With the economy steadily on the upswing, more and more homeowners are beginning those renovations they’ve put on hold for the better part of the last decade. Home improvement businesses finally have a chance to capture the market they’ve been waiting so long to do, and it looks like it’s finally time to make your move. If you are looking to grow your home improvement business, here are three tips sure to work every time.
1. Offer the Ultimate in Customer Service
One of the biggest complaints you’ll hear from consumers is the general lack of good, old-fashioned customer service. It seems like businesses simply don’t care to go that extra step to ensure customer satisfaction. Just take a quick look around social media and you’ll see that there is a general atmosphere of discontent among consumers who simply weren’t happy with the response or the response time when they contacted a company for answers with issues they are having.
If you want to literally own your corner of the home improvement market, devise a customer service strategy and stick with it. Excellence in customer service can also create a snowball effect, gaining momentum and doing much of your marketing for you. Remember, with social media, word of mouth is not dead!
2. Provide that Added Bit of Protection on Any Installation
What happens if you install a new kitchen or laundry room for a customer and just after the manufacturer’s warranty expires, that customer has a problem? They’ve just spent a small fortune on the renovations they have waited so long to undergo and now an appliance goes on the fritz? Why not refer your customers to sites like warrantyguides.com at the time of the installation?
Give them that added bit of protection they need so they don’t need to struggle down the road to make costly repairs. Sometimes, it seems like a plot among manufacturers that machines and vehicles break down almost immediately following the warranty period. It wouldn’t hurt to purchase an extended warranty to plan for what you can almost always expect to happen!
3. Offer Rewards for Referrals Who Use Your Services
You have seen how effective social media is in growing your business. That is, it’s effective if customers are satisfied with the craftsmanship and customer service they received. Why not build on that momentum and offer rewards for referrals who contract your services? Believe it or not, it’s easy to get those referrals if you show them how to use their Facebook or Twitter account to promote your home improvement business. Show them how to link to your site or mention their name so they get credit for the referral. Also, teach your sales associates how to ask if new customers were referred. Customer rewards have become a huge incentive in today’s world and if you really want to grow your business, offer them amonetary or service reward they will want to earn.
The truth is, the economy really is steadily improving and the economic forecast looks good. Why not begin working on building your business with a focus on customer satisfaction and retention. These three tips will work if you use them. So, what are you waiting for? The time is now!
