Connecting With Customers

Despite its long-standing presence in the industry, Clinton Electric strives to continuously strengthen its reputation within the community and improve its practices and services. 

They understand that cultivating trust from homeowners is key to the success of their business, no matter how much experience they have. Why? Within the home services industry especially, having a reputable, trustworthy brand is vital. In most cases, consumers are required to invite these businesses into their most personal spaces: their homes. 

Knowing this, it’s no surprise how much homeowners rely on others’ experiences to determine whether or not a particular home service provider is worth considering. Businesses with poor and/or few online reviews tend to spark red flags, whereas those with a high number of positive reviews seem credible, and therefore worth a call. 

“People live and die by Google reviews, and if business owners and managers don’t think that today, they’re not running their business on the right track. . . and we definitely weren’t ahead of that curve,” says Jeff Katz, Residential Service Manager at Clinton Electric. 

Reviews also help technicians continuously assess and improve the quality of their service and provide customers with a platform to express what they most value in and expect from a  business. 

Engage Customers Through Online Platforms

In addition to reviews, social media and other online platforms are the perfect channels for businesses to engage with existing and potential customers. Through social media, text, and email marketing campaigns, companies have the ability to reach a significantly larger number of users, and their messaging can easily be personalized to better target a specific audience. 

“If you’re thinking of phone book and print ads, that still works here and there, but the wave of the future is all social media and reaching out to people through [these channels],” Jeff adds. 

Clinton Electric admittedly didn’t focus on establishing a stronger online presence until the competitive environment essentially forced it upon them. Fortunately, they discovered two products that could help them (1) achieve a more credible online reputation AND (2) better communicate with existing and potential customers: pulseM and Customer Lobby

Utilizing pulseM and Customer Lobby Together

PulseM helps businesses within the home services industry generate Google reviews, resulting in organic growth through referrals, a stronger brand, and a competitive advantage. 

Customer Lobby, on the other hand, integrates over 150 invoicing systems to help its members proactively communicate with their customers who are most likely in need of additional services. Their email, text, and postcard marketing campaigns, combined with an algorithm that ensures a homeowner receives the right message at the right, ensure that their members get more repeat business and stay top-of-mind with their customers. 

Independently, these platforms are able to solve issues that are specific to one area of focus.

However, when used together, these solutions truly thrive. PulseM attracts new business and Customer Lobby ensures that business keeps coming back. Between the two, the entire customer journey is covered.  

Clinton Electric Results 

Clinton Electric strives to consistently grow its team of technicians and schedule more appointments each year in order to expand and strengthen its customer relationships. 

Since implementing both pulseM’s PulseChecks and Customer Lobby’s Branding Campaign, Clinton Electric has seen growth in various aspects of the business, internally and externally. 

Two years before Clinton Electric started utilizing pulseM, they only had nine Google reviews. In terms of reviews generated, “in about a year and a half, we went from nine Google reviews to over 1000 Google reviews and turned their 4.9-star rating into 5 stars. . .[Customer Lobby and pulseM] built our reputation,” Jeff Katz cites. 

The number of referrals and repeat customers have also increased, along with revenue growth. Jeff Katz states that “we have picked a ton of business that we wouldn’t have seen if we weren’t sending those postcards. . .[Customer  Lobby] expanded our business to people that we never would’ve gotten revenue from. . .when we started using Customer Lobby and pulseM, we were bringing in around 2 million dollars in revenue, and this year we’re forecasted to do 8 million”. In fact, Jeff Katz reported that Clinton Electric generated an additional $591,000 in revenue after only six months of implementing Customer Lobby.

Clinton Electric’s team of technicians has also grown, as Jeff Katz mentions that “we’ve grown from three or four technicians when we first started with pulseM, and now I’m adding my 10th technician”. 

In the end, one outcome is clear: Clinton Electric’s incorporation of Customer Lobby and pulseM has resulted in unprecedented growth and positive change throughout the company. Jeff Katz claims that “you completely changed everything in our philosophy. I champion both of these brands all the time. . .[Customer Lobby and pulseM] came together under one umbrella and we’re able to utilize both of you. You’re doing something different and it just makes so much sense.”

Takeaways

Together, pulseM and Customer Lobby cover the entire transaction and formation of lasting relationships with customers due to a few key capabilities: 

1. Companies can utilize marketing efforts that turn one-time customers into repeat customers through purposeful and timely messaging. 

2. Personalized marketing messages lead to more appointment bookings and therefore an increase in revenue.

3. Online reviews affirm a company’s legitimacy and loyalty and help technicians perform better through feedback. 

To learn more about Customer Lobby or schedule a demo, click here.

The post How Clinton Electric Improved Their Reputation By Going From 9 Google Reviews To More Than 1000 appeared first on Customer Lobby.

One of the best ways of using marketing automation is in your direct mail marketing campaign. If you’re not doing direct mail marketing, it’s definitely something you should consider. With 42% of people reading or scanning direct mail, it can be a very effective personalized approach to customers. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of marketing automation and how direct mail can fit into your marketing flow.

