by tradesmeninsights | Oct 20, 2010 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
We focus so much time and effort on making the sale that we sometimes forget about customer service if someone has a question or problem. Don’t let your customer service department be the weak link in the chain.
Most customers are repeat buyers, so you need to keep them happy. With the advent of social media, there are more ways that an unhappy customer can let the world know about a bad experience with your company. Here are a few things you can do:
- I’d suggest you go out and buy one of your own products and then go through the process of registering it for warranty and see how your system really works. Is it customer friendly?
- If you have repair centers, make a visit and see how they handle a warranty issue.
- Call your customer service deptartment and see how they handle a problem. And by the way, don’t be nice. See how they handle adversity.
You work so hard for the sale, let’s not forget about the next one. It’s a whole lot easier selling something to an existing customer than it is trying to get a new one.
by tradesmeninsights | Oct 14, 2010 | Marketing Tools, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Everyone knows that a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Can you imagine what a video is worth? Online video is growing at very fast pace (more than 24 hours worth of video is being uploaded every minute to YouTube). There were over 30 BILLION views over the past year. YouTube is only second to Google when it comes to search.
In other words, you need to seriously consider video as part of your overall marketing strategy especially.Viral videos are affordable to make and are one of the most effective tools you can use. Contractors and tradesmen want to see how things work. What makes your widget better than your competitors. Better yet, wouldn’t it be nice to have a customer say or show how great your product is. They are also great tools for training both sales and distributors. Here’s an example of a product demo from Arbortech that has helped them gain interest and decrease the selling cycle.
Plus, YouTube has metrics attached to it where you can see how many views, country of origin, where links are coming from and audience profile info.
Your website is also a great place to promote them as well or use Quick Response codes to push people from ads or packaging to more info. The key is, if you’re a manufacturer, don’t overlook videos as a viable marketing tool.
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 21, 2010 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing
Sometimes we get caught up in selling product and making quotas and we lose site of what we’re really selling. If we’re just selling widgets, we’d better have one no one else has. If not, why should someone buy from you?
Today we have a guest post from Alan Sipe, President and General Manager of Knipex LP in Chicago. Alan is a dear friend, an old client and knows a few things about selling high-priced hand tools. Alan will share some thoughts with you regarding Value Propositions.
A lot is written about the topic of presenting your company’s Value Proposition and surely you have passed this along to all the semi-professional golfers and lunch buyers in your sales department…haven’t you?
So how do you know if your sales team has read the articles, thought about and formulated a basic company Value Proposition statement to use in their daily sales calls?
Simple…grab the first sales team member that walks by your office door and ask this question:
- “If a customer were to say to you that generally our prices are a little higher overall than our competitors,” how would you reply to that statement specifically?
- Be quiet now and don’t help them with an answer.
- Do not let the salesperson ask you a whole bunch of qualifying questions!
- Have them answer that specific question.
Hopefully your salesperson will have a quick and precise answer like:
- We maintain heavy stocks on the inventory you need and buy from us.
- We deliver on time and packed correctly.
- Our invoices are correct the first time to save your accounting office time and money.
- We either have or have quick access to the product technical answers you need.
- I bring you new ideas and products to help you do your job better.
- We have the best repair shop in town.
- You can count on us to be here when you need us, we have been in business for XX years.
- And maybe even…We stuck by you with a good credit line when the business was tough.
If you get an answer like any of these, you have work to do:
- Let me go back and review your pricing.
- We give you the best prices we can.
- Our suppliers are raising their prices to us.
- Let me think about that and get back to you.
- What competitor is cutting their price?
- If I give you a 5% discount overall, would that help? (If you get this answer, you really have problems and give your team way too much pricing authority, but this is an article for another day)
Put on your sales manager’s hat, write down a list of your company’s Value Propositions and make sure your sales team can rattle them off quickly and with conviction. Don’t be a sissy…make it happen!
What are your thoughts on Value Propositions? Does your company have one? Do you know what it is?
If you like this post, please share it with a friend.
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 15, 2010 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Today we have a guest post by Marc D. LeVine, Director of Social Media for Riaenjolie Inc, a web development company that specializes in websites for contractors and other tradespeople. If you’re a contractor, take a look at his tips to help improve your site.
Some people truly believe that for most local businesses engaging in Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging, etc.) it is a complete waste of time, and worse – it’s a waste of money. While this may be true for some small businesses, it is not true for all small businesses.
There is no question that computer challenged individuals probably won’t benefit much from social networking, primarily because they do not understand the technology – not because business opportunities do not exist for them. Others may be avoiding Social Media because they already have more business than they can handle and are stretched too thin trying to meet the demand for their services.
Andy Gaur, CEO of RiaEnjolie Inc., a New Jersey web page design company specializing in professional looking and affordable websites for Electricians and other trades people, is very well attuned to the world of traditional and Social Media Marketing for business. “It is much better to be preparing a well conceived and comprehensive marketing plan and getting ready to use an appropriate mix of outreach strategies rather than just sticking with just one or two strategies that have not worked very well for Electricians and others in the trades,” says Gaur. “If you don’t jump on different things – like Social Media – that show promise, you may end up in a struggle to retain your current customers and fail to gain new ones that are unaware of your business and what you can offer them in quality workmanship and affordable pricing.”
The reality is that while there may be a few good reasons for not engaging in Social Media, there may be many more convincing arguments as to why all small businesses should be involved on the Internet.
Local Business People Need Local Business Solutions
Residential Electricians, in particular, do the majority of their work close to home. Homeowners usually seek out electricians and plumbers that do business within or near to their community. If there is an emergency, they want help to come from nearby and as soon as possible. Customers also prefer to engage local trades people recommended to them by their neighbors and friends or from right out of the local listings – often found on the Web.
