Client Surveys - Getting The Most From Your Clients

While so much attention is focused on growing your customer list, what is often overlooked is that your current customer base is your best source for additional revenue. It’s most likely to be the most valuable asset of your business and unfortunately every year a percentage of that customer base stops doing business with you. What you need to do is limit that loss because the longer you hold on to a customer, the more money you make.

Consider this:

1. It costs six times less to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.
2. Your customers know your business and are comfortable doing business with you. You’re the incumbent supplier, a known quantity and inertia usually prevents them from switching. Most likely, they are less price sensitive (and picky) than new customers and prospects.
3. Loyal customers usually place bigger orders because they trust you.
4. Loyal customers give you referrals.

So what can you do?

Besides your monthly newsletter that you should be sending out, you should send/give out client survey cards after every service call or completed project. If you are not doing this, please contact your marketing consultant and they will custom design a client survey form or card for your company. Client surveys not only give you feedback and referrals, but can lead to testimonials to use in your other marketing materials.

Getting Referrals

From ContractorSelling.com

Hello this is Joe Crisara from Contractor Selling.Com. I want to talk to you about one of the most important things you can do to increase your sales results. And that is to find the right customer to sell to. Many people doubt the validity of getting referrals as an actual mix of their marketing. By accident, many people get referred by customers that love them.

So let’s face it, referrals start by doing great service that people notice. In my thinking, if you can make something happen on accident, then you can make it happen on purpose.

As usual, the reason something doesn’t work is usually screwed up in the beginning not at the point the problem is apparent. Let me go over the most effective way to get referrals. The key to getting a hot referral is to let the customer know you need their help. We all want to help someone. Think about it, if your landscaper told you he needed help getting more business, wouldn’t you tell everyone you knew?

This is the key principle: YOU NEED THEIR HELP. Let’s go over a common moment of truth scenario where someone asks you, ‘How’s business?’

AT ONE OF THE MOMENTS OF TRUTH… ‘How’s business been over at (YOUR COMPANY)?’

WHAT YOU NORMALLY SAY: ‘We are swamped. It’s so busy I had to put in 12 hours overtime.’

WHAT YOU SHOULD SAY IF YOU NEED HELP: ‘Well, it’s funny you should mention that. We were all just talking back at the shop about one our greatest challenges being finding and keeping great customers like you Fred. Hey Fred maybe you could help me. You’re a smart guy Fred. If you were me, what would you do to find great customers like yourself to work for?’

THEM: ‘Well I’ll bet my cousin Ernie could use your help.’

YOU: (Here’s a big question) ‘Really? How do you think he could benefit from our services?’

THEM: ‘Well, He told me that he was shopping for a new heating system last week.’

The key thing is that you need to find out WHY the person referring you thinks that you would be a fit. If you go in KNOWING why they might benefit, then it is really a hot referral. If not, then it becomes very difficult to probe for reasons why they might benefit.

When you DO probe, send out a reverse question and do not DIRECTLY ask for the business on cold or semi-warm calling leads. Here’s how that would sound…

‘Hey Ernie, this is Joe over at Custom Comfort. I’m a good friend of Fred Johnson. Well, Fred was telling me that you might need our assistance with either doing maintenance or fixing a problem with your heating or air but I thought he was probably just exaggerating. You don’t want to get any maintenance on your HVAC system done do you?’

OR

‘Ernie if I had to guess, I would say you’re heating and cooling system works just perfect correct?’

OR

‘Ernie, Fred tells me that your home is absolutely dust free and that allergies are NOT a problem for you is he correct?’

Always frame you question with a negative outcome to reverse the selling process. Remember in our system you are NEVER selling anything. The customer must sell you. Ask a question with an answer that is opposite of what you want to hear and you will have either an agreement on something (Which keeps you on the phone a bit longer) or a disagreement such as this… ‘No, I have a huge problem with dust. My daughter has severe allergies!’

YOU: ‘What would you like me to do then?’

THEM: ‘Get over here and solve this problem.’

