There are 30.2 million small businesses in the US. That means customers have literally millions of opportunities to choose the competition instead of you. Your biggest priority should be finding ways to stand out from your competitors.
Customer experience is the impression customers get from your business — and that can be good, bad, forgettable or ugly. Customer experience starts from the moment they discover you exist, to the end of their relationship with you. If you want to be recognized and endorsed by customers, take customer experience very seriously.
When was the last time you put efforts into the way a customer perceives your business? Explore these digital marketing techniques to improve your customer experience quickly!
Update Your Website
Over 55% of consumers search online for service providers when they need help. A few decades ago, this was your daily dose of foot traffic. These were the people who looked for businesses in the yellow pages. Without a compelling website, you’re completely overlooked by over half of potential customers.
It’s surprising how many home service businesses have a bad website or no website at all. If you want customers to find you, the internet is where they’ll look. If you don’t have a website, or it hasn’t been updated since 2015, you are irrelevant on the internet.
Use Customer-Focused Language
Having a visually appealing website isn’t enough to convert leads into paying customers. A nice color palette, accurate contact information, and high-quality pictures are a good start, but it won’t convince them to choose you over anyone else with a pretty website.
To resonate with customers, you need to speak their language. Make sure your website content:
References “you” (the customer) not “we” (the company). Customers want to know you understand their needs.
Showcases the benefits of hiring your team. Customers want to know what’s in it for them.
Answers their most important questions. How do you work, what services do you offer, what can they expect from you, do you offer workmanship guarantees, etc.
Tells customers how to take the next step. Should they call? Fill out a form? Use the chat feature?
Stop Avoiding Social Media
Everyone loves to hate social media. But for home service providers, tackling social media is a necessary evil in free advertisement.
What used to be called “word of mouth” is now called social media. Consumers are leaving reviews, sharing photos, hitting like, subscribing to channels, and following profiles for the businesses they love.
Over 77% of small businesses promote themselves on social media, primarily Facebook. And 1 in 3 internet users check a company’s social media before hiring.
Your competitors are on social media. Your customers are on social media. If you are not actively using social platforms (key word being actively), you are wasting a low-cost or free opportunity to encourage sales in your community.
Use every platform that applies to your customer base and give them a great online experience while they consume your content.
Stay Relevant With Email Marketing
After you close a sale and the project is finished, how do you stay available to customers? Email marketing is a great way to follow up and stay top-of-mind.
Delivering valuable tips, coupons and reminders to your customer base weekly, monthly or seasonally is the best way to stay on their radar. Most people don’t buy compulsively, but if they’re reminded of your product or service throughout the year, they’re more likely to buy from you when the time is right!
Customers these days do a lot of research before taking out their wallet. Make sure you offer a great first impression in their digital customer experience.
Now I've gotta know — Do you post on social media regularly? Or do you use email outreach to stay relevant with customers? How have these tools contributed to lead generation for your business? Tell me in the comments below! 👇