Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A lot of people work in the area of ‘contracting’, particularly with government agencies. When working in this sector, it’s important to know how to get repeat business. The following contributed post is thus entitled, 3 Ways For Contractors To Get More Repeat Customers.
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If you’re a contractor, it’s the loyal customers that will sustain your business. If all of your customers are only using you once, you’re not going to have enough regular work to keep you going. But finding repeat customers is often easier said than done. If you find that you’re getting a lot of new customers but you can’t turn any of them into repeat customers, you’re getting something wrong somewhere along the line. These are some of the best ways to get more repeat customers for your contractor business.
Make The Work Last
This is very important. If you repair something for somebody and it breaks again 6 months down the line, they’re not going to call you again to fix it. In fact, they won’t call you for any other work they need doing either. That’s why it’s important that you do a good job that’s actually going to last. A big part of that is the materials that you use for the job. For example, if you’re doing some plumbing work and you buy cheap pipe and fittings, they’re likely to corrode and leak pretty soon. But if you buy decent quality black iron pipe fittings and copper pipe, the job will last for years to come. As well as good materials, you need to make sure that the workmanship is perfect. Don’t rush jobs to get the next one in and earn more money, it won’t work in the long run. Take your time and make sure that everything is perfect. You also need to be realistic about your own abilities and don’t take on jobs that you’re not really equipped to do. The work will be bad and you’ll lose the customer for good.
Build A Relationship
The work is obviously an important part of it, but you’ve got to remember that the customer is going to have you in their house, so they need to feel comfortable around you. If you don’t have a good relationship with your customers, they’re not likely to ask you back. Always make sure that you’re polite to customers, the way that you represent your company is very important. If you can offer a personalized service to each customer, you’ll build better relationships and they’ll be more likely to call you next time they need work doing.
Follow Up With Customers
If you finish the job and then don’t have any other contact with your customer, you’re missing an important part of the process. The aftercare is just as important as the work itself. You should always call up your customers a week or so after you’ve finished the job to make sure that everything is ok. If there are any small tweaks that need to be made, you should do it for free. By offering good aftercare to your customers, you can show that you’re invested in the work and you care about them. This is what people are looking for in a contractor so it’ll really help you to get repeat customers.
If you use these simple tips to get more repeat customers, your contractor business will thrive.
