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Summer can be one of the busiest times for your home services business. But that shouldn’t mean your customer service support should pay the price. Whether you provide plumbing services, heating and cooling support, or electrical expertise, you need to keep your customers a priority. Why? According to a recent survey, 70% of people are willing to spend more money with a company that provides excellent customer support.
But with your scheduling books filling up and your technicians stretched thin, is there still a way to provide excellent customer service during your most active months? We thought you’d never ask. Here’s 5 ways to provide excellent customer care during the busy season.
Keep Lines of Communication Open
Good customer service starts with good communication. Your customer should always be informed when it comes to appointments, information about products and deals, maintenance plans, and what to expect when technicians are on-site to name a few. Part of providing excellent communication is having enough staff, even during the busy months, to address the increase in phone calls.
If part of your business expertise is providing relief in the hotter months of the year, remember to keep customers updated and informed when it comes to the maintenance of HVAC systems, cooling systems, and electricity. Use this time to educate your customers on how to maintain crucial home systems so they don’t spend the summer sweating over their home maintenance upkeep.
Use the Summer Months for Promotion Programs
Many home services take advantage of the summer season to launch promotions, loyalty programs, or new deals. With so many potential customers relying on their HVAC systems to keep them comfortable, plumbing to work for their pools, or outdoor lighting to keep the party going, it can pay to provide incentives for customers to use your services.
Consider what kind of initiatives you want to put into place and decide ahead of time when you want to launch and promote them so customers have plenty of time to act. Utilize your social media and email subscription list to alert customers to the upcoming deals. Be wary of the rule of too much too soon. Keep your promotions manageable so deals don’t get mixed up, and customer service suffers from being overzealous. Use marketing calendars and strategies to implement your goals and make sure all staff is aware of the programs to pass on during customer interactions.
Prompt Responses to Problems
Whether you’re dealing with an upset customer via negative review or over the phone, make sure their problem is addressed quickly and efficiently.
If the customer is already frustrated when the technician arrives, make sure they’ve been trained ahead of time to keep their cool, listen to the customer, and remain polite. As the business owner, it’s vital to the health of your home services company that no matter what, you make the situation right with the customer. Because in the home services field, too many bad reviews can affect your business growth. For the most impactful customer care, acknowledge their frustration, apologize for the situation, and do what you can to make it right. Even in your busiest time, you can’t allow negative experiences with your company to go unaddressed.
Offer Remote Initial Appointments
With the height of summer in full swing, your technicians will most likely be out and about to keep up with your scheduled appointments. For many home services businesses, offering initial remote appointments can be an ideal way to free up busy technicians’ time and give your customer a chance to get comfortable with your staff before letting them into their homes.
Most homeowners have gotten used to the rhythm and flow of having appointments online. If your business is equipped to do so, having remote appointments may allow your staff to give homeowners a more exact appointment time rather than a broad window of time, giving you and the customer back valuable hours in the day.
Let Your Stats Prepare You
If your home services business has been around long enough, consult your data to forecast when your business will be at its peak. Once you’ve pinpointed your busiest months, for home services that’s usually May and June, equip your business to be ready. That may include increasing staff in the summer, planning out incentives to launch, and completing training for new technicians.
Great customer service isn’t just about wearing booties when you enter someone’s home or leaving a calling card for emergency calls. It’s providing your customer with a great experience while completing the appointment. If your technicians are stretched thin, or your phone is ringing, but there’s no answer, your customers will move to someone else who will pick up. By preparing for the upswing in business, you're ensuring a successful summer for you and your customers.
Summertime can provide major growth for your business and if navigated right, result in a wave of new loyal customers. It all depends on how you treat them even during your busiest weeks. Prioritize open communication for your customers, provide incentives through fun promotions and programs, address problems or situations quickly, and prepare ahead of time for your busy months. If your summer months aren’t as busy as they should be, it may be time for a new marketing approach. Reach out to Scorpion to heat up your schedule books and bring you the kind of growth you’ve been looking for.