Tips To Get Started With Direct Mail

Direct mail is a strategy that does take some time and research. With that, here are some tips to get you started on automating your direct mail campaign today. 

1. Collect Customer Data

To get the most out of a direct mail marketing campaign, automated or otherwise, you need to have some user data. Without user data, you could end up sending postcards out to people outside your target demographic, wasting time and money in the process. If you’ve ever operated any marketing campaign, you should be able to access some user data concerning the age, gender, and basic location of your target audience. 

You can also collect relevant user data by monitoring individual actions on your website. Which of your service pages garner the most clicks? What time of year do people visit your website the most? This is actionable information that you or an outside agency can use to customize your direct mail to suit your audience. 

2. Decide What You’d Like Mailed Out

If you’re working with a limited budget, you can opt for automating cheap direct mail. This could be basic postcards with thank you messages, discount codes, or information about an upcoming promotion. 

Do you have a larger budget and want to send direct mail packages? Consider what types of items you’d be sending, how much they’d cost, and whether you’d get a return on that investment. Many companies use direct mail to send out free merchandise and other gifts that foster loyalty and indirectly promote the business. Please note, automated mailing software makes it much easier to manage your budgets and inventory for this type of campaign.

3. Use a Sending Platform

Once you have actionable customer data and an idea of what you’d like sent out, you should acquire the right marketing automation software. In the case of automated direct mail, the software you’d be looking for should include some type of sending platform.

A sending platform is a marketing tool that you can use to manage your direct mail campaign. This software enables you to create user groups, assign budgets, track inventory and deliveries, and much more. It can help you manage the various details that go into a direct mail campaign, saving you a considerable amount of time in the process.

You can use this software to implement direct mail into your ongoing marketing campaigns. Be sure to set up triggers, such as someone interacting with your website in a particular way.

4. Start Small

If you’re completely new to direct mail, there’s nothing wrong with starting small with something like postcards. Before you commit to sending physical products, you can first send out one round of postcards to people living in your service area. By including some sort of promotion or discount code on the card, you could gain valuable data about how many people would be receptive to receiving regular mail from your business.

5. Test Your Messaging

To harness the power of an automated direct mail campaign, you’ll need your mail to have the right look and messaging. A simple and low-cost way of testing your messaging is to send several types of mail to different people. Are you having trouble deciding between postcards and lead letters? You could send one batch of postcards to one group and one batch of lead letters to another. With an automated campaign, you can analyze the response rates from each. This will allow you to determine which is performing better with your recipients.

Wrapping Up

Home service companies like HVAC, electrical, and plumbing businesses often underestimate the automated marketing tools at their disposal. The reality is, taking advantage of these newer technologies is a fantastic way to set your business apart. Software offering automated direct mail services can help you build stronger relationships with your customers and drive revenue, all while being efficient and cost-effective.

KEEP READING: Boosting Your Direct Mail Response Rates

The post How to Harness the Power of Automated Direct Mail appeared first on Customer Lobby.

In this article, we’ll discuss why direct mail marketing is still effective and what you can do to launch your own campaign.

Challenges Of Direct Mail

To start, understand that direct mail is not for a one-size-fits-all approach. Once you decide to use this strategy, keep in mind you may have to wait to see results. Be sure to time your distribution appropriately, avoiding times of the year when people receive a lot of mail, i.e., the holidays.

If you have a contact list of your own, great! If not, you may need to purchase access to a mailing list. These lists are compiled by third-party companies and mailing services and can be purchased as a one-time use or long-term.

The Power of Direct Mail Marketing

Having said that, there are many reasons why you should consider launching a direct mail marketing campaign and a good reason to be positive when you look at some sample stats.

You can expect a 9% average response rate for a direct mail campaign, and that’s just from customers who can be directly associated with getting to your business because of the mailer.

While the mailer may not directly impact someone to make a phone call to your business, 92% of those who received an item of direct mail have progressed to some form of digital or online activity, such as visiting the website. And 87% went on to make an online purchase as a result.

Why Should You Think About Direct Mail?

Direct mailers are a fantastic way to get your offer in the hands of potential customers. Here are four reasons why you should consider using direct mail.

It’s Physical

People are not so used to receiving postal mail anymore and are much more accustomed to communicating through digital mediums. Promotional emails can be ignored or miscategorized as spam, meaning your potential customers will never see your offer. Providing a piece of mail with a clear offer and call to action can help drive their purchasing decisions.

It Can Be Memorable

Did you know that B2B marketers spend around 18% of their budget on direct mail and print ads? To stand out, a direct mail marketing piece should be as personalized as possible. This is why many organizations choose to handwrite the signature or attach a note that appears to be a personal message. Again, people are not used to receiving intimate messages and are more likely to pay attention.

There May Be Less Competition

Times have changed, and many companies have scaled back their direct mail campaigns in favor of email and other solutions. Many consider email more environmentally friendly, and to some, it is a lot simpler. As your competitors may be more engaged in the digital sphere, your direct mail piece is more likely to stand out and catch the attention of your prospect.

