by Fred Brewer | Jul 30, 2018 | Client Tips
The thought of your #1 competitor may make you tense up, but if you can see past the red, there’s a lot you can learn about running a business and attracting more customers. Take some time to look over the competition and see what you can glean from them. What exactly can they teach you?
#1 What Your Target Customers Like & Don’t Like in a Company
We hope you’re already reading your own online reviews and responding to all of them (positive & negative), but there’s a lot to be learned from your competitors’ reviews as well.
What are their customers saying about them? What are the good things that come up again and again? The bad things? Use that information to identify what you could implement or focus more on to entice those customers to consider your business.
If your competitors’ customers always rave about how good their cleanup is, make your cleanup process and the lengths you go to to keep your customers’ homes clean a focal point on your website and in your marketing. If your competitors’ customers give low ratings because of poor scheduling experiences, make sure your scheduling process is easy and pleasant for each and every customer.
Listening to your competitors’ customers will give you insight into what to do more of and what not to do. And because very few business owners take the time to really reflect on what their customers are saying and implement change, you can count on your competitors to keep making the same mistakes in their business.
Well, let them make those mistakes while you learn from them! You’ll end up with a better business and happier, more loyal customers.
#2 How to Differentiate Yourself
Take a look at your top three competitors and make a list of their similarities and differences. Is there something they all do right? Something they all do wrong?
Spend some time thinking about how they look from the outside, how you compare, and what you could do to differentiate yourself from the pack. Use that in your marketing and on your website to make yourself stand out!
Note: You never want your customers to choose you solely because of price, so make sure that what you choose to focus on is not price-related. As a generalization, price-driven customers are not loyal, and what you want is loyal customers with high customer lifetime values.
#3 Just How Good You Need to Be
Many entrepreneurial minded people have a desire for things to be perfect. We want every little detail to be just right before launching a business, service, or product. But guess what? Your competitors can show you just how good you need to be, and spoiler alert, you don’t have to be perfect.
Look at your best competitors and make a list of things that are important in business — things like customer service, timeliness, cleanliness, and quality. Give each competitor a grade for each factor and figure out how they rate. Do they get a C for timeliness? Then you can start by making sure your timeliness score is a B or higher. Do they get a B for customer service? Then you’ve got to get your customer service up to an A.
Always strive to be your best and offer your best, but start by being better than your competition. Three in five Americans would try a new brand or company for a better service experience, so make sure you’re delivering a better customer experience than anyone else, and keep working to make it better and better.
Go Forth & Conquer
Some of the greatest secrets in life are learned through our successes and failures — but why not learn from those around us? Spend some time reflecting on and learning from the mistakes and successes of your competitors and you’ll reach your goals faster and with less hiccups. It’s a win-win for you and your company!
by Fred Brewer | Apr 30, 2018 | Client Tips
BrightLocal’s 2019 Local Consumer Review Survey revealed that visiting a business’s website is still the most common next step after reading positive reviews. So having a solid, high-converting website is still a must. Here are five other reasons why businesses of all sizes (even small) still need a website.
#1 No website = no chance of ranking organically or locally
Service businesses and small businesses typically serve their local communities, which means they need those in their local communities to be able to find them in search results. The problem is, businesses that rank high organically are more likely to show up in the Google local pack and map results, and without a website, your business can’t rank organically. If your business doesn’t show up when customers search for your services, how will they know you can help?
#2 Your website builds your credibility
One of the biggest hurdles service businesses and small businesses face is trust. Unlike larger, more established brands or businesses that don’t send people into the homes of their customers, you have to work to earn the trust of your potential customers and establish brand authority. How does a website help you do this? Studies show that consumers believe a ‘clear & smart’ website gives a business more credibility. More credibility means more trust, and more trust means more customers.
But your website doesn’t just build credibility with customers, your website is also the citation that Google trusts most for confirming your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). The more sure Google is of your NAP, the more confident they are showing you in search results.
#3 Your website is permanent and more controllable than your social media profiles
We all know social media platforms (especially Facebook) change more frequently than a teenage girl before her first date, and the reach and control you have with your social media profiles is impermanent to say the least. Your website, on the other hand, is the one place online where you have total control over the customer experience and the story you tell.
Some business owners believe that simply having a Facebook page for their business is enough, but what happens if the giant is ever slain? All those ‘likes’ are already mostly useless, but when you lose your only means of communicating with your customers and your only real platform for telling customers about you and your services, well, that’s no good. Don’t leave such an important thing in the hands of an external party whose sole purpose is to make more money (Sorry Facebook, but let’s be real).
