Customer Service and Marketing
Go Hand-in-Hand
We don’t need to tell you how competitive your industry is; you live it every day. Lawn care businesses are investing in marketing like never before, with slick-looking branding, professionally designed websites, paid social media, digital ads, and more. And you’re all going after the same customers.
When they’re being targeted with so much marketing, it’s easy for consumers to get fatigued and start to tune everything out. How can you cut through the fog and make sure your company stands out above the rest? By putting your existing happy customers to work for you. No, we’re not suggesting you put heavy equipment in their hands and send them out to trim lawns. But they can help your business grow through positive word-of-mouth and online reviews. Happy customers are the best, most effective advertising there is.
Build Relationships with Your Customers
Good customer service is about more than just doing a good job. Delivering great work is just the baseline. If your company is hard to contact, slow to respond, or appears unprofessional in its interactions with customers, you’re going to struggle to connect with prospects and retain existing clients. Treating customers right will help build the kind of relationships that will create dividends for your business.
Invest in Customer Service Management Software
One way you can help provide the kind of excellent service that prompts your clients to rave about you is to invest in industry-specific customer relationship management software. A good program will help you stay connected with your customers – easily answering their questions, connecting them to your techs in the field, keeping them in the loop about their service and their accounts – while taking some of the burdens of direct customer care away from your busy technicians. Make it as easy as possible for your entire team to provide exceptional service, and you’ll set up your entire company for success.
Take Advantage of Referrals
A happy customer is far more likely to refer you to their friends, family members or neighbors. What makes referrals so effective?
- They cost almost nothing. The “cost per lead” of a referral is essentially zero unless you offer a discount on service or some other reward to customers who provide referrals. That’s a pretty impressive return on investment for every referral client you land.
- They come from trusted sources. A referral is already predisposed to trust you and assume you will do an excellent job for them – because they know their friends, family and neighbors wouldn’t recommend you if you wouldn’t.
- They close faster – and pay more. Because they already trust you as a business, referral clients are prepared to start doing business with you right away. And they’re ready to pay because they assume you’ll be worth it.
- Referrals grow referrals! Someone who came to you as a referral is more likely to refer you to others.
Ask For Reviews
Collecting positive customer reviews is extremely important for the growth of your business. Many potential clients will start their searches online, and just about all of them will be checking out your reviews. Not enough reviews and you won’t look reliable enough. Too many negative reviews and they’ll write you off completely. Five-star reviews, customer-provided photos of your work and candid positive recommendations can significantly impact your sales and bottom line. Don’t be shy about asking your happy customers to provide reviews of your business – and make it easy for them to do so with a program like Reviewbot that guides them through the process and gives you the opportunity to see and respond to negative reviews before they’re posted.
The bottom line: Marketing by itself will only get you so far! Put great marketing together with great customer service and you’ll be setting yourself and your company up for long-term growth and success.
No matter what size your business or what green industry segment you specialize in, RealGreen has software that is built to help you grow…and that will grow with you. Get started today to find out how we can help you reach your full potential!
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Shayla started at WorkWave in the marketing department in August 2022. As Senior Product Marketing Manager for RealGreen by WorkWave, Shayla spends her days researching the lawn and landscape industry, strategizing go-to-market efforts, and building relationships with customers to better serve and communicate.