26th February, 2018
Helping your customers to find you is key to building a thriving business in the building and renovating game.
Once they’re on board, it’s key to deliver a straightforward and smooth experience, leading to repeat business, and referrals.
Finding customers is competitive, so try places rival businesses may be ignoring.
Your competitors are likely to have a website, a Facebook page, maybe even an Instagram account, but there are some avenues that they may have overlooked.
While Facebook is still the dominant platform when it comes to referring visitors to websites, Twitter is closing that gap.
While it might not have seemed relevant a few years ago, now it might make sense to add a Twitter account to your social media arsenal.
Your tweets could contain links to blog updates, to your website, articles on Australian building trends, or even testimonials from happy customers.
If you have a personal profile on Facebook, you might already be a member of a group or two.
Groups are different to pages, they are designed for discussion, and may not be visible to people who are not members.
Because of this, engagement levels tend to be high, and in popular groups, admins or group owners can often take a back seat, as members post links and start discussions.
While creating your own group may not be something you’re keen on, groups are an excellent way to find leads for your business.
Look for groups of people living in your area, and get involved, using your personal profile, rather than your business page.
When someone posts looking for a builder, you’ll be able to respond. Likewise, groups of people who are working through renovations, or looking for DIY advice can also yield excellent opportunities if approached in the right way.
An important note on group etiquette- like joining any conversation, it’s poor form to turn up and suddenly begin blowing your own trumpet.
Once you’ve joined, take some time to listen, understand the group dynamics and share your knowledge when you can before you begin to pursue work.
Often overlooked, Pinterest is a powerful social media network with 175 million monthly active users.
Given that Australian women are likely to play a lead role in household financial decisions, it makes sense to consider a platform where 81 percent of users are women.
A customer planning a substantial renovation or beginning a new build may well turn to Pinterest to do some research.
If you’re updating your website with blog posts showcasing completed jobs, positive customer feedback, and photos of your work, make sure that you ‘pin’ these to corresponding boards on your business Pinterest account, so that they can be discovered by potential customers.
Getting your paperwork sorted properly doesn’t just give you a more professional appearance while building trust with your customers, but it can mean that you get paid faster, letting you get on with the job.
A clear invoicing system, coupled with a professional contracting process, limits confusion around when payments are due, and what’s being delivered, which again, helps to create a satisfied customer.
The system you choose for invoicing and managing your accounts is integral to this process.
Choose an integrated system with the ability to accept card payments, send invoices online, and to see your accounts in real-time, and you’ll also free up your evenings for something better than doing the books.
READ: More payment options means more customers
Once you’ve engaged your customer and delivered a great experience, it’s important to stay in touch.
This means that they’re much more likely to call you next time they need a job done, but you’ll also be top-of-mind when a friend asks them to make a recommendation.
A simple way to do this is by setting up a newsletter for past and current customers.
Make sure that you ask their permission before subscribing them so that you stay on the right side of the Spam Act, which protects against unwanted marketing messages.
A client like MailChimp makes this a cost-effective option.
Once you have a template established, it’s also a time-efficient option as you can ‘replicate’ this campaign, and simply update the content.
Your newsletters could contain updates on recent jobs you’ve completed, which is a great way to showcase your skills and make your customers feel appreciated, seasonal maintenance tips, DIY hacks, and product recommendations.