It Allows You to Be Creative

There are many different ways to approach direct mail. You could send a simple postcard, an envelope or a package of some kind. Some organizations have found great success by adopting the “lumpy mail” approach. They will purchase a small toy or gadget and include one in each package. Few people can resist the temptation to open the package to find out exactly what that “lump” is.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, there are many ways to approach this type of marketing. But for best effect, work with companies that specialize in automated direct mail services. They’ll help you to shortcut the process as much as possible so you can begin to make those gains.

KEEP READING: Boosting Your Direct Mail Response Rates

The post Is Direct Mail Marketing Still Effective? appeared first on Customer Lobby.

In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of direct mailers and how you get started on sending some to your customers.

Why Direct Mail Postcards Still Matter

In this increasingly digital and paperless world, the idea of sending out physical mail to so many people seems silly. Mistakenly viewing direct mails as obsolete, many home service companies opt for sending automated emails over automated direct mail.

The reality is, Mailchimp found that the average open rate for email was about 21%. While this open rate is impressive, especially considering how low-cost email marketing can be, it’s been found that 42% of people read or scan direct mail, giving you a higher reach.

Direct mail takes a bit more effort and tends to feel more personal, which appeals to most customers. 

Direct Mail Postcard Tips

If you’re completely new to the idea of sending out marketing postcards, don’t worry. We have the tips you need to make your direct mail marketing campaign a major success.

Here are seven tips for creating direct mail postcards that bring in new customers.

1. Don’t Overthink the Design

Many businesses end up spending a lot of time and money trying to design the flashiest postcard design possible. The good news is this isn’t at all necessary. 

Your postcards should look appealing and professional. However, your focus should be on the content and sending the postcards out to the right people. The way they look definitely matters, but the time, money, and energy it takes to create something super over-the-top probably won’t be worth it. 

2. Use a Quality Printer

You can pull off a cheap direct mail campaign, but there are some aspects you shouldn’t cut corners on. Print quality should be one of your top priorities. 

We recommend using a printer that offers a quality guarantee of some sort. This could take the form of a complimentary reprint if you find printing defects in your postcards. Otherwise, you could be paying big for postcards that make your business appear unprofessional or amateur.

3. Do a Thorough Proofread

As with any other type of written content, always take the time to proofread. You should be looking for spelling and grammar mistakes, formatting issues, run-on sentences and anything else that would make your postcards difficult to read. 

It may be wise to have a colleague look over the content as well to make sure nothing is overlooked. Worried about what sort of tone your message gives? Try reading it out loud or asking a colleague to read it out loud to get a better idea of both the tone and flow.

4. Define Your Audience

One of the best ways to save money on a direct mail campaign is to target the right audience. There are many ways to define your target audience if you don’t already have that data. You can look at your website and social media analytics, analyze your competitors, study your customer base, or use Google Analytics.

Of course, you don’t always need this sort of data to know who not to target. If you’re a home services company, for example, you may want to target homeowners rather than tenants. It’s all about who you think you’re most likely to get a response from. 

5. Drive Traffic Online

Though we’ve spoken at length about how underrated direct mail marketing is, digital marketing is still dominant. Thankfully, you can get the best of both worlds by directing the recipients of your mail to your website and/or social media pages. 

One of the easiest ways to drive traffic to your online front with your postcards is to include your business’s social media handles. You can also incentivize recipients with QR codes or coupon codes that can only be activated on your website. 

6. End With a Call to Action

Always end your postcard with a call to action, just as you would with any blog or social media post. Your call to action could be offering a sale or discount, promoting a contest or anything else that will excite readers about your business. Please note, your call to action should almost always be compelling and punchy, not wordy or complex.

7. Track Your Results

To get the best ROI for your direct mail marketing campaign, you need to have ways of tracking your success. If you included unique coupon codes in your postcards, you could keep track of how many were used in comparison to how many were sent out. If you used postcards to highlight a particular service, simply compare sales numbers on these services before and after the campaign. 

Wrapping Up

With the right approach, this campaign can increase brand awareness and drive revenue for your business. We hope this information empowers you to create a direct mail marketing campaign that attracts a wider audience for your home services company.

KEEP READING: Boosting Your Direct Mail Response Rates

The post 7 Tips for Direct Mail Postcards That Bring in New Customers appeared first on Customer Lobby.

In this article, we’ll explain what a yearly home maintenance contract is and how you can start providing them to increase your revenue today.

What Is a Yearly Home Maintenance Contract?

In a home maintenance contract, you agree to make regular visits to the home to provide routine maintenance for HVAC, electrical, plumbing, carpentry and other types of structural concerns. Customers get continuous inspection and repair for home issues for a monthly, semi-annual or annual fee. You may offer your services at a discount in exchange for the yearly contract, and you can be their quick responder in the event of emergencies.

RELATED: 5 Quick Tips to Help Home Services Providers Get Repeat Customers

How You Benefit as a Home Services Provider

A yearly home maintenance contract not only provides benefits to the consumer, but to you as the business owner. Here are some benefits you can expect.