#4 Your website acts as a main hub that potential customers can access 24/7
Sure, some consumers are only looking at reviews and doing less research on a business before making the call, but it’s still important that you provide all the extra information those customers who are researching want to know. Listing sites and social media profiles don’t give you the space or control to really say everything you may feel you need to say about your business and your services, while your website provides you somewhat limitless space and a somewhat limitless platform for introducing yourself and informing potential customers. Having all of the information and answers your customers might want in one place makes it easy for them to get a good idea of how you can help them and why they should consider choosing you over a competitor.
And since your website is up and running 24/7, your customers can get answers to their questions and research your business when it’s convenient for them, not just during the hours you’re open and answering phones.
#5 Your competitors have websites
Last but not least, the majority of your competitors will have websites, which means if you don’t have one, they have a major advantage. They have a chance of showing up in search results, answering the questions your potential customers have, and getting the call from customers you could be serving. Business is tough as is — don’t give your competition such a massive advantage.
For more info on marketing and your website, check out our dedicated website topic in our Resource Center!
by Fred Brewer | Mar 30, 2018 | Client Tips
SOPs or Standard Operating Procedures are defined by Merriam-Webster as:
Established or prescribed methods to be followed routinely for the performance of designed operations or in designated situations.
Doesn’t sound too exciting, but SOPs are definitely something to get excited about — especially once you have them in place.
Here’s why: They’re designed and adopted to make your life and the life of your employees easier, to give your customers more consistent service and results, and to give you more freedom and time. With SOPs in place, you can delegate and know that your team is capable and empowered to do the job just as you’d have done it yourself, without you having to do it yourself.
But you should never think of your SOPs as finished, think of them as living documents. They’ll play such an important role in the daily workings of your business that you’ll want to revisit them regularly to make sure they’re still as good and as useful as they can be.
Ok, so maybe you haven’t yet set aside the time to develop SOPs, even though it’s been on your list of things to do for the last year. Maybe you’ve had a million other things come up or maybe the process of developing SOPs seems daunting to you. Whatever your reason, there’s no better time than now. Yes, you may have to carve out time you don’t feel like you have, but developing and adopting SOPs can save you so much time in the long-run. So put in the effort up front and just know it’s going to pay off tenfold.
Ready to get started? Here’s your 5-Step Guide.
Step #1: Start By Breaking The Task Down
While creating an SOP can be complicated, it doesn’t have to be. Coming up with an SOP can be as simple as sitting down and listing the different steps you take when performing a task. For example, here’s one for how to make a quick and tasty burrito:
- Put an extra large tortilla on a plate.
- Evenly distribute shredded cheese along the center of the tortilla.
- Evenly distribute taco sauce.
- Add a half a cup to a full cup of black beans.
- Add a half a cup of rice.
- Throw in some jalapeños.
- Add fresh cilantro, if you’re into that sort of thing.
- Lift the long sides of the tortilla to center the ingredients.
- Fold in the sides of the tortilla.
- While holding the sides in, fold the side closest to you over the ingredients, tucking in the ingredients with the tortilla.
- Roll the burrito away from you to close it up.
- Put the burrito in the microwave for one minute.
- Brown the tortilla (about 30 seconds on each side) on a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add hot sauce to every bite.
- Love life.
Now, I know making a burrito is a lot less complicated than performing a technical job or a job that has step after step after step, but my point is that it’s doable and it doesn’t have to be such an overwhelming process. Just start with the basics and break it down into bite-sized chunks.
#2 Determine What’s Law & What Can Vary
Next, look at the list of steps you’ve come up with and determine which steps are 100% necessary and which ones can be up to personal preference or situation. Whatever is law, make it clear; wherever there’s flexibility in the process, identify it.
#3 Make Each Step Easy To Understand
In order to be effective, your SOPs need to be clear and concise. Ultimately, you want to be able to hand the SOP to a new employee and have them perform the task without needing clarification. So don’t use complicated language or lingo that someone coming in wouldn’t be able to understand and easily digest.
#4 Ask Your Employees For Input
Wherever you are in the SOP development stage, whether you’re just starting out or you’re revisiting, updating, or evaluating already established SOPs, inviting your employees to get involved is always a good call. And unfortunately, it’s also something many business owners forget or don’t think to do. Here are five reasons why you should involve your employees in the creation, development, and evaluation of your SOPs:
- Your employees bring insight to the process. Some business owners choose to stay out in the field while others work more on operations, but no matter which category you fall into, involving your employees in the development or evaluation of your SOPs can give you valuable insight into the way things are done or could be done better. Your employees know some of the processes and procedures you’re writing SOPs for well because they perform them every day — make use of their knowledge!
