For home services in South Africa · one business per area
The burst pipe at midnight goes to whoever answers first.
Homeowners choose a plumber, electrician or installer from the map, the reviews and whoever responds. BTR Consult runs all nine of those channels for one home services business per area, and shows you the numbers every month.
Free, no card needed. See what a customer sees when they search for you.
Where customers slip away
Here is where a business loses the job.
Below the fold on the map
Search "plumber near me" and Google shows three businesses on the map before the fold. Most people call the first one that looks right.
The midnight message
A burst geyser or a tripped DB board at 11pm generates a WhatsApp. If nobody answers until morning, the homeowner calls whoever else they can find.
Aggregators rank above you
Lead-generation sites rank for your searches and sell the enquiry to whoever pays. You do the work. They keep the customer relationship.
What we run
What does BTR Consult run for a home services business?
The same nine channels as every Growth Engine, set up for how a home services business is found and chosen. INBOUND runs all nine. Where INBOUND+ adds more, the table says so.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Channel | What we do | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|
 Google Search | One page for each service you offer, from emergency repairs to installations, built around the words homeowners actually type. | Your full service list and the areas you cover. |
 Google Maps and Business Profile | Correct categories, hours, photos, services and coverage area, kept current every month. | Manager access. You stay the owner. |
 AI answers | Structured facts about your business that ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude can read. INBOUND+ adds earned mentions on the sites they quote. | The questions customers ask before they call. |
 Your website | A clear path from landing on the page to sending an enquiry or calling, with your services and coverage area visible. | Access to your website. |
 Reviews | Replies in your voice to Google and Facebook reviews within 24 hours. INBOUND+ adds one WhatsApp review request per customer after a completed job. | Approval of replies to negative reviews. |
 Social profiles | Facebook and Instagram profiles kept accurate and current. We do not post content. | Partner access to Meta Business. |
 Directories | Your name, address, hours and services correct everywhere they appear. | A listings address on your own domain. |
 WhatsApp | An assistant that answers in your business's name. | Testing and approving it before it goes live. |
 Competitor tracking | What the businesses near you changed, reported every month. | Who you lose jobs to, if you know. |
The WhatsApp assistant
What will the assistant say to my customers, and what will it never say?
It answers the questions your office or you answer all day, in your business's name, on your own WhatsApp number: hours, services, coverage area, whether you do emergency callouts and how to book. It never quotes a price without someone seeing the job first. You test it before any customer sees it, and it goes live only when you approve it.
It will
- Answer business information you have given us
- Take the details for a callout or booking and hand over to you or your team
It will never
- Quote a fixed price without someone seeing the job
- Diagnose a fault or give technical advice
- Call your business "the best"
- Promise availability or a response time you have not confirmed
Reviews
How do you handle reviews without breaking Google's rules?
Google does not allow review gating: asking only happy customers for a review, or filtering who gets the link. Every Google and Facebook review your business gets receives a reply in your voice within 24 hours, and replies to negative reviews go live only once you approve them. On INBOUND+, every customer who has agreed to hear from you gets the same single WhatsApp review request after a completed job, with no screening, no reminders and no incentives.
Advertising rules
Which advertising rules does a home services business work under?
We set up your pages, profile and assistant around these rules. You stay responsible for your business's compliance, and we flag anything we see that looks off.
South Africa
-
Advertising must not be misleading, and may not claim a standard, quality or approval your services or goods do not have.
Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, sections 29 and 41(3)
-
Marketing messages by email, SMS or WhatsApp need consent, unless the person is an existing customer, you are offering similar services, and every message lets them opt out.
POPIA, section 69
-
Electrical contractors must be registered each year with the Department of Employment and Labour.
Electrical Installation Regulations, 2009, regulation 6
This is a summary to show how we work, not legal advice. Your regulator's current published rules always apply.
The monthly report
What does the monthly report show a home services business?
- New reviews, and how fast each one got a reply
- Enquiries received and how fast they were answered
- Where you appear on the map for your main service searches
- Whether AI answers name your business
- What the businesses near you changed
Named metrics and named actions. When a number moves the wrong way, the report says what we are changing. The first report arrives 30 days after go-live, then by the 5th of each month.
Where the Growth Engine runs today
The Growth Engine already runs inside the businesses we work with, and BTR Consult runs on the same engine. The system is the same. The set-up for home services is what changes: your services, your coverage area and how your customers search.
Who this is not for
Businesses that mainly want paid Google Ads or social media content run for them: neither is part of our plans. Multi-branch franchises with their own marketing team. Businesses that are not ready to give account access, or to act on the report when it is their turn. And any business in an area where a competitor in your trade already works with us.
What it costs
Two costs, and one business per area.
A once-off Foundation Fee covers building what does not exist yet. A fixed monthly fee covers running and improving it, with up to 500 WhatsApp chats a month included.
Once-off
Foundation Fee
R15,000 to R45,000
Your Foundation Fee covers 2-4 weeks of build work, depending on what needs building. Quoted after your BTR Signal Score.
Fixed monthly
INBOUND or INBOUND+
R12,500/mo or R17,500/mo
3-month minimum from go-live, then 30 days written notice. If after 3 months you're not seeing the progress, you can end the agreement and keep everything we built.
Questions business owners ask
Before you start.
Can you help me advertise emergency services?
You can advertise emergency availability, and we build your pages around the searches people make in those moments. Under the CPA, claims must be truthful and verifiable, so we will not claim a response time you cannot meet.
Will the WhatsApp assistant quote prices for jobs?
No. It answers business information and takes callout details. Pricing depends on seeing the job, so the assistant hands the conversation to your team when a customer asks.
Do you run Google Ads or my social media?
Not as part of a plan. We run the nine channels, including your Facebook and Instagram profiles, but content and paid ads are not included. If you want either, we quote it separately.
Who owns the reviews, the profile and the WhatsApp number?
You do. Google, Meta, WhatsApp, your website, your content and your data. On exit, full handover within 14 days.
How long until it is up and running?
Foundation Fee build: 2-4 weeks. First report: 30 days after go-live, then by the 5th of each month. If after 3 months you're not seeing the progress, you can end the agreement on 30 days notice and keep everything we built.
Do I pay WhatsApp messaging fees?
Your monthly fee includes up to 500 customer chats a month and the WhatsApp messaging fees for them. If a busy month goes over, we add blocks of 100 chats at R349 and tell you on WhatsApp first, at 80% and at 100%.
Also read how the Growth Engine works, step by step, or see our pages for dental practices, aesthetic clinics and distribution.
See how your business shows up before a customer searches.
The full BTR Signal Score report shows how your business gets found, chosen and contacted, and sets it next to the three businesses customers see first.
Free, no card needed. The full report with a 30-day plan is R799.
Or check if your area is openRigor. Predictability. Results.