Steady Income

Your revenues don’t fluctuate with the seasons or disasters. You don’t have as many emergency phone calls that can cost you extra for temp workers and overnight shipping for parts and supplies while causing you to postpone a job you are already working on.

More Contact Opportunities With Customers

Your brand and reputation become more valuable each time you interact with a customer. You provide savings and comfort through preventive maintenance, and this goodwill can help you keep clients while acquiring others through word of mouth.

Increased Work

Maintenance and inspections can uncover more severe issues that are not covered in the annual contract (make sure to specify). You will also be the first person the customer calls for installations and remodeling. This “pull-through work” can amount to $1 to $3 in additional income per dollar spent on maintenance.

Better Valuation of Your Business

It can be challenging to determine the value of a home services business to sell it or apply for loans. Your contract base amount determines the value of your business. For example, if you can establish an annual contract base of $500,000, you can assume you will make $2 for each contracted dollar, which equates to a potential income of $1 million. This is the figure you can use to determine how much your business is worth.

How to Structure Your Home-Services Agreements

Your agreements can differ based on services and offerings but should all include the details listed below.

Outlined Inspection

Your agreements must be based on a complete inspection of the customer’s property, with notes about the current condition and potential problems. Put these in writing as a supplement to your agreements.

Coverage Time Period

State the period for the contract. Commonly, customers pay for an annual contract, but if you want to let someone try out your service, you can offer a month-to-month agreement.

Services Covered

It’s important to specify what is covered. Your idea of “routine” maintenance and repair may differ from the customer’s ideas, so spell it out. What constitutes a major job that will not be covered by the contract?

Pricing

Set a sustainable price. Look at your labor and materials costs for the types of work covered in the agreement and provide a reasonable markup for your profit.

Renewal Policy

State what the renewal policy is in clear terms. If you offer automatic renewals, set up a system to remind customers the renewal is coming up. If you have to resell the agreement each year, keep records showing how well the contract performed so you can tell your customers how they benefited.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 7 Tips for Direct Mail Postcards That Bring in New Customers

How to Manage Your Agreements

Now that you have an agreement, it’s just as important to manage them efficiently and accurately.

Create a record (database) of each item that will be covered in the contract. This should include serial numbers, sizes for all replacement parts, the tasks you anticipate performing, a checklist of inspection items, the location, the inspection schedule and projected hours and materials. Regarding labor costs, list an amount for hiring temporary employees for peak periods.

Be sure to track your actual costs to compare with your estimated costs. Always make notes about adjustments that need to be made when the contract is renewed.

How to Market Your Agreements

The best time to offer an agreement is after a major repair or installation. Explain the potential savings of having an annual contract. After crunching your numbers, you may provide maintenance and repair services at 50% to 75% discounts.

In cases where you haven’t done a major job for the customer, you can estimate the dollars they could save with an agreement. It is common to set aside 4% of the home’s value for maintenance. If you can beat that figure, you’ve got a sale.

It’s easier to sell low-cost service agreements than to bid on major repairs. Homeowners will find it attractive to spend a little to save a lot.

Wrapping Up

Home services maintenance agreements should be viewed as the lifeblood of your business. They can double your income, smooth out the challenges of seasonal workflows and allow you to plan your labor and materials costs far in advance. Get started with these easy-to-implement tips today.

KEEP READING: Boosting Your Direct Mail Response Rates

The post Why Your Home Services Business Should Offer Yearly Home Maintenance Contracts appeared first on Customer Lobby.

In fact, customers find direct mail 43% less annoying than receiving marketing messages through the internet. Adding direct mailers to your marketing plan as a home services provider can connect you with your customers in a way they will actually welcome.

In this article, we’ll explain why direct mail matters and how you can use mailers to boost your business. Follow these tips to boost your response rate and ramp up your customer flow.

Why Direct Mail Still Matters

Americans love to get mail, with 56% stating they find joy in receiving mail. But direct mail is more than just a welcome alternative to endless emails. It seems that direct mail does elicit actions from recipients.

The USPS said that almost a quarter of those who received direct mail marketing communication went on to visit the sender’s physical location. This kind of communication is also easier for customers to process. Physical mail requires 21% less cognitive effort than internet-based marketing messaging.

Tips For Boosting Your Direct Mail Response Rates

So, here we are in 2021, and direct mail marketing still exists. In fact, it is actively thriving.

Where does your home services business go from here? How do you go about boosting direct mail response rates for electrical, plumbing, HVAC or any other home services you offer? Incorporate the tips below to see a boost in your direct mail response rates.

Personalize Your Communication

Don’t fall into the trap of being too generic. To optimize your response rates, add a bit of personalization to your communication. You already have some data on the prospect. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to send your marketing materials to them in the first place. So put this data to work. With automated direct mail technology, you can add the name of the person you are reaching out to. You can also include details of previous interactions such as “welcome back” messages or offers linked to plumbing, electrical, carpet cleaning or other home services you have provided.