- It ensures clarity. Going through your SOPs and developing them with your employees helps ensure that the SOPs are clear to all on your team, not just to you. It’s amazing what we can sometimes take for granted as a given when we’ve done something for so many years, but by involving your employees in the process, you’ll know if you missed something or if some particular step needs more clarity or explanation.
- Your employees may know a better way. When you’ve done something one way for so long, it can become a thoughtless procedure that you do almost on autopilot. You’re not likely to try new ways of doing things, but the people on your team who may be newer to the job might. They may see ways that the system or procedure can be improved — but if you don’t ask them, you’ll never know.
- Your employees may see areas of waste that you missed. Just as your employees may see a different way of doing things, someone with a different perspective or who’s been in the business for longer or shorter may see ways that you could cut down on waste or save time on the job. Ask your team how they do things, why they do thing the way they do them, and where they think time and effort could be shaved off the process.
- Your employees will have more buy in. Sometimes SOPs can feel like a set of rules handed down by Moses on the mountain. But if you involve your employees every step of the way, as the SOPs are developed and updated, you’ll lessen the possibility that it will feel this way to your employees. Think about it: when you’re involved in the development of something and your opinion is valued and heard throughout the process, you’re more invested in the end result and more likely to adopt, right? It’s the same for your employees.
For the best results, lean on your employees.
#5 Try it out!
Alright, now take your SOP out for a spin. See if you can perform the task solely by running through the listed steps on your SOP. Look for gaps or missing steps, and adjust your SOP as needed. If no adjustments are necessary, make and distribute copies to your team or determine where you’re going to compile and keep your SOPs for easy reference.
Rinse and repeat until you have every possible process within your business down to a science.
Wait, I Don’t Have Any Employees — Are SOPs Really Still Necessary?
Here’s the thing about SOPs, even if you don’t have any employees, you should still have SOPs. Why? Well, who knows, you may end up hiring down the line, and with SOPs in place, you’ll have one less thing to worry about during the on-boarding process.
Having SOPs in place will also make your business more valuable should you choose to sell, because you’ll be selling your systems and the way you do things, rather than handing over something that’s worthless without you there to make the wheels turn.
So employees or no employees, make SOPs a priority for your business!
Pro Tip: If you don’t have a solid block of time to really knock them all out, schedule smaller blocks of time for SOP planning and development here and there — at the end of the workday while you sip a cold one or even on your phone’s notepad while you’re in the restroom — wherever and whenever, make it work. Who knows, you may even start to enjoy crafting SOPs, thinking of all the time and effort they’re going to save you and your employees over the years.
by Fred Brewer | Mar 15, 2018 | Client Tips
Thinking of launching a business or product? You’d be surprised how many vital steps get missed by the dreamers and schemers. You know what they say: love is blind. When you’re really attached to an idea, maybe even in love with it, there are things you overlook. Unfortunately, these can be pretty big things.
So if you’re thinking of launching a business or product, save yourself time, hassle, and frustration, and do these six things before you invest a ton of time and effort.
- Make sure there’s a market. You may be in love with your idea, but if there’s no market for it, it may be better left in your idea journal. Do some quick market research, ask around, do a Google search for similar products and businesses, and see if people want or need what you have to offer. Doing this upfront can save you a ton of time and money and keep you from investing your resources in something that’s not going to do well.
- Come up with a list of names. The name of your business or product is so important and will set the tone and give a first impression of your business. Choose wisely! We’re in the age of information overload. If your potential customer or consumer can’t glance at the name or see it in passing and know something about what the company or product is or what it does, they’re not going to go out of their way to investigate further. Your name should be easy to understand, convey something relevant, and pique the curiosity. If your name is something completely irrelevant or non-descriptive, even if you think it’s cute or catchy, it’s probably not going to be memorable or effective.
- Google the names you’ve come up with. There are few ‘creative’ and ‘unique’ business names in the home services industry. Whatever your industry, make sure you Google the name ideas you have before falling in love. If you’ve slapped your first name in front of the words “chimney services,” “plumbing services,” etc., you’d better be sure there isn’t a business in your area with a similar business name or you’ll have a whole host of nightmares once your business is launched.
- Check the availability of the domain name. Even if you’re not 100% sure which name you want to go with yet, go to godaddy.com and check the availability of the domain names for each of your ideas. If they’re available, buy them right then and there. If they’re not, scratch the names off your list unless you’re willing to pay top dollar to buy them from someone. Most available domain names cost around $12, and even if you’ve only whittled down your list to five and can’t make up your mind, the cost to buy all five domain names will be a lot less than the cost of wasted hours because you didn’t check the availability of the domain name before you fell in love and started branding.
