What's the trick to maintaining a long-term customer?

[frank fratto]

Can we help some of the newbies.
To maintain their new customers?

 

[Cleanworks]

I have customers who have been with me over 40 years. For me, the key is prompt, professional service. Getting the job done. Being flexible sometimes and being willing to return to fix things even if they are not fixable. Being able to converse with a customer about why things are the way they are. Keep on learning.

 

[hogjowl]

You’re going to get a bucket load of posts saying what ^the Canadian said and they’ll all be right but staying in touch is most important. You can do a great job and wear flowers in your hair and they’ll still forget you if you don’t stay in touch.

 

[frank fratto]

You’re going to get a bucket load of posts saying what ^the Canadian said and they’ll all be right but staying in touch is most important. You can do a great job and wear flowers in your hair and they’ll still forget you if you don’t stay in touch.

Hogjowl,
You be right!!!
I started 5 years ago in a new state, the minute i could get me a POSTCARD list going,
I would send a postcard to every new customer every month.
5 years later, I'm SWAMPED!!!

THE POWER OF THE POSTCARD!!!

 

[SteamwayPro]

Do you guys remember the Yellow Pages ???

I have many long time customers but never used postcards

I did used to send out Professionally made Flyers with Business Cards to businesses asking if I could come in a give a free estimate. That worked good for Restaurants and Diners


Show up on time

Be friendly

Do Good Work

Don't overcharge. I would rather undercharge a customer than overcharge

Don't pressure customers into buying something they don't want

Be Honest

Be clean and dress for the job. I wear collared forest green Polo Shirts long sleeve or short sleeve with black pants

Leave Business Cards

 

[frank fratto]

Do you guys remember the Yellow Pages ???

I have many long time customers but never used postcards

I did used to send out Professional made Flyers with Business Cards to businesses asking if I could come in a give a free estimate. That worked good for Restaurants and Diners


Show up on time

Be friendly

Do Good Work

Don't overcharge. I would rather undercharge a customer than overcharge

Don't pressure customers into buying something they don't want

Be Honest

Be clean and dress for the job. I wear collared forest green Polo Shirts long sleeve or short sleeve with black pants

Leave Business Cards

{Power of the Postcard!}

Sending a postcard to a past customer is marketing.

Sending a postcard to a unknown customer is advertising.

Two different things marketing and advertising.

The yellow pages were kinda both?

 

[frank fratto]

{Power of the Postcard!}

Sending a postcard to a past customer is marketing.

Sending a postcard to a unknown customer is advertising.

Two different things marketing and advertising.

The yellow pages were kinda both?

Hey,
let's help out these new business owners.

let's give them a Christmas present!

Everyone who has been successful in are business,

has something unique to Share?

Mine has been,

{THE POWER OF THE POSTCARD!!!}

 

[they live]

Fridge magnets.

 

[SteamwayPro]

Fridge magnets.

I used to give them out

Some of my customers still have them on their fridge

 

[they live]

I used to give them out

Some my my customers still have them on their fridge

I see some that I gave out my first year in business 2006. I still get calls because of those magnets.

 

[frank fratto]

I see some that I gave out my first year in business 2006. I still get calls because of those magnets.

Steve,
Have you kept the same magnet all these years

or have you changed it up?

different styles?

 

[they live]

Steve,
Have you kept the same magnet all these years

or have you changed it up?

different styles?

Same logo since I started. I did have a short period where the wife and I combined businesses but decided it was best to keep them separate.

 

[frank fratto]

Same logo since I started. I did have a short period where the wife and I combined businesses but decided it was best to keep them separate.
View attachment 133402

COOL!

 

[jeffexe]

Don't overcharge. I would rather undercharge a customer than overcharge

But, charge your fair price. Undercharging only undermines your overall success. Customers will come to you for price not quality. I charge for what I am worth and what I completed. No questions asked. After all this is business.

 

[frank fratto]

But, charge your fair price. Undercharging only undermines your overall success. Customers will come to you for price not quality. I charge for what I am worth and what I completed. No questions asked. After all this is business.

JEFF,
I agree with George on this.
Better to under charge, the first time,
and make a lifetime customer,
then you can raise your prices.
You may lose some, you probably won't? [If you are doing everything else right?]

PS. Don't purposely under charge.

 

[Mikey P]

Ron and Hogjowl nailed the two big pillars: Performance and Presence. You have to do good work, and you have to remind them you exist.

But if we're teaching newbies, there are three more pillars that cement a customer for life:

3. Authority (Education) A lot of guys can clean a carpet. But very few take the time to educate the client on what they have. When you walk into a home and explain why you’re using a specific low-moisture process on their "waterproof" laminate because the core is actually wood-based and risk-prone, you stop being a commodity. You become a consultant. They might find someone cheaper, but they won't find someone who cares enough to know the science.

4. The "One-Stop" Convenience Most homeowners don't want a Rolodex full of specialists; they want one guy they trust to handle everything. If you only do carpet, you’re forcing them to cheat on you for their tile, their countertops, their upholstery, or their showers. The more problems you can solve under one roof, the harder it is for them to leave you. Be the solution for all their surfaces.

5. Community Roots People want to hire a neighbor, not a faceless service. Be the guy who knows the best plumber or electrician in town. Be the business they see cleaning up the local park, supporting the church, or helping out at the battered women’s shelter. When you are tied to the community through charity and service, firing you feels like firing a friend.

The Bottom Line: Make yourself indispensable. Be the expert, be the one-stop shop, and be a pillar of the community. Do that, and they’ll never look anywhere else.

Finally, and if by the grace of God, the family dog and the teenagers like you, raise your prices, you're a Unicorn!

 

[BIG WOOD]

Reminder postcards are a must.

Especially the ones folded in an envelope. Mine work so good, I get thank you’s every month for sending them and even apologies if the customer can’t schedule it the month they receive it

The only thing I regret is not starting it 10years earlier in my business

 

[SteamwayPro]

If you show up on time, do good work, are friendly, and charge a reasonable price for you and the customer, you will have a lifetime customer

And the customer will tell their friends and coworkers about you

Because COMMON SENSE is rare today

Leaving a fridge magnet and sending reminder post cards are excellent ideas and help

 

[frank fratto]

Reminder postcards are a must.

Especially the ones folded in an envelope. Mine work so good, I get thank you’s every month for sending them and even apologies if the customer can’t schedule it the month they receive it

The only thing I regret is not starting it 10years earlier in my business

When i was in Utah, for about the last five years that i live there,
my postcards were Family recipes
had nothing to do with carpet cleaning
other then my name was on the return address.
the women LOVE IT!!! [and some men]


THE POWER OF THE POSTCARD!!!