Add Color and Vibrancy

You need to make sure your messaging stands out from the crowd. Investing in a great physical mail design can go a long way in achieving this. Give your customers bright colors, smart designs and intelligent messaging. With the right service provider, you’ll still be able to achieve cheap direct mail. Meanwhile, the extra color and vibrancy will engage your audience. Deploying personalization and color together can help boost your response rate.

Focus On Your Service Area

A home services organization like yours varies from other businesses in that it is location-specific. This means you should limit your direct mail to prospects within your service area. Consider the specific needs of your local area — climate conditions and local events, for example — demonstrating your knowledge of the community.

Follow Up on Communications

Be sure to follow up on your communications. Develop a series of direct mail marketing messages and nurture your customers toward conversion.

While some audience members will be ready to convert immediately, others may need a bit of encouragement. Use customer data and automation to optimize this. For example, if a lead has already expressed an interest, you could remind them of your services and nurture them further.

On the other hand, if they have already converted in the past, you could offer support or a follow-up service to boost their full life-cycle value.

Bolster Your Brand

Tie your messaging into your brand. Use the same color schemes and visuals you use on your website. Be sure that your audience immediately recognizes who you are and what you offer. Use similar language in your web content and your physical mailouts to create brand harmony. All your communications should help to build brand loyalty and engagement. 

Strategize Your Offers

Be strategic when it comes to offers. Perhaps winter is on its way, and you want to offer winterization services and heating repair to help your customers get ready. Maybe you have a specific service to tie into an upcoming holiday or event, like a tie-in with Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. This kind of timely communication will energize your audience.

You can also build engagement and interest by releasing a series of marketing materials in the run-up to a product or service launch. This will give you a resource of qualified leads to draw upon when you complete the launch.

Final Thoughts

Your company provides vital services to your customers. But you still need to be able to get the word out there so that these customers know exactly what you offer.

Both online-based and direct mail marketing are important here. By combining the two, you can optimize your strategy. Follow these tips to start seeing an increase in your direct mailer response rates. Your customers and your team will thank you.

KEEP READING: Why It’s Not Tacky To Send Holiday Postcards From Your Business

The post Boosting Your Direct Mail Response Rates appeared first on Customer Lobby.

Moreover, sending holiday postcards from your company via snail mail can actually be beneficial to your business.

In this article, we’ll explain how to use direct mail in an effective and tasteful way during the holidays. Follow these tips to put your holiday mailing strategy in place.

Non-Digital Communication Is Still a Thing

In our increasingly digital world, sending a postcard with a holiday theme and greeting may seem like a waste of time, effort and money. If anything, the opposite is true.

A recent fact sheet put out by the Greeting Card Association pointed out some surprising information.

• Americans buy around 6.5 billion cards every year.
• Greeting card mail volume has increased four years in a row.
• Holiday cards are still in demand with an increase in sales.
• 75% of card senders reported that they continue to send cards because “they know how good it feels” to receive a greeting.
• About 65% of people surveyed expressed that getting a card or letter “lifts their spirits.”
• 80% of people agree that social media cannot replace physical greeting cards. 
• Millennials are leading the greeting card surge, now spending more money in the U.S. on greeting cards per year than the Baby Boomers.

Why You Absolutely Should Send Business Holiday Cards This Year

Sending your clients a holiday card from your company isn’t just about generating warm, fuzzy feelings—although that is a bonus. The effectiveness of marketing postcards comes in a variety of avenues. Sending holiday postcards is a marketing opportunity you should take advantage of.

Here’s why.

Goodwill

There is really no such thing as “too much” goodwill. Goodwill is a valuable, intangible business asset, supported by a strong customer base and good reputation, that can generate more profit and brand recognition. By connecting with clients and offering a positive message, you are not only building rapport with them but also making them feel important.

Your Brand

A holiday card can be a clever way to reinforce your brand. It is easy to incorporate your logo, business name, even your slogan. In most cases, holiday cards are displayed by recipient businesses as well. You will also be adding to your company’s brand by reinforcing your business personality—creative, responsible, loyal, appreciative, friendly or whichever positive trait you want to highlight.

Messaging

Whether you are trying to reacquaint with past customers or telling them about an upcoming sale, you can use your corporate holiday card to remind clients that you are there and why they want to do business with you. It’s a method that can be remarkably effective. It’s easy to ignore an email, but no one can resist opening a card.

Standing Out

While your competitors fall into the trap of thinking digital messages and greetings will be the best received, you can set yourself apart from the pack by sending a tangible, touching greeting. It shows that you value your clients enough to put some effort into wishing them well.

Whether you are using direct mail marketing regularly or seasonally, the positive, visual nature of the holiday postcard makes it an effective way to fortify your relationship with your customers.

Some DOs and DON’Ts for Holiday Marketing Postcards

As with any other marketing endeavor, you want to get the most proverbial “bang for your buck” from your holiday card campaign. Here are a few tips you can implement immediately.

Do Keep It Short and Simple

You’re not writing a letter to an old friend. You are saying “hello.” telling customers about something coming up, reminding them to transact with you or thanking them for their patronage. It’s fine to personalize the message, but remember that the card is meant to be seen by more people than the recipient.

