Upcycle Your Painting Company’s Customers
April 27, 2018
Have you ever heard of upcycling? Upcycling is a combination of recycling and upgrading – taking old items and turning them into something even more valuable or interesting than the original item. Here’s one example: a teacher who uses old paint swatches to help kids discuss what they’ve learned in class.
Successful painting contractors upcycle their customers! They work hard to upcycle their customers into fans, and then turn fans into advocates – customers who refer other people to your business constantly. How do you build a business around upcycling customers?
- Do a Great Job
The first part of upcycling customers is the easiest, because you’re probably already doing it. You have to do great work. This is about more than painting – it’s about how easy you are to work with, how comfortable customers are around your painters, how hard you work to make things right if there’s a mistake or mix-up. It’s about the customer’s overall experience with your company. If customers don’t feel like they found an unusually great painting contractor, they aren’t likely to turn into fans.
- Let Customers Know That They Matter
Customers that don’t run a business themselves have no idea how important they are to your business. Customers have the potential to be walking, talking, free marketing that would otherwise cost your business thousands of dollars. Their referrals (and their referrals’ referrals) can turn a single painting job into a never-ending stream of profitable work for your company. Their five-star online reviews can raise your search rankings, and can make customers that find you online feel much more comfortable calling you for a quote instead of other competing painting contractors.
If customers tell you that you’ve done a great job, tell them all of this! People are bombarded by requests for five star reviews – you can’t even get out of the Taco Bell parking lot without a discussion about how you can leave a review for a chance to win $500. But all of those people are reading from a script, and they really don’t care whether you fill out a survey or not.
If a customer appreciates the work you’ve done, and you make it clear that you’d really appreciate the review, there’s a good chance they’ll give you one. The same goes with referrals – even if they won’t give names to you, they’re probably willing to mention you to a friend who’s looking for a painter.
- Thank Them For Their Help
When customers do become advocates, it’s important to tell them you appreciate it. That lets them know that it really does matter to you when they go out of their way to help you. Once they know that, they might do it again and again.
Learn who your advocates are. If someone leaves your painting business an online review, see if you can figure out who it is. When someone calls you, ask where they heard about you. And most importantly, make sure you never give these people or their referrals a reason to look elsewhere for painting work. They’ve staked their own reputations on recommending your business, and they’ll continue to do it as long as it makes them look good!
To learn more about how ProPainter Websites will help you earn new business, call us at 855-385-1134 or email us at Team_PPW@ProPainterWebsites.com.
