Brilliant remodel professionals are redefining the traditional idea of customer service. They are heading toward something I call Client-Super-Care. Though only an elite few are turning up the personal in personal-service, these amazing contractors understand what word of mouth marketing (WOMM) research is just beginning to prove. Turning an otherwise happy client into a champion is profitable, and is the fast track to prequalifying clients. Extraordinary success no longer lies just in a job well done in relatively good time. That's being done by a fair number of professionals at every level and size in your area. It lies, rather, in the level of personal care you provide that others do not. It lies in your strategy to build relationships that are intended to last a lifetime, not just for the length of the job and perhaps one or two referrals.
“Long after people forget what you did for them they will remember how you made them feel.” Walt Disney
If you are a contractor then you know only too well just how true this is. So the idea of launching a client care strategy in this industry is brilliant, it’s smart, and it’s too fresh not to grow wings everywhere. There are many great companies out there doing great work; those who gross half a million per year to those who get up to 44 Million. However, today, few focus with equal facility to their production skills on the warm art of building relationships and with clients.
You might be thinking “That all sounds great, but my focus is in providing a great finished product to my clients. After all, their hiring a contractor to remodel their home within a budget, they’re not hiring a friend to hold their hand, and serve them dinner just because they want their kitchen remodeled”.
Ah… but is that really the whole truth? Actually remodeling homeowners want more. They’re just afraid to take their eyes off the ball in case someone drops it. A higher level of client care often helps clients relax more because they experience the feeling of having their contractor guard their back. There’s no mystery really, homeowners are often full of fear because of the tales they’ve been told and because they feel alone in their decisions …and in their mistakes. In terms of a remodeling, no matter where a mistake originated, fixing it can be expensive for both the contractor and the client. So, random acts of care and reassurance from get-go and throughout goes a long, long way.
Here’s a story that will show you exactly what I mean.
A client of mine (we’ll call her Lisa) was remodeling her kitchen. So naturally it was gutted. She had a micro-wave, barbeque and a small guestroom refrigerator set up in the laundry room to get her family through the months of being kitchen-less. Now, getting to this make-shift kitchen /laundry-room required climbing and descend twelve steps several times a day. Meal planning, grocery shopping and food-storage took on several logistical complications. Canned and dry goods stood everywhere in the laundry-room. And, the actual laundry itself? …Forget about it!
There was no place to chop, slice, or dice, and after she managed to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner, she had the back-breaking reward of washing the dishes in the guestroom bath-tub. The image of their new kitchen helped keep things in perspective for this family of four (most of the time), and like most people they learned to cope. Even though it can feel like forever it won’t be, they told themselves.
Then one day something happened. It was only the second week into the project when the doorbell rang. She went to answer it and found a FedEx box sitting there at the threshold. Apparently it was from a known ‘Gourmet Meals by Mail’ establishment. When she opened that box she found seven days of dinners for her whole family. The note inside was from her contractor, and it said,
“We hope this helps you take a break sometimes.
With Warmest wishes,
From the staff of Team Construction.”
Can you imagine the kudos that her contractor earned? Not to mention the staying-power of those kudos. With less than a couple-hundred bucks and one thoughtful act he won a very loyal client, and a strong champion of his company for life. He is an Irresistible Contractor! The word of mouth buzz that my client initiated with everyone she told was set ablaze… and believe me, she told everyone!
More to the point, how will you stand out from your worthy competition when everyone is hungry for work? I know you don’t want to put peers you respect out of business, but you’ve got to eat, pay your bills, and the kids will likely go to college one day, am I right? If you had to choose who had the advantage to getting work, you or your peers, who would you pick? I am going to assume that “Me, naturally!” will be your answer.
Let’s face it, there are people who refer us, and then there are people who champion us because somehow we touched them in some simple way that they never seem to forget. Which kind of contractor would you rather be? What kind of clients would you rather have and create? How many clients would you have to surprise or touch in some way before you had standing room only to your office door? What if you started with the clients you have right now? What about former clients?
Irresistible Question (IQ) #1:
How much advertizing money would you have to spend to get this kind of advocacy and good will?
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