Do Make It Aesthetically Pleasing

Good-looking cards are more likely to be prominently displayed, and again, one of your goals is to reach as many people as you can. You want a visitor at your client’s reception area to notice the card and notice who sent it.

Do Keep to Your Brand

There’s nothing wrong with incorporating some tasteful humor if your brand personality is upbeat, funny and bold. If you are a “fun” business but send something sobering and somber, it won’t feel right. Conversely, if you are a more “serious” brand, you don’t want to start goofing off in your card campaign.

Do Use High-Quality Imagery

The higher quality of an image you use, the more likely it will be noticed. Don’t use a low-resolution image, which can come across as tacky or cheap. Show your customers that everything you do is professional, even your holiday cards.

Don’t Be Overly Anything

Unless you know your client extremely well—and are sure it would be appreciated—you want to shy away from overtly religious imagery or messaging. Remember that one of your holiday card goals is to be seen by many people. You don’t want to alienate potential future customers by coming on too strong. The same goes for sentimentality. Don’t be super sappy. You still want to relay how professional you are. Of course, it goes without saying that you should avoid anything vulgar, controversial or unprofessional.

Wrapping Up

With the holiday season fast approaching, it’s important to start designing your mailers while keeping these tips in mind. In such a fast-moving world, customers will appreciate the extra time and effort you made to mail a holiday card.

KEEP READING: 5 Quick Tips to Help Home Services Providers Get Repeat

The post Why It’s Not Tacky to Send Holiday Postcards From Your Business appeared first on Customer Lobby.

Loyal customers offer several benefits to home service providers. This includes reduced marketing costs, increased referrals and a positive reputation for your business.

Loyal customers are four times more likely to refer a friend to a business and five times more likely to buy again. This is a stark contrast from people who haven’t used your business before. Your probability of selling to an existing customer is about 60-70%, while selling to a new customer is 5-20%. Understanding how to retain your customers will help drive business and customer satisfaction. 

RELATED: Our 7 Best Email Marketing Tips for Plumbers

Tips for Acquiring Repeat Customers

Repeat customers should be the main focus for HVAC, plumbers, carpet cleaners, and electricians alike. Here are 5 easy-to-follow tips to help home service providers get repeat customers.

1. Send Email Reminders

Sending email reminders is a strategy employed by countless home service providers. Many home appliances require repeated servicing. This is often an after-thought of homeowners.

For example, it’s recommended that you have your carpets deep cleaned every 12 to 18 months. Homeowners may be unaware of this, so your reminder will be seen as helpful.

In these emails, you can promote your company and any offers while prompting them to make a service appointment.

2. Follow Up With Customers

Reaching out to customers is critical to ensuring they’re satisfied with your services. Following up is a terrific way to thank customers and get feedback, no matter how confident you may feel about your work. If they’re unsatisfied for any reason, you’ll have the opportunity to make things right. In turn, they will likely use you again in the future.

With your thank you email, you can also include a customer survey. This will give your customers the chance to share their experience, good or bad. You can use this feedback to directly address any customer issues to ensure they aren’t dissatisfied.

If customer feedback reveals you aren’t meeting standards, it could be time to make some big changes.

Following up with customers shows them you appreciate them and care about their experience.

RELATED: Online Marketing for Carpet Cleaning Small Businesses

3. Provide Quality Services

This may seem obvious, yet businesses of all sizes and industries overlook it. Businesses are often tempted to cut corners to increase profits, but this can result in poor results for customers. 

One of the easiest ways of getting repeat customers is by doing great work. Be sure to implement protocols for your staff to follow to ensure every customer has the same experience. Investing in better equipment and providing more in-depth employee training are other ways to improve the quality of your services. 

4. Engage on Social Media

One of the many ways of building trust with customers is to talk to them on social media. You want to make it easy for them to get in touch with you quickly. Along with telephone and email support, we recommend having an active presence on various social media platforms.

Social media allows you to respond to customers’ questions, thank them for compliments and address their concerns quickly and effectively. The latter benefit is critical to building trust and encouraging customers to seek out your services again.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: HVAC Sales Tips to Help You Close More Business

5. Start a Blog

Blogs are a wonderful way to encourage repeat business while attracting new customers. They can provide helpful information to people searching for services like yours. Providing value to people will set you apart from your competitors and invite new customers to your business.

Your blog can offer helpful plumbing tips, advice on how to lower your electricity bill or anything else that’s relevant to your business. What matters most is that your content actually offers value to the reader. If your content is informative, you can build trust with customers while promoting your brand through shares on social media. 

In Conclusion

Customers are the lifeline of any home service business. Creating a stable foundation of loyal customers is key to making your brand a staple for that home service. Focusing on these easy-to-follow steps will give you a step above the competition and set you up for long-term success.

KEEP READING: Why Marketing to Existing Customers Boosts Revenue for Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical Companies

The post 5 Quick Tips to Help Home Services Providers Get Repeat Customers appeared first on Customer Lobby.