- Check the availability of the social handles. Almost as important as the availability of the domain name for your new business or product is the availability of the social handles. Go to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. and make sure the handles for your new business or product idea are available. The last thing you want is to have inconsistency across your social platforms or some impossible to remember or figure out handle, all because you didn’t check to see if the one you wanted was taken on each of the major social platforms.
- Talk with others in your trusted circle. Remember our earlier conclusion: love is blind. When you’re in love with a product or business idea, you may miss things, important things — that’s why it’s a good idea to involve others early and get their input. Different people in different age groups with different perspectives who are less attached to the idea than you are may see things you don’t or think of things you overlook in the excitement. If you bring trusted people in early in the game, it will only save you time and frustration. After all, two heads (or three or four) are better than one.
Thinking of starting a service business? Ask yourself these 5 questions first…
by Fred Brewer | Feb 28, 2018 | Client Tips
During our last FAQ, we focused primarily on reviews, Maps, rankings, and PPC. This time, we’re going to answer some of the more “offline” questions. If you have any questions you’d like Chris to answer next time, please submit them in the comments section of this post!
#1 How Should I Handle Spam Calls?
The more you do with your online presence, the more spam calls you will get. The two most common calls (in our experience) are from people pretending to be Google and advertisers like Yelp, Angie’s List, and YP.
First, let’s talk about the “Google” calls. Google never cold calls anyone, other than to verify business information. If someone is asking about your ranking, wants you to give them information about your Google listing, or threatens that you’ll lose your Maps listing if you don’t ________, they are a scammer. You can hang up on these calls.
As far as advertisers go, the phone calls vary. Yelp tends to be the most tenacious, but they are not the only ones. With advertiser calls, if you aren’t interested in advertising, it’s best to simply tell them that it’s not in the budget right now, but that you’ll revisit the idea later. You don’t want to get angry with advertisers, as you often have a free listing on their site already and it’s not worth upsetting the applecart there.
Generally speaking, we don’t advise people to pay for advertising on individual directories, because the majority of search traffic comes from Google, and we don’t generally see a good enough ROI — but that’s a decision you have to make as the business owner. If a particular directory is very popular in your area, it may be worth it.
#2 What Can I Do To Boost Business In My Slow Season?
Seasonality varies from industry to industry, but let’s look at the chimney industry. Understandably, the early summer can be a very slow time for a chimney sweep. We recommend getting a handle on this by finding ways to reach your annual and repeat customers during this time.
Many sweeps find themselves booked out two, three, or even four weeks out when fall rolls around, and many customers don’t want to wait that long, so they end up calling a competitor who can get to them faster. Get ahead of this by offering discounts to existing clients who schedule their annual services earlier in the year. Forward scheduling is a great way to do this. When you finish at a customer’s house, see if you can get them on the books for an early time next year. Make sure it’s not a binding agreement and call to verify a month or so out. What you’ll find is that this helps get your repeat customers used to you being there during your off-season.
It’s a win/win:
- It works out better for your customer because you’re able to get to them quickly and at a reduced rate.
- It works out better for you because now you’ve freed up some time during your busy season for new customers, while also keeping income coming in during your slow season.
Another option may be to adopt an alternative service that’s big during your slow season. For a chimney company, that may be air duct cleaning or gutter work. Something that is more likely to be needed when you don’t have high demand for your other services. Like I said, this varies greatly from industry to industry, so you have to be creative and figure out what works best for you.
For more on what you can do to make the most of your slow season, check out “What You Can Do To Make Your Slower Season Your Most Productive One To Date.”
#3 How Do I Get My Business Name/Brand Out In The Community?
The key to getting your brand name out there is community involvement. You can sponsor youth sports teams, charity events, participate in festivals, form an office bowling team for a local bowling league, put together a BBQ team to compete at BBQ cook-offs, etc. Basically, be present in your community under your brand name. Being present at the events in your community goes a long way and it goes hand in hand with company culture.
Another possibility that often gets overlooked is scholarships. Offering scholarships is a great way to get your name out there, as many people from all walks of life have kids applying for scholarships.
Social media platforms can also be a great tool for building community presence and relationships, but you do need to educate yourself on the DOs and DON’Ts before diving in. No one likes to be sold to on Facebook 24/7, and learning how to properly use these tools can be the difference between bringing people in and driving them away.
For more on building your business offline, check out “4 Things You Should Be Doing Offline To Build Business Online.”
#4 IYO, Is It Worth Becoming BBB Accredited?
One thing worth mentioning is that you can have a rating on the BBB, regardless of whether or not you’re accredited. In other words, you could have an A+ rating, benefit from that, and tout that on your website, without accreditation.