In order to be easily found, small businesses need to show up in search results for keyword phrases that include a geographic modifier and their services and/or products. An Electrician in Brooklyn, NY needs to show up in search results for “electrician Brooklyn NY or “residential electrician Borough Park,” etc. They can easily do this without ever once engaging in a social networking activity.
When it comes to Social Media, local businesses should be spending their time on geo-targeted social networks like Google Buzz, Google local search and Foursquare. Maybe Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn aren’t for them, but these geo local sites are just what the doctor ordered.
Here is how geo local Internet searching can be of benefit to almost any small business, including electricians. If your small business has done all it can to be easily found, your target customers “land” right on your website and can see your phone number, front and center. If your website is all that it needs to be, they will pick up the phone and call you to come make electrical repairs in their home.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning for how your business will be found on the Web by your local customers:
1. Be Sure to Use Local Keywords. Your customers will look for you by city and state, first. They need to be prominent among your keywords and accompany other keywords that are specific to what you do for a living that you also offer your customers to solve their problems.
2. Pay Attention to Local Google Maps. They offer some great tips on local searching. And, having these maps appear right on your website when potential customers are trying to figure out exactly where you are located in relation to their own homes is a great tool and benefit.
3. Choose Authoritative Directories for Inclusion. Submit your website to the better known “authoritative” directories such as Yahoo! Directory. Look for other quality directories on which to post your URL so as to earn enough link equity to rank you ahead of your competitors, especially in the more general directories (re: searching for electricians).
You Can Ignore Social Media, but Not the Internet
Looking for other reasons why electricians and other small businesses need to pay attention to the Internet, if not actively participate in social networking? Your business may be getting bad ratings and reviews from service reviewers and customers. You could possibly be losing business and not know why. You may not even have an opportunity to answer the critics as they continue to throw bricks at you in front of hundreds or thousands of potential customers searching for reviews on your service.
Listen to What Others are Saying about You and Your Business
One thing every small company should do on the Internet is to listen to what others are saying about you – good, bad and awful. Connect with your current customers as well as your potential ones. Be available to answer their questions and to give your advice. Be there to answer their criticisms and address their concerns. You get a lot of mileage by showing everyone that you care and always respond in an honest and truthful way – even when the news may not be what they want to hear. People respect that kind of attention.
When People See That You Know Your Stuff, They Know Who to Call
Respect also comes with being perceived as a subject matter expert (SME). If you are the local electrician – show your target audience what you know as an experienced tradesman. Create a blog and offer some basic tips free and with no strings attached. Share “how-to” solutions and let people know about preventive measures that can save them money and worry. This is the sort of attitude that earns praise and future business opportunities.
You Don’t Need to Get In Over Your Head When You Make the Right Choices
If it sounds like I have gotten you to stick your big toe in the Social Media waters, I may have. But realize that what I have shown you does not involve constant Facebook updating or daily “Tweeting.” My recommendations are directed at being found and being respected, more than they are about engaging in a full range of conversational activities in social networking.
Spend the Bulk of Your Attention and Your Resources on Your Website
______________________________________________________________________________
Sample navigation of a typical Electrician’s Website
Home | About Us | Ethics & Value | Guarantee | Safety Tips | FAQs | Glossary | Jobs | Useful Links | Contact Us | Directions
Services
Residential Voice & Data Cabling | Hot Tubs & Spa | Ceiling Fans & Attic | Emergency & Back up Systems | Panels & Wiring | Rewiring | Landscape & Outdoor Lighting | Inspections | Telephone & Computer/Network Cabling | Surge Protection | Basement Development | Knob & Tube Removal | Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling | Recessed Lighting | Troubleshooting | Smoke Alarm/Detector Services – Commercial
Service Upgrades | Commercial Kitchen Design & Maintenance | Parking Lot Lighting | GFCI Installation & Replacement | Retail Interiors & Ballast Replacement | Aerial Maintenance & Installation | Infra-red Testing | Infra-red Testing | Track Lighting | Telecommunications | Recessed Lighting | Hazardous Locations ______________________________________________________________________________
The one place that you should invest yourself in – to a larger degree than anywhere else we have discussed – is your website. If you are going to be easily found on the Internet, it is your website that will appear ahead of your name, your address and your reputation. If your website does not look professional at first glance, most people will abandon it before ever reading on to determine your suitability as an electrician.
So take a look at your website and ask yourself the following questions about it?
Does Your Website Pass This Test?
1. Is your website design aesthetically pleasing?
2. How intuitive is your website to navigate?
3. Does your website have a clear statement of PURPOSE near the top of its homepage?
4. Content is King. Is your website copy concisely written and richly informative?
5. Do you update your website content REGULARLY to keep it fresh?
6. Does your website have a “call to action” on every page for customers to respond to?
7. Does your website’s index page draw visitors further into its content and to where you display and sell your products and contract your services?
8. Is your website designed to encourage future visits (i.e. is there a newsletter; a tell-a-friend feature; a blog with an RSS button to subscribe with?)
Electricians, you can definitely “short circuit” the process of Social Media and still get the business results you are looking for. You need to be smart in the ways you employ the Internet in order to be easily found and then, to be able to impress your target audience when they land at your website for their very first time. If your website passes the effectiveness test and if you have done all your homework with regard to geo-search, you’ll be very pleased at the additional phone calls you’ll be getting from local customers looking for a good electrician.
We focus so much time and effort on making the sale that we sometimes forget about customer service if someone has a question or problem. Don’t let your customer service department be the weak link in the chain.
