How Contractors Leave Money On The Table: 2 Ways To Instantly Improve Your Marketing & Leads
If you’re like most contractors, you are missing a huge opportunity.
You’re leaving money on the table, allowing business to slip through your fingers.
While you’re out there knocking on doors, dropping yard signs, paying for ads, or buying leads from resellers - you have wasted potential for lead flow just sitting there.
And you can take advantage of those new opportunities without hiring a salesperson or cold calling people who don’t know who you are.
For the cost of a few minutes of your time and a little marketing effort, you can realize this untapped potential for your business.
Follow-Through With Your Post-Sale Communication
Once you’ve finished working with a customer, they’re very happy with your service, and you collect final payment…what do you do after that?
If you’re like most contractors, you do absolutely nothing.
That’s it. That’s the last time you ever talk to them.
As a customer, I’ve experienced this a bunch. With plumbers, electricians, HVAC contractors, and more that I’ve spent money with and that I’ve more-or-less enjoyed working with. The overwhelming majority did not continue any conversation with me after the job was done.
Instead of maximizing on the value of a happy customer and their network of friends, families, or co-workers - almost all of those contractors didn’t find any value in me after I paid my invoice.
The worth of a satisfied customer is not a one-time value. There is quite a bit more you can do to get more money and business benefits out of your recent customer and past client lists.
There are two things you can start doing today that will transform your business, to increase your online presence and earn more customers.
#1. Capturing Satisfied Customer Moments with Online Reviews
The first is capturing satisfied customer moments.
Or, more simply put, ask your customers to share their experiences formally through an online review.
With the contractors I’ve used personally as a customer, only a handful of them actually asked for the review after they completed work.
That means in instances where I was a very satisfied customer, I wasn’t given a reason to share my experiences.
Let’s consider two big stats here. This data comes from BrightLocal - a company that completes a Local Consumer Review survey of US-based users annually.
- 75% of people regularly or always read online reviews when looking for a local business.
- The second stat - 69% of consumers can recall leaving a business review after being prompted by the brand within the last year.
So that means the majority of people are looking at your reviews and the majority of your clients are happy to leave you a review so long as you simply ask.
Getting more reviews for your Google Business Profile can make or break your local success. It’s one of the strongest ranking factors that you can actually influence.
So if the majority of potential customers are looking at online reviews, and your competitors have more Google reviews than you – that means the majority of potential customers would likely prefer to work with your competitor instead of you.
Your goal should be to have more reviews than your competition.
It starts with simply asking for the review – that includes talking with your customer after the job is done and using an automated review management system if you can (like Birdeye - the one that all Footbridge Media clients use as part of our contractor marketing program).
It takes almost zero time to do, and you absolutely will improve your Map Pack presence over time, which can open you up to a new audience of potential customers and leads.
#2. Asking Customers To Refer Your Business
The second thing you need to start doing right now is to develop and promote your Customer Referral Program.
That’s just a complicated way to say you should reward your customers for talking good about you.
Decide on a referral reward - like a cash reward for your past customer and a token discount for your new customer.
Once you figure that out - your referral program can be as simple as a form on your website and some business cards you leave at the end of a job to educate your satisfied client.
When a customer delivers a referral to you, you reach out to that referral and start the lead process. That contact will be a warm lead - one that has already been given insight about how good a job you did for their friend or family member.
When you complete the job with that new lead, you reward your past customer.
That means you only pay out rewards when you get a completed job paid for.
Having an incentivized referral program that you promote to your customers can help you gain access to people and places that you wouldn’t normally have access to.
For the cost of some business cards, you can start to get new customers from past happy clients who work for less than what you’d normally pay for a lead or a salesperson.
As your marketing budget grows, you can continue to expand your efforts to promote your referral program - like on your social media feeds and using email marketing campaigns.
Pushing clients to review and refer your business starts with a simple conversation. And this contactor marketing tactic it costs you nothing.
And it is something you can do starting with your next client interaction.
If you follow through by asking for reviews and referrals - you can maximize the value of your satisfied customers and increase your online visibility and lead count at the same time.
About Chris Lonergan
Chris Lonergan has over 12 years of contractor marketing experience with Footbridge Media. With a background in web design, print design, content creation, and online marketing, Chris is focused on providing quality marketing and business solutions in the construction and service industries - helping small business owners to more efficiently manage their companies and grow their operations.
Chris Lonergan has previously contributed to and/or been featured in PM Magazine (Plumbing & Mechanical | Contractors x Engineers), theNEWS (ACHR - Air Conditioning | Heating | Refrigeration), Service Roundtable's blog, inPAINT Magazine, the SMB Marketing Agency Show, and the Green Industry Podcast. Chris is also a past SGI/CertainPath breakout session presenter.
