Tricks Schedule

KEEPING IN TOUCH

We have all heard the old saying, "Acquiring new customers is much more difficult than keeping the ones you already have" and it is so true. Retaining customers is vital to the success of our business particularly in an industry as competitive as painting. But ensuring your customers use you again and refer you to others is easier said than done. It requires a proactive effort to stay in touch and keep your name visible so they don't forget you.

Here are a couple of suggestions for staying in touch:

Christmas/Chanukah Cards - every single customer you have ever done work for should be in your database and should receive a greeting card from you in December.

This works for two reasons 1) it shows good will and gives your company a human aspect and 2) it keeps your name in front of the customers on a regular, yearly basis within a very positive context.

We had a customer call last week that we did work for 4 years ago. Never spoke to them except for sending them a yearly Christmas card and when they needed more work they called us.

This type of contact, if it is all you do, also keeps the customs updated on how to reach you. If your phone number or address changes, it's an easy way to include the information and keep you easily accessible. It's also an opportunity to include a fridge magnet or pen with your company name and phone number on it (in case they lost the 16 others you've given them in the past).

Newsletters - a newsletter can be mailed every six months, every season or once a year. It can be a simple one-page update or a fancy, multi dimensional media piece. Whichever you choose, it should be a staple of your marketing efforts.

Again, newsletters update your information so customers know how to reach you, you can include new services that you are providing, new certifications that you or your staff acquire, etc. etc. It is also a really good opportunity to remind your customers to send you referrals. Asking for referrals is not tacky and it's not inappropriate. Successful companies do it all the time and as they say, "if you don't ask for what you want, you won't get it."

Warranties - if you offer a written warranty why not also include a no charge inspection to take place just before the warranty expires? It benefits both you and your customer.

It reaffirms your professionalism to the customer when you offer to evaluate your own work prior to the end of the warranty and it shows the customer that you care about their job and the quality of your work. There is always the possibility that you will find a problem with the job and need to fix it under warranty, but better to uncover it yourself than have the customer find it after the warranty and feel cheated that the job didn't hold up. Keeping our existing customer base is the objective. We want our customers to feel cared about and we want them to feel good about our company so they will call us in the future and refer us to others.

It also benefits your company because it allows you a subtle opportunity to check the property again to ensure the job is holding up well and to possibly uncover additional work to be done.

e-mail, Snail Mail- do you ever come across an article or story that you know will really be of interest to a past customer? If it is appropriate, why not send it along? What about cards for births, deaths, and illness? It gets pretty expensive to remember everyone's birthdays but sending a simple card for other occasions is always appreciated and costs pennies to prepare yourself on the computer.

If you have any other creative ways for keep in touch with customers please share them on the Painters Chat Room bulletin board. Thanks.

Marcy Lawton 
Dynamic Designs Painting & Decorating 
1-800-PAINT-JOB Toronto and York Region

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