The referral IQ test is simple. When someone asks you how’s business?’ How do you position yourself and what do you say? Do you ask for help? Or do you brag about how great you are supposedly doing? No one wants to help somebody who is already doing just fine. But if someone is struggling we can’t wait to help. Tell your customer that you need their help today. You might just get what you ask for.

Joe Crisara
www.contractorselling.com

Five Partnerships You Need to Have to Guarantee Your Marketing Success

If you mention networking to most people, they immediately think of attending an event and swapping business cards. In truth, it’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this powerful business building marketing strategy. Networking is the process of building mutually beneficial relationships — much more than a moment in time.
When networking is done well, it’s a very cost efficient business building strategy. When done poorly, it’s a complete waste of time and money! To maximize effectiveness, entrepreneurs need to strategically plan for networking in five separate areas:

1. With Clients
Your clients are bombarded with choices for quality suppliers. When you are a business buddy with them, your relationship can be the glue that keeps you together. Their loyalty and repeat business is the most profitable business you can find. Your clients can also provide you with valuable feedback. I like to ask my client buddies questions

2. With Suppliers
When your suppliers feel like they are part of your team, you will experience increased service and sometimes even lower costs — who else, but their buddy, would they call first when a good deal comes through hands? Your suppliers can also share valuable information about what your competition is up to.

2. With Competition
When you turn your competitors into industry allies you can create a wonderful source for referrals. The key to this is knowing what your unique niche is. If your competition knows your specialty and trusts you to do a good job, they can feel comfortable referring you overflow business — as well as appropriate business for your expertise that they don’t handle.

3. With Your Business Community
When you have an active network in the general business community, you can create a goldmine for referrals. The trick is to make sure that people know what you do. Too often, business owners, use general statements like “designer” and forget to educate their buddies on their expertise.

4.Within Your Own Company
Having buddies within your company across departments, as well as levels of management, will fuel your effectiveness and lower costs. If you’re a one-person show, you still have an important “company network.” They are the family and friends who continue to believe in you and your dreams. Don’t forget to take time and nurture your relationships with them as well.

Work on setting up these five important networks, and you will see an increase in referrals and your marketing success.

Referral Tip: Client of the Month

Recognition is powerful. One of the simplest ways to increase your referral business is to recognize your client who referred you. If a client has referred a friend who ended up hiring you, or if a client gave you a wonderful testimonial, show your appreciation by awarding them with “client of the month” honors. You should have your “Client Of The Month” posted on your website, or if you send out a newsletter, have it inserted in their has well. You should also award the client with a plaque or even a small gift. Good gifts could be dinner for two at a local restaurant, movie tickets, gift certificates, etc. This little recognition will encourage others to refer business to you.

Most people go through life feeling totally under appreciated. They get little recognition or appreciation from their boss, their children, or their spouse. By providing recognition and appreciation for referrals you encourage the referring client to refer again. Plus, every other appreciation-starved client reading about the “Client of the Month” will subconsciously crave to be the client-of-the-month too. And, they way you become client of the month is to send your company referrals.

If many people are referring business to you, base your client of the month criteria on the total number of referrals received.

Another variation of this powerful, referral-generating strategy is recognizing a “Project Of The Month” on your website or newsletter. Display photos of the job

Essentially, you award one of your favorite projects with this honor and promote it on your website with photos of the project, as well as the homeowners. This helps to spur further interest in this type of project by people who visit your website, or read your newsletter.

This is especially effective if you have a special offer or promotion going that month that relates to the project. For example, a free vinyl windows this month on any exterior remodeling project. The featured project helps readers to visualize the project.

Creating The WOW Experience

Unfortunately, that’s not the norm in our industry. In fact, the norm is to make a lot of promises and then under-deliver. To do “just enough”. To cut corners. To be satisfied with “good enough”.

By doing the “little things”, you help to distinguish yourself from the rest of your competitors that can’t or won’t take those extra steps. What you are trying to do is exceed expectations.

