The team at Rated People offer some top tips to help you fill up your work diary in 2018.
Just as there’s no such thing as a typical customer, we know there’s no such thing as a typical tradesperson. You might have run your own business for years, or be new to the game.
Whichever stage you’re at, the one thing we hear time again is that tradespeople want more customers. So how you can turn the dial up, win more work and earn more money?
Be visible online
Homeowners will often do online research before they hire someone for their projects. If they can’t easily find information about your business, they’re likely to consider a different tradesperson for the work. It’s important that you have an online presence to establish your credibility and reassure homeowners that you can be trusted to bring their own home improvement projects to life, or complete maintenance work to their satisfaction.
Online reviews should play a key part in your online presence, showing that other homeowners have used your services and had positive experiences. Around 88% of consumers say that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, so making sure you’ve carved out a space online to collect regular reviews from your customers has never been more important.
At Rated People, we give all tradespeople their own Google-friendly profile page which can either act as the focus of their internet presence or complement their own websites. These profiles are updated every time a homeowner leaves them a review, meaning their online presence is always as up-to-date as it can be and not reliant on tradespeople taking time out to upload a testimonial that they’ve received.
Practice great customer service
When it comes to making a good impression and ensuring that a customer is happy to recommend you to others, the way you conduct yourself is key. You may have built them a fantastic shed but they’re unlikely to spread the word if they don’t feel you’ve been friendly and helpful. Anything you can do to make a homeowner feel at ease will also play an important role in securing repeat business from them.
Dressing in branded clothes, being crystal clear in your communications and checking in with customers afterwards are all great ways to improve the overall customer experience.
Embrace technology
The right technology can save you money and help you get through routine jobs faster. Make use of software to create a database of customers and include dates of when you completed work for them. This way you’ll know if and when it’s a good time to contact them and see if they’d like more work done. No matter your trade, it’s far easier (and cheaper) to keep an existing customer base than obtain a completely new one. To free up your time, invoice management software can mean you spend less time doing admin and leave you with more time to spend on finding more work and improving your online visibility.
To find out how Rated People can help you build your reputation online and find work visit: www.ratedpeople.com
