Let me be straight with you: Market Hardware earned its reputation. Since 2003 they built websites and marketing for contractors, remodelers, and trade associations — two decades of real work. If you typed their name into Google, that history is why. But here’s the current fact: markethardware.com now redirects to Socius Marketing. They merged into Socius, and Socius itself was acquired by EverCommerce in 2020. The brand you were researching is now a unit inside a larger platform company.
I’m not saying acquisitions are bad — Socius is an established home-improvement marketer in its own right. I’m saying this: when your agency changes hands, everything they control changes hands with it. Your account manager, your pricing at renewal, your priorities in the queue — and if the agency owns your ad account, website, or phone numbers, those ride along too. You didn’t get a vote.
That’s the architecture we refuse. Everything LSM builds — the Google Ads account, the landing page, the call tracking numbers — is created in your name from day one. If anything ever changes on our side, your machine doesn’t move an inch, because it was never ours to move. $699, $1,499, or $2,450 per month, public, month-to-month, 7-day full money-back guarantee.
| Market Hardware (now Socius Marketing) | Local Service Mastery (LSM AI) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is today | Legacy contractor-marketing brand (est. 2003) merged into Socius Marketing, an EverCommerce company | Founder-run done-for-you Google Ads + your own AI account manager, overseen personally by Lior |
| Published pricing | Not published — ask Socius for pricing and contract terms before signing | Public, on the page: $699 / $1,499 / $2,450 per month |
| Who owns the ad account | Not stated publicly — ask what transfers if you leave | You. Your Google Ads account, your name — forever |
| Who owns the website they build | Confirm in writing — ownership terms not published | You own the landing page we build — kept on cancel |
| What an acquisition means for you | Team, pricing, and priorities can change with corporate ownership | Nothing changes — your machine lives in your accounts, independent of us |
| Commitment | Confirm minimum terms directly — not published | Month-to-month. Cancel anytime. 7-day full money-back guarantee |
| Focus | Websites, SEO, and marketing for home improvement and home services (via Socius) | One thing deep: high-intent Google Search that makes your phone ring |
| Time to launch | Typical agency onboarding — timelines not published | Live in ~48 hours after setup — you approve everything first |
Market Hardware details from public sources (markethardware.com, sociusmarketing.com) as of July 2026. Pricing and terms change — confirm directly with Market Hardware / Socius Marketing. Market Hardware™ and Socius Marketing™ are trademarks of their respective owners. Local Service Mastery is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Market Hardware, Socius Marketing, or EverCommerce. Comparison is based on publicly available information (markethardware.com, sociusmarketing.com) as of July 2026; features and pricing change — verify all details directly with the vendor.
I’ve watched this movie for 15 years, and the acquisition episode is a classic. A plumber signs with a solid local agency. Three years later the agency gets rolled up — new name, new dashboard, new account manager every six months, new pricing at renewal. The service isn’t necessarily worse. But everything he depended on now answers to a private-equity roadmap instead of a handshake.
And here’s the part that stings: if the agency held his Google Ads account, his website, his tracking numbers — the acquirer now holds them. He can’t even leave cleanly, because leaving means starting from zero. Dependency didn’t just survive the acquisition. It was the asset being sold.
So we built LSM the opposite way. Your Google Ads account, your landing page, your call tracking — in your name from day one, live in ~48 hours after setup, with our AI (trained on 8,600+ real coaching sessions) managing bids daily and me personally overseeing every account. 500+ local service business owners, $20M+ in client revenue, and not one of them depends on what happens to my company, because they own their machines. That’s the point.
— Lior Vaknin, founder, Local Service Mastery
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— Lior Vaknin, founder, Local Service Mastery
Depends what you were coming to them for. Market Hardware’s legacy strength — now under Socius — is contractor websites and SEO-led marketing, and we honestly don’t do website redesign projects or SEO retainers. What we replace is the lead-generation piece: a done-for-you Google Ads machine you own outright. If a full website rebuild is your bigger need, Socius may be your pick — we’ll tell you straight on the call.
Market Hardware (founded 2003) merged into Socius Marketing, and markethardware.com now redirects there; Socius was acquired by EverCommerce in 2020. Neither publishes pricing — ask for figures, minimum terms, and ownership of deliverables before signing. LSM’s pricing is public: $699, $1,499, or $2,450 per month, month-to-month, no setup fee.
Yes — remodelers, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and the rest of the trades Market Hardware historically served. The machine: high-intent Google Search in your city, dedicated landing page, call tracking, daily AI bid management. 15–40 qualified calls per month typical in a medium market with a $1,000 ad budget — run the free estimate for your market.
Because whatever the agency controls, the acquirer inherits — your account team, your renewal pricing, and critically, any ad accounts, websites, or phone numbers held in the agency’s name. The fix isn’t avoiding acquisitions; it’s making them irrelevant. When your machine lives in your own accounts, no change of corporate ownership can touch it.