When you’re running a small business selling goods and services or you’re a Realtor facilitating the buying and selling of homes, getting a new customer is a good feeling. It means your marketing, whether it be word of mouth, a local advertisement, or social media posts, are working. So, as a good business person, you provide them with your highest quality of goods and services. They, in turn, pay you for them. You yield a profit. That’s it, right? Actually, it isn’t.
It’s easy enough to get a new customer especially when you have a service that’s very specialized or very in demand. When your service or goods fall into the latter category, you have to be more proactive. Just because something is very much in demand today doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow.
For this reason, it’s important to make sure your business stands out among other similar ones. Doing so doesn’t involve flashy signs or costly marketing campaigns. What it involves is showing you actually care about what you do and how you do it. Building confidence with first time customers is what turns them into returning customers.
So what can you do to build confidence from the moment you get the first call, message, or text? How can you maximize the chances of them turning from first time business to repeat business? Here are a few tips:
1. Be responsive: When someone calls, texts, messages, or emails you about your service, answer it. This may sound elementary, but it’s surprising how many times I have contacted someone about using their services, only to wait hours…or days until they respond. Lack of a prompt call or text back often conveys the sense that the business is doing some sort of favor by even existing. It may sound harsh, but it’s true. Businesses exist to provide something. Customers pay money for that something.
Takeaway: Don’t make it hard for people to give you their money.
2. Be communicative: If a customers contacts you, “yes” and “no” answers aren’t sufficient. When asked, “Do you trim and dispose of large branches?,” a “yes” is a true answer, but does it really sell you or your service. A communicative response looks more like: “Yes, we provide everything from trimming services to full tree removal. All of our services include clean-up and disposal.” This type of response also likely answers their next few questions and saves everyone time. Communicativeness also extends to scheduling and performance of work, but we’ll cover that in the next section.
Takeaway: Speak clearly and in a manner that gives the customer an initial sense of confidence in you, your knowledge, and your service.
3. Be punctual: This should be a very simple thing to do. If you tell a customer you’re going to be at their home at 8:00 am, you should be there by 7:55 am. If you’re going to be there exactly at 8:00 am, text or call and let them know you’re almost there. If you are running behind because of another job, calling or texting that information along with an apology in advance goes a long way. Yes, they may not be happy you’re running behind, but if you provide a service that can run longer than expected at least the next customer knows that you’re committed to doing the job well, the first time. The absolute worst thing you can do is not let someone know you won’t be there at all. Not only will the customer likely not give you another chance, they’ll tell at least five other potential customers who will never give you a chance either.
Takeaway: Punctuality and communicativeness go hand in hand. Be both, as often as humanly possible.
4. Leverage the technology: Actually, this is better expressed as “Don’t be afraid of the technology. Use it.” With the proliferation of social media platforms, small businesses have many free resources to advertise and increase awareness of their services and the brand they’re operated under. If you don’t have a Facebook page and an Instagram and TikTok account, you are missing out on opportunities. Just because you think it’s mundane, others may not. Have your business partner, employee, or even the customer record the final cut that sees a massive branch fall in ground-shaking fashion (at a safe distance of course). Take before and after photos of a century old oak tree that fell over after a major storm. The destruction versus cleaned up contrast is impactful to users. Think people won’t look at the photos or watch the tree felling video? People will watch it. Some people will “Like” it. Others will go so far as to share or repost it. Throw a few captions on and your logo on your video or photo and add some catchy music. Finally, add hashtags that will attract the demographic and audience you’re targeting. Include some that identify the city and state you’re in, too. The algorithms are real. Cumulatively, what do you have? That’s right. It’s a commercial. You made it and posted it for free, and your hashtags help spread the message to your target audience.
Takeaway: Work the technology, and the technology will work for you.
5. Do #1-4, again and again: As with developing any skill and achieving success through it, you have to be consistent. This means that you have to do the things explained in #1-4, here, or the approaches you’ve seen from similar articles across the web over and over…and over again. Just like a distance runner, your brain will develop muscle memory that makes the actions reflexive. You won’t even have to think about doing it. It will happen because it’s who you are and what you do.
Of course, one single post can’t list every tip and technique for growing your small business. As previously stated, this same concept applies to the real estate business. Your selling and buying abilities are your product, and as with any product, you have to sell them to the customer. Reading and implementing one or all that you’ve read here or in the multitude of other posts with similar focus, across the internet, can help you and your business go from surviving to thriving. As always, it all comes down to the time and effort you’re willing to put into it.
