Creating Clients Not Customers

 

In talking with many Success Group International® members, it sounds like many of you are staying busy in these super hot months.  While that’s an outstanding circumstance to be in, it can also mean it’s much easier to fall into some big traps that can cause long-term damage to your business.  What’s even scarier is you may be making these fatal flaws right now and you don’t realize it.

What am I talking about?  Well, when your company is slammed and your guys are running call after call, it becomes very easy for everyone to put blinders on to what they’re doing.  Rather than servicing the homeowner, your technicians are servicing the problem.  And you become more focused on supporting them than ensuring your company is positioned to be successful now and in the future.

What’s the long-term effect?  You’re not creating clients; you’re creating customers.  Customers are people who do business with you once, maybe twice.  Clients are people who feel a connection to your company.  They feel like they know your business and the people on your team.  Clients wouldn’t ever consider hiring someone else to take care of their plumbing, HVAC, electrical, or roofing needs.  Obviously, you want clients instead of customers.

With that difference in mind, how do you ensure that you are creating clients, instead of customers?  Here are some helpful tips to consider…

Unparalleled Service
First off, you must provide homeowners with the service experience of their lives.  Give them a reason to call you again.  The secret to outstanding service is going above and beyond expectations.  What can you do to exceed expectations?  Do you wear shoe covers to protect your client’s home from wear and tear?  Let your clients know why you’re doing it.  Explain that you’re looking out for their home from the get-go.  What else can you do?  Do you explain to homeowners the many other products and services you provide?  Do you give options on every call, rather than simply giving a diagnosis and a plan-of-action?

Your technicians need to connect with homeowners, give them as much information as possible, and then allow them to make the best decision for their home.  Homeowners must feel in control throughout the service call, and they should feel like your technician is their trusted confidant.  Also, empower your technicians to go above and beyond with homeowners.  Tell them it is okay to offer to change a burnt-out light bulb or give homeowner’s dog a treat (with the homeowner’s permission, of course).  The little things mean so much in the end.

Stay in Touch
Once your technicians have done a great job in the field, it’s time for you to nurture that new client and further develop that relationship you have with him or her.  That means keeping your name and identity on the forefront of their minds.  Too often, contractors forget to stay in touch with their existing clients as the marketing budget gets pushed into the phone book and direct mail for new customers.  But don’t forget about the people that got you where you are today.  Constant communication is a pillar of client retention.

Make it easy for your clients to call you again.  Use promotional items to keep your name and phone number in front of them.  Communicate with your current clients once a month to stay in touch with them, be it by email, a newsletter, or a mailed letter.  Offer an open house or start a preferred-client-discount club.  The list of ideas for client retention is practically endless.  Stay in touch with people, and they won’t forget you.

All in Agreement
The most powerful element of creating clients is getting your customers to join you—that means getting homeowners involved in club memberships.  Club memberships are the most powerful tool that ties clients to you, and it creates a constant stream of revenue without accounting or renewal headaches.  Once your clients are “part of the club,” chances are good that they’ll stick with you through the years if they renew their agreement.

With club members, it ensures that you’re in front of your clients at least once a year, if not twice.  Assuming your technicians are delivering an exceptional customer-service experience, it gives your clients an opportunity to once again see what an incredible company you have and people you employ.  Your club members will become your raving fans who make it a point to tell their family, friends, and coworkers that your company is the company they need to call when they need help with something in their home.

These are three simple strategies, but often, it becomes easy for technicians to rush through a service call when busy, or for you to forget to forgo a monthly mailing to a past client, or for your technicians to ignore offering a club membership to every single homeowner.  By reminding yourself and your team of the importance of these three things, you will create revenue today, while creating revenue in the future.  You will become the contractor to replace their system, water heater, service panel, or roof.

So, go to work on creating clients, not customers.  You’ll be happy to spend that extra time now, rather than having too much time with too little to do in the future.