Is Your Business Plug-and-Play?

 

There are tons of companies and products that are making a name for themselves by making things easier for consumers. Many of the hottest products today are simply plug-and-play. That means they take all of the guesswork out of the product for consumers. To use an item, the consumer need only plug it in and start playing.

It’s user-friendly. How user-friendly are you? Is your company plug-and-play? Many service companies make it so difficult for homeowners to use them that I wonder if they understand the meaning of service.

So, with the world looking for more convenient and easier to use devices, how do you stack up? How do you make your company plug-and-play?

1. Explain everything.
How much do your technicians really explain when they go to a client’s home for a service call? When your technician enters a client’s home, there is a good chance that the homeowner knows nothing about what is wrong with their home and most likely they’re worried. They’re worried about the frustration and hassle of a major problem.  They’re worried about the cost of a huge repair coming at the wrong time. Your goal as a user-friendly service company should be to remove some of that fear and explain everything that is going on in their home. Don’t just tell your client what happened in technical terms. Explain it to them in layman’s terms so they understand what caused the problem and how you’re going to fix it for them. Explain how much your service costs, what that cost entails, and what guarantees and warranties back up your work. Don’t leave your client confused. Explain everything.

2. Present options.
One of the ways to make a service call more user-friendly is to put the client in control of the outcome. That means offering them options. No one likes to be told what to do, and if you simply do the work and present your client with the bill at the end, you’re doing just that. Plus, you might be missing out on additional opportunities to serve the client. Talk with your client about the options that they have in their home and what they would like to see. That way you’re giving them the power to choose the outcome, and they’ll feel better about your service.

3. Be easy to find.
You might have 10 different phone numbers coming into your business, but when you put a number on your trucks and in your Yellow Page ads, why not just put one? That way, homeowners only have to concentrate on one number. Plus, if your existing clients need to go to the phone book to look up your number, you’re falling down on the
job. Make it easy on them. They should have stickers throughout their home, whether it is on their electrical box, water heater, HVAC system, or gutters! You want your
number everywhere possible. That way, if something does breakdown, your number is the first thing they see. If your clients need to go to the Yellow Pages to find you,
you’re not making it easy enough.

4. Be accessible.
When your client calls, you should be there, or at least someone should. If you’re going to operate a truly user-friendly company, you need to answer your phones live 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Basically, when your clients need you, you should be there. That goes for running service calls, too. Naturally, you don’t need to have someone at your office 24 hours a day, but when you leave, the phone shouldn’t dead-end at voicemail. Your phones should be forwarded to the on-call person that night. Be accessible when your clients need you.

5. Guarantee satisfaction.
If a customer complains about your service, you’re going to give them their money back, right? If you’re going to do that anyway, why not let them know that their satisfaction is guaranteed? That will take some of the fear and worry out of using your company for the homeowner. Guaranteed satisfaction does get results. These five quick items to focus on will make your company more user-friendly. The more plug-and-play you can make your company, the better your service experience will be. Eliminate the fear, the worry, and the confusion most homeowners feel when calling a home-services company and you’ll have a client for life.