That’s why email marketing is an absolute must. It’s one of the most affordable and effective forms of online marketing. Plus, you can get started with email marketing all on your own.

66% of businesses surveyed say they use email marketing to promote their businesses or communicate with leads and/or customers. If you are not among them, it’s time (past time, actually) to incorporate email into your marketing strategy.

In this article, we will discuss what email marketing is and why it’s important to use in your plumbing business. Follow these easy-to-implement tips, and you’ll be part of that 66% in no time.

Why Email Marketing Matters

The purpose of email marketing is to make customers aware of new products, discounts, and other services you may be offering.

Email marketing should be about educating your audience on your brand and services. Every message you create should bring value to your customers. This could be tips on fixing a clogged sink or information on how customers can reach you when they have a plumbing emergency.

Do you think email marketing is the boost your plumbing business needs to close sales and grow your customer base? Here are 7 of the best email marketing tips for plumbers. 

Email Marketing Tips You Can Use Right Now

Everything starts with a plan, and so should your email strategy. You’ve decided that you want to use email for marketing and gathering leads—great!

Now you have to plan how exactly you will execute that. Follow these tips to get started, and you’ll be ahead of the game.

1. Plan Everything Out

In any aspect of marketing, planning things out can make or break your efforts. Laying out your goals and how you will achieve them should be the first step. The next step is to ask yourself the following questions:

• How often do you want to send an email?
• What type of messaging do you want to include?
• Who will be sending the emails?

The answers to these questions will help you outline your goals for email marketing. This will allow you to plan out your messaging and how many emails you will send.

It will also give you the ability to measure your results. For example, you may have a goal of sending one email per week. Then, at the end of the quarter, you can go back and measure if your results reflect your goals.

2. Share Valuable Content

Good content is key to building trust and establishing yourself as an authority. Plus, there are plenty of ways to provide quality content that isn’t expensive or time-consuming.

As you think about content, think about what will be most helpful for your potential customers. That might include things like easy-to-follow how-to videos, DIY tips about home plumbing, or even guides homeowners can use to determine how often they should have plumbing maintenance work done.

While it might seem counterintuitive to give out free help, it sets you up to build your business in two ways. First, you’ll be building trust. Second, a lot of folks will quickly see how much goes into plumbing tasks. If they’re already paying attention to your content, they’ll be more likely to ask you for professional help.

3. Personalize Your Emails

People want to receive emails that they feel were written for them. That’s why emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened. An easy way to personalize is to include a customer’s first name in the subject line.

You can also send a happy birthday message to your customers if you have that information. Most email tools (even free ones) allow you to gather this information and personalize your emails.

74% of online consumers get frustrated with websites when content (e.g., offers, ads, and promotions) appears to have nothing to do with their interests. Be sure to send content to people that want to see it. This will make them feel like the message was written just for them.

4. Consider Automation

Automation is all about sending the right information at the right time, which is ultimately another form of personalization. Emails that are triggered to send after a subscriber takes action show that your brand is paying close attention to every customer.

Automation can also make scheduling out your messaging easy. You’re able to upload multiple messages and select when they should be delivered. This allows you to do all the planning at one time, saving you valuable time in your day-to-day.

Companies like MailChimp and Constant Contact offer free plans to get started with email marketing. Their easy-to-use platforms guide you through the process and help you automate each step.

The bottom line: With automation, more gets done—and the added productivity is of higher value.

5. Track Important Metrics

One of the benefits of using an automation service is tracking.

Email marketing is all about results. If you don’t track your email marketing performance, there’s no way to know if you’re getting the results you want. That’s where some key metrics come into play.

You’ll want to keep an eye on important stats, like your click-through rates and your open rates. Those two metrics alone will tell you a lot about how much your potential customers value your emails.

While this isn’t a necessary step, it’s important. Your email marketing won’t ever be truly strategic without it.

6. Always Proofread

Always proofread your emails! Emails that have multiple spelling or grammar mistakes can make your business appear unprofessional.

Once you’ve finished writing, be sure to read your email out loud to listen for jumbled language. Reading the email as a recipient will also help you catch any missing words or errors. If you have a second set of eyes around, have them take a look as well.

You can also run your content through something like Grammarly that catches mistakes and offers suggestions to improve your writing.

7. Length Matters

In emails, the shorter they are, the better. People don’t want to read a novel in their inboxes. Get to your point quickly and only include the information that matters.

Your subject line should grab the readers’ attention without being too long. The ideal subject line is 6 to 10 words.

The body of your email should contain short, easy-to-read sentences. Avoid long paragraphs and run-on sentences. The sweet spot for email length is 50 to 125 words.

Wrapping Up

Email marketing can seem overwhelming from a distance, but once you break it down, it’s easy to see it’s well worth the time and effort. Several of these tips are easy to implement immediately, and best of all, they’re free.

80% of professionals say email marketing drives their customer acquisition and retention. That means more customers are coming to you for their needs and staying with you when needs arise again. Now is the time to  begin your email marketing so you can see results like those.