Here are some ways you can do that:

After you’ve sold the job and included everything that’s going to be done on the signed contract, look for something extra you can do while you’re there (then tell the client that you did it). It doesn’t have to be big. Does their lamppost need painting? Something minor need to be repaired? You get the idea. Don’t however, be so concerned about doing something extra that you don’t do the best possible job on what you’re contracted to do. It’s not enough to be good at what you do. To get tons of happy clients and tons of referrals, you have to absolutely blow them away!

Here is a checklist of some possible things that you can do:

1. Show up the day the work was promised at the exact specified time. If impossible, then call the minute you know it’s impossible and tell the truth. Communication is key.

2. Complete the job exactly to the contract specifications. No short cuts.

3. Look for something extra and do it. Give them More than they Expect!

4. Dress to convey the image you want to send. Whether it be in a coat and tie or casual shirt and paints, be aware of the image you’re sending to your clients.

5. Keep a clean work site! Nobody likes having their house or property cluttered up with dust, discarded materials, tools, etc. Clean up after yourself everyday! Some contractors where booties, which adds a little more to the client experience.

6. Bring muffins or doughnuts for the homeowners on the first and last day of the job. Remember this is there home and having any type of project or work can be stressful.

7. Personally drop in on your client a couple days after the work has been completed, and after you’ve been paid. Bring out a small surprise gift of appreciation. A tin of cookies, a plant, whatever. You can personalize your thank you gift to your clients. For example, if you had a client who likes fine wine, bring out a nice bottle of wine as a token of your appreciation. I’ve seen contractors give photo albums of before and after shots, which have worked very well.

8. A personal written thank you note.

Remember, the underlying premise in receiving a ton of repeat and referral business is to “WOW” your client.

Recognition is Contagious

One of the simplest ways to increase your referral business is to recognize your client who referred you. If a client has referred a friend who ended up hiring you, or if a client gave you a wonderful testimonial, show your appreciation by awarding them with “client of the month” honors.

Now I know many of our clients are already implementing this strategy in their newsletter, but you should also be implementing it online. Each month, when you are choosing your new client of the month, send it to your marketing consultant.
It would be even great to have a picture of them on your website. And once it is on their website, let them know. You will not believe how many people they would let know that they were “Client of the Month”, on a website. The referrals and visits to your website would be great.

This little recognition will encourage others to refer business to you.

By providing acknowledgment and appreciation for referrals you encourage the referring client to refer again. Plus, every other appreciation-starved client reading or viewing about the “Client of the Month” will subconsciously crave to be the client-of-the-month too.

Getting A Jump In 2006

Are you ready to wrap it up for 2005 and gear up for the best year you’ve ever had in your business? First of all, check your belief level. Do you believe your time has come for a fantastic, record-busting year? That’s step one.

And if you are not pumped up yet, check out this little article about records in home remodeling if you are in that industry. In 2005 projects totaled over $275 billion dollars and they will continue to grow each year.

So regardless if you are a small replacement contractor, or a huge full design/build firm, 2006 has a strong possibility of being the best yet for you. So now you have to ask your self how does that get started.

First Thing You Need To Do Is: If you are not a client yet, you need to sign up for the Contractor Complete Marketing System This will help you get started in focusing more on generating new clients through previous clients, then talking to a bunch of strangers, and if you are a current FootBridge Media client, you need to be sending our your newsletter. Hell, if you are worried about costs, have someone call all of your previous clients in the past year or two and get their email address. Tell them they simply want to provide them with home tips that refer to their specific project.

Second Thing You Need To Do: Contact your marketing consultant and get them all of your past client’s email addresses. The online newsletter in the marketing system will help you talk directly to the needs, interests and stories of those most-favored, most preferred past clients on how they are doing and what you can offer. Let all of your newsletter subscribers read it and see how well you treat your best customers. The big message comes through, “You will enjoy the achievements and success that my clients do when you become my client.”

In 2006 you need to focus on the past client, in order to generate the new client. If you have any other ideas, please feel free to share.