That being said, many people hold the BBB with high regard and accreditation may hold a lot of weight with potential customers. When you become accredited, you agree to hold your business to certain ethics and practices, which ultimately, may make those using your services feel secure and confident they’ll receive service with integrity.
Long story short: you’ll need to decide for yourself whether or not it makes sense for your budget and business.
#5 How Can I Get More Referrals?
There are a lot of B2B groups out there that are worth joining: BNI, Chamber Events, etc. These organizations can help get you connected with a lot of other business owners who can refer you to their clients. Just remember that, when appropriate, you’ll want to refer people to them as well. As with many things in life, you get back what you give.
For word-of-mouth referrals, I always suggest some sort of perk or benefit if you get a new customer via a referral from a current customer — maybe the existing customer gets $25 off their next service and the new one gets $10 off. This is just an example, of course. There are lots of ways to make this work that make sense for your service and your business — so get creative!
No matter what type of benefit you decide to offer, remember that the single most important factor in getting word-of-mouth referrals is the WOW factor. Go above and beyond what the job requires and really WOW your customer. These are the things that will lead your customers to want to tell others about the amazing experience they had with you.
Lastly, never neglect customer service. Even if you do the job perfectly, a poor interaction with the person on site or on the phone can leave a bad taste in your customer’s mouth. Customer service is as large a part of your business as the work you’re doing — never let that fall by the wayside.
by Fred Brewer | Jan 15, 2018 | Client Tips
In the service business world, it can be easy to convince yourself it’s all about price. You have potential customers who end up going with whichever company quoted the lowest price and customers who abandon you when a Groupon pops up or an Amazon Prime day offers them a percentage off of Amazon Home Services. How can you compete and make a decent living when you’re being undercut on price left and right and that’s all customers seem to care about?
Offer more.
More? What do you mean more? I can’t afford to lose money on every job!
No, I’m not saying you should not charge for products or time, but there are some things you can do to add value for your customer that don’t cost you. Let’s look at some examples:
#1 Clean Up After Yourself
You may think it’s a given that service business crews and contractors clean up after themselves, but truthfully, it’s not. Simply by taking precautions to make sure your customer’s property and home stay clean throughout and that you leave no traces behind is a great way to add value without cutting into profits. It may take a little more time to put down drop cloths or vacuum up after a job, but it’s not going to take up your whole day. Just include a little buffer for cleanup in your appointment windows.
#2 Offer To Move Furniture
If you’re a house painter, a flooring guy, or you perform some other home service that may require the moving around of furniture, offer to do it for the customer if you’re physically capable of doing so. This can be an especially valuable service for the elderly and is just one way to make the job less stressful and less of a hassle for your customer.
#3 Go Ahead & Do Small Add-On Services That Don’t Take Much Time
Did your customer mention needing or wanting a small service performed sometime in the future? Offer to do it while you’re already there and have the products needed. If you’re a painter, this can be offering to go ahead and touch up baseboards while you’re in the home. If you’re a chimney sweep, this can be offering to go ahead and fix a damper that’s missing a pin. Offer to change out a light bulb that’s burned out or swap out an air filter. If you’re open minded and listen to your customer, you’ll likely find it easy to identify small ways you can add value and provide additional services without breaking the bank or wasting a lot of valuable time.
#4 Educate Your Customer
One thing you may take for granted as a service professional is your knowledge. You have years of experience and education in a field that most people know nothing about — sharing some of that knowledge can add value to your customer’s life. If you’re a chimney sweep, this may be educating your customer on the best tips for seasoning your wood or getting your fire started. If you’re a house painter, this may be letting your customer know that wiping down a painted wall (especially if it’s a darker color) can leave streaks if a wipeable paint is not used. If keeping their kids’ fingerprints off of their walls is something that’s important to them, recommend a paint product that’s made to be wiped down or washed. These small tips and suggestions can lead to happier customers, and all it takes is a little attention, listening, and sharing.
#5 Be On Time Or Call If You’re Going To Be Late
You might be amazed at how many service professionals are perpetually late and don’t take two seconds to call the next customer and let them know. Most customers will understand that things come up and schedules change, but if you don’t take the time to call and let your customer know you’re not going to make the agreed upon time, your customer will feel disrespected. Make every effort to be on time to each and every appointment — and when things don’t go according to plan, make the phone call, apologize, and let them know when they can expect you and that this isn’t the norm.
Value isn’t always about price, and the sooner you see the difference, the sooner your customers will. So get creative and look for ways to make your company the greatest value. Then, those cheaper options won’t even compare.