These are just a few of the best email marketing tips for plumbers.  Just showing you care about engaging with your customers and putting out useful content is a great place to start. 

KEEP READING: Why Marketing to Existing Customers Boosts Revenue for Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical Companies

The post Our 7 Best Email Marketing Tips for Plumbers appeared first on Customer Lobby.

But if you’re not marketing your carpet cleaning business online, you could be missing out on valuable opportunities. That’s true for both new and existing customers.

In this article, we’ll give you an overview of why you should invest in online marketing, as well as our top 5 online marketing tips that work particularly well for carpet cleaners.

Why You Should Market Online

If you’re not completely convinced that online marketing is a solid investment for your carpet cleaning business, consider these stats.

The Power of Google

97% of people use the internet when looking for local businesses. Not only that, but searches for local services have steadily been trending up in the last few years. This suggests customers will continue to go online when looking for local services, like carpet cleaning.

Social Media

54% of the folks on social media actively use their social media accounts to research products and services. Sure, there’s plenty of other content on Facebook and Instagram, but the numbers don’t lie. There are potential customers there, too.

More Than a Website

Do you think just having a website for your small business is a complete digital marketing strategy? If so, you’re not alone. 92% of small business owners would agree with you.

Respectfully, we disagree.

While a website is an excellent foundation for digital marketing, it’s far from a complete strategy. However, consider how many small business owners believe that’s enough.

If you invest the time to take your strategy up a notch, your carpet cleaning business will really stand out.

5 Tips for Powerful Digital Marketing

There are several ways to approach online marketing for a small business. In this article, we’re focusing on options that are low- or no-cost and relatively easy to do on your own.

If you’re not sure where to begin, we can help. Here are 5 effective, practical tips to get you started.

1. Prioritize Social Media

Given the stat we included in the last section, this tip shouldn’t be surprising. Consumers pay attention to social media. You should, too.

But like your website, just having social media accounts isn’t enough. You need to have an active presence, too.

Begin by determining which social media network your target audience uses most often. Are they all on Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? You may have to make an educated guess, but that’s okay. You could also ask a few customers and see if there’s alignment in their answers.

Once you have an idea, focus on that one social media network to start.

While you can pay for posts, you don’t have to—especially not when you’re just getting started. But you should focus on content that your target audience will find helpful. Maybe share a couple of effective stain removal techniques. Or share information about how often homeowners should have their carpets cleaned. Or even offer a modest discount via social media.

As folks react to your posts, be sure to engage with them. That’s really what makes social media marketing effective.

2. Upgrade Your Website

We’ve mentioned a couple of times that a website by itself isn’t a digital marketing strategy. But make no mistake—you still need a website. It’s an essential part of marketing your business online.

Your website should represent your business—everything from your core values to the services you offer.

If your website feels a little outdated, it may be time to upgrade it. You can spend as little or as much as you want on this project. If you can afford it, we recommend working with a professional. You’ll get better results that way.

But if you can’t, just swapping out colors, fonts and images can make a big difference.

3. Collect Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are a fantastic way to give homeowners peace of mind about working with you. They make your business more credible and trustworthy.

If you don’t have any customer reviews to work with, all you have to do is ask. A simple email to recent customers is enough to get started. Plus, email has the benefit of being free.

You can (and should) also ask customers to complete Google reviews for your business.

When you’re ready to take things to the next level, consider working with an agency that specializes in customer surveys and reviews. While this comes with an expense, you’ll get much better insight into what your customers think about your services. And you can use that insight to make the customer experience even better.

4. Follow Up With Customers

Speaking of email, email marketing is an important element of any online marketing strategy for a small business. It’s also a great foundation for a full follow-up program.

Why do you need to follow up with customers? Because carpet cleaning is an ongoing need. Homeowners won’t just clean their carpets once. They’ll need to repeat the process periodically.

If you stay in touch with existing customers, providing them with valuable tips, promotional pricing, and ongoing customer service, you’ll be set up to get their business the next time they need their carpets cleaned.

5. Offer Add-On Services

Add-ons are extra services you offer customers who have already purchased a basic service. They’re a great way to improve revenue while providing value to your customers.

But that’s the trick. You should only offer add-on services if they genuinely benefit the homeowner.

If you try to get every customer to spring for upgraded services even when there’s no true need, you’ll get a reputation for being greedy and pushy. You don’t want that. Instead, simply offer the add-on. Explain its value and let the customer decide. You might offer the additional service at a “bundled price,” but beyond that, there’s no need to push.

How does this tie into digital marketing? Easy. Add-on services should be featured on your website. It should never be a secret that a customer can add an additional room to your services for a lower rate, for example.

Make sure your digital marketing includes this information. It’s an easy way to increase profits.

The Bottom Line

These online marketing tips can help your carpet cleaning business grow. Not only are they proven to work, but they’re also affordable.

Driving revenue through online marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, complex or time-consuming. There are things you can do right now, today, to begin.

Get More Business Now

The post Online Marketing for Carpet Cleaning Small Businesses appeared first on Customer Lobby.