partner for Tidying Up Your Automations?

Connect with a TTG mentor for support as you spring clean your automations and help your painting business grow this season (and all year long!).

Find a Mentor