With new disruptions to today’s business operations, unlike most have ever seen, it’s time to start leveraging your largest, if not most valuable asset you have: your past customers.
There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the day-to-day activities of the remodeling and home improvement industries. Which is why, contractors and home improvement pros need to dig deep into their databases to revive one of the most valuable audiences they have, with that audience having the potential to provide some of the biggest returns.
Your past customers are people that know and like you and let’s not forget, trust you!
Now more than ever, people are spending more time at home than they’ve ever spent before. They’re looking at the siding that needs to get redone, gutters that need to get installed, or leaky roofs that need to be replaced. By leveraging your past customers during times like these, you unfold new opportunities to expand your business where and when your competition isn’t.
Here are 6 ways to leverage your past customers:
1. Special Offers
Some of your past customers are just sitting at home, waiting for the right time or opportunity to get that patio door installed or that window replaced. All it takes is an enticing offer to push them across the line and commit. Use marketing tactics like direct mail to get your offer out the door and target the past customers you’d like.
2. Flexible Financing
More customers say “yes” to you when you offer flexible financing such as deferred interest promotions or low monthly payment plans. Land more jobs, win more upsells, and get paid faster with exclusive home owner financing powered by solutions like GreenSky or Mosaic. Your past customers will thank you.
3. Targeted Campaigns
Deploy email or direct mail campaigns directly out of your CRM in order to target past customers with a special offer or message they can’t refuse. Increase engagement by creating quality, eye-catching content and be sure to offer an incentive as a way to build a stronger relationship. Take advantage of using digital gift certificates available from meal and food delivery services such as GrubHub and DoorDash to treat your customers to a delivered, extra special stay at home, dinner.
4. Online Reviews
Establishing a positive web presence and reputation, especially during difficult times, is invaluable to your business. Now that everyone is home, use your CRM to pull your customers from the past year, and try to assemble as many online reviews as you possibly can. Let them know you appreciate the past business, and ask for a favor. Make it as easy as possible for them to leave an online review. And let’s not forget about social media! Your reputation matters more and more on those channels everyday. Offer your customers an incentive like 10% off a service if they leave a review on social media.
5. Referral Marketing
The fact is referral leads are consistently your lowest cost, highest quality leads around. But to be truly effective, your company should implement a “referral program” that maximizes your referral giving opportunities. Continue to exceed your past customers expectations as you take on new projects for them, develop a referral mindset, and don’t be afraid to ask your past customers who had great experiences with your company for referrals.
6. Success Stories
With social distancing at its peak, you need to be able to show future customers your past successes. Use before and after photos from previous customers and jobs to help generate more leads and convert more sales. Plus, since going for a ride is a top outing for families, create geographic lists of addresses only (unless you have customer permission to include names) to email future customers to drive by exterior work completed for color ideas or style. And as a bonus, check with your past customers about offering a testimonial, maybe they’ll accept emails or texts to promote their satisfaction to those looking.
At the end of the day, your data will be your friend to get you through this. Data is the currency in your business and it’s something to be leveraged. Create your list of past customers by using targeted filters in your CRM and precisely segment your data to personalize and speak directly to your customers. Build your new marketing and business plan using the tactics above. Your business will thank you.
MarketSharp is Here for You
At MarketSharp, we’re dedicated to helping your home improvement business navigate through the challenges of COVID-19 as smoothly and as strategically as possible. While we might not know what tomorrow brings, we do know that extraordinary conditions in your business require extraordinary responses.
Explore our COVID-19 Business Resource Center
Interested in learning more about how MarketSharp can help with today’s business disruption? Schedule a Discovery Call.