I am just starting my fifth year. I now have a customer base of about 400 and am now getting repeat work and referrals. I agree with Watertight that potential customers have very little on which to make a decision when choosing a trades person. From the feedback I have had I would say the critical things are.
1. Good quality targeted advertising - using customer reviews
2. A good website ( my wife is a web designer so easy for me, I know it is difficult to get it right)
3. Good communication with customers i.e., having an accurate voicemail message, returning calls and emails quickly, ringing the day before appointments to confirm them, keeping customers informed ( at the moment I am sending daily photos of a bathroom install to the customer who is on holiday in Tenerife)
4. Being honest when quoting, take the time and trouble to explain the issues thus demonstrating knowledge and instilling confidence. Providing detailed fixed price quotes very quickly, usually same day.
5. Being a member of a reputable Competent Persons Scheme (I am in the CORGI CPS)
6. Involving customers as the job progresses. I always let them know at the end of the day what has been done and what will happen the next day.
7. Respecting customers property, loads of dust sheets, asking before using a radio, asking before using WC and most important, tidying up and hoovering at the end of the day.( I have lost count of the number of times that customers have commented on the hoovering !) give the customers space and a break by taking tea breaks and lunch out of the house. Not relying on customers for tea.
8. Rectifying mistakes quickly and apologising if things go wrong.
9. Making sure anyone who you sub work to understands the above and does the same.
10. Doing a quality job, although the customer has no way of judging this when you first meet them.
The trick is demonstrating that you are professional in every aspect of the way you deal with potential customers, hoping that they get some reassurance that you will just as professional when you work for them.
Of course this does not always work for customers who know the price of everything and the value of nothing, but to be honest I don't really want to work for people like that.
I recently referred a friend who is a roofer to one of my customers who wanted an entire new roof? They went for his quote on the basis of ;
His quote being detailed and done the next day, his website (done by my wife) the fact that he had done work for me, he seemed to know what he was talking about and that they liked him ! They did not see price as the main factor.
We have all heard the horror stories of plumbers not turning up, not returning calls, leaving jobs half done, etc, etc. People on the forum bemoan the cowboy builders TV programmes which undermine us all. However they do lower the publics expectation which gives us the opportunity to exceed expectations just by applying some common sense and customer service.
We have all been customers and had to choose between different suppliers and in my view it often comes down to trust which in my experience is not hard to instil.
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