7 Reasons Why You Should Be Emailing Your Clients

If you aren't emailing your customers, you will lose them to your competitors eventually. I know that is a bold statement, but I cannot stress it enough. I also understand why you might disagree. If you provide stellar customer service, quality craftsmanship and build a reputation for completing jobs on time and on budget, why would people leave?

Something called Being Prudent.

If your competitor convinces your customer that they can do as good a job or better for a LOWER price, would it not be prudent to switch? That is called being fiscally responsible. So, if everyone is fiscally responsible, won't you ALWAYS lose out to the lower priced option? Not if you can find a way to trigger an emotion that they feel more strongly than prudence. And how do you do that?

Something called Engagement.

By engaging with customers you build a relationship. That relationship is, as far as emotions and brain chemistry is concerned, recognized as a friendship and it WILL affect buying decisions. Just imagine if a total stranger came up to you and said he would give you advice in your times of need and to call HIM instead of your best friend next time you needed someone to talk to. You don't know anything about this stranger, he could even be a trained psychologist who is far better equipped to give you advice, but you won't even get that far because you'd never shift your loyalties from a friend.

Traditionally, contractors built their businesses on word of mouth. If they wanted to scale, a simple Yellow Pages ad would bring in some extra business and even more referrals would eventually roll in. In today's digital age, word of mouth is still important, but it is much more hands-on.

Customer Engagement; How You Win the Game

Once upon a time, many long years ago, communication was very limited so all business was conducted between the tight-knit group of people living in any given small town. The carpenter, the baker, the butcher and the plumber were known by all and spoke to members of the town every day. They'd see each other on their way to work, in the store, in line waiting on their butchered meat, and so on. Everybody knew everybody and had relationships with the product and service providers they depended on.

When communication and transportation grew much broader reaches, people began to spread out. This created more options; more competition, but it also lowered engagement. People weren't doing business with friends they'd known all their lives anymore, but whoever offered the best price. This style of doing business went on for years and the spoils were rewarded to the company that could afford the nicest branded work vans, biggest YP ads and lowest prices.

In the digital age, however, we see a return of the engagement of the olden times. People are beginning to demand it; to expect it. Now that any business is only a mouse-click away, control is once again in the hands of the consumer. And the consumer wants to feel comfortable and important. The consumer wants to do business with friends. So if you want a sure-fired formula for thriving in the digital age; emailing, engaging and building relationships with your clients is the way to go. Here are seven reasons why:

• Email Includes Your Clients in the Conversation. All too often, once we complete a task for a client, we don't talk to them again until they (hopefully) need us for future service. That gives them far too much time to be exposed to a competitor that might win them over. Email keeps them in the loop; almost like an ongoing conversation you have with a distant friend.
• It Keeps You in Their Minds. If you are regularly conversing with your clients, they'll remember you. Not that they might actually forget who you are, but they'll remember that YOU are their roofer/plumber/HVAC professional. This makes it much harder to steal them away from you.
• It Gives You the Opportunity to Reward Them. If you are doing any promotions or running special deals, a great way to retain clients is to offer those deals to them. Email makes it easy for you to do this. Your clients will then feel like they are being rewarded just for being a customer.
• It Gives Them a Clear Path to Instant Response. If you are in their inbox, they can quickly contact you if they have a relevant question. Nowadays many people choose the path of least resistance and looking up your phone number is not it. It is easier and preferred by many to simply fire off an email at whatever time of day or night it is while a question is fresh on their mind.
• It Streamlines Your Communication. As mentioned in the previous point, email gives your clients a quick way to contact you. This also opens up another channel for you to communicate back. Rather than trust your customers are going to save your number in the cell phone, by giving them another means of communication you make two-way contact an easier process.
• It Gives You the Opportunity to Wow Them. All too often companies cease all communications with their customers after the first transaction. This is the norm, so much so that when you take the time to simply reach out and say "Hi" it will really impress your clients. It also gives you a channel through which you can do really special things such as wishing your clients a happy birthday or telling them you have their favorite color drapes in stock. By keeping track of individual customer data, email allows you to put good use to that information.
• It Stops Prudence in its Tracks. In the end, email is about building a relationship. If you do that, it doesn't matter how sweet a deal someone else can give them or how much better they claim their service is. When you become someone's friend, they know deep down that no one will take care of them like you will.

If you aren't emailing your customers but would like more information on how to start, take advantage of our email marketing service. You can learn more here, or contact us at 888-818-7215

About Footbridge Media

Since 2004, Footbridge Media has worked exclusively with contractors just like you to help them achieve their goals. Your success is our business.