A recent survey has suggested that 80% of customers online will check out the reviews before they decide to buy a product or commit to using a service. That’s important because it means if there’s an issue with the reviews for your business, then it could lead to you losing a lot of potential customers. This might even be the reason why your plumbing company is struggling to make the profits that you hoped for when you opened up shop. To tackle this issue, you need to explore why your plumbing company is getting negative reviews. More often than not, this occurs because your company is falling down in key areas and customers want to see improvements.
Believe it or not, clients don’t tend to leave bad reviews out of spite. Either they feel like they have received a low-quality service, they think they have been treated unfairly, or they want to provide your business with criticism so that you can improve. A lot of businesses shy away from reviews hoping they will go away. Instead, you should be using them as a tool and a way to move forward with your company.
Let’s take a look at some of the key issues that customers might have focused on in their reviews for your service and the right steps forward that you should consider.
Efficiency
One of the first elements that you should focus on is the levels of efficiency in your business model. When a customer contacts a plumber, it’s usually due to an issue that they need to resolve as quickly as possible. This could be a problem with a blocked toilet or a system in their home that has stopped working completely. If you are providing your solution to commercial clients, then a plumbing issue could mean that they are forced to close their doors due to health and safety. That’s why it’s essential that you can offer them a rapid solution and this should start from the first point of contact.
Even as a local service business, you need to have a great website and this should be set up the right way. It needs to have a solid structure and ideally should follow the three-click rule. Essentially, a customer should never be more than three clicks away from what they’re looking for on your business website. Correcting issues with the structure of your site can be complex and expensive. The good news is that there are shortcuts you can explore. For instance, you might want to think about installing a chat pop-up software on your website. This means that customers can immediately get the answers that they need and potentially connect with a member of your team.
Of course, this should just be the starting point when working to improve efficiency levels. You might also want to consider ensuring that your team members are working effectively and are always on task. One of the best ways to do this is by creating a work schedule using the available software. The right schedule will guarantee that jobs are completed on time, without delay, and to the right quality standards. You can have a work schedule for larger commercial projects to ensure that everyone completes their role.
It’s possible that if you are running a large plumbing company, then you will have multiple workers in the field at any given time. If that’s the case, then you should consider using a shared platform. The right platform will allow you to quickly track the work that your team members are completing and whether they are staying productive in the field. It will also allow you to manage different projects at the click of a button.
Peace Of Mind
A big question that you need to ask when you are working to improve your plumbing company for customers is whether you are giving them peace of mind. A major concern for customers is that they are going to be left out of pocket with your service. You need to show them that this won’t be the case. You can do this by ensuring that you have the right insurance coverage in place. That way if there is an issue that needs to be resolved you will be financially protected and so will your customers. Premiums can differ depending on the company that you choose so it is worth exploring a few different options here, before settling on the right one for your business.
Another way to provide peace of mind is to make sure that you are vetting and checking your team carefully. You need to ensure that there aren’t any red flags here in terms of safety and security. One of the best ways to do this is to use a recruitment manager. That way you can make sure that you only get the best people working in your business model. Don’t forget you can advertise that you have put these security measures in place and ensure that is a key point customers associate with your brand. You just need to guarantee that your customers feel secure when they choose your service and don’t end up double guessing themselves.
Transparency is another aspect to keep in mind here. Customers want to know exactly how much a plumbing solution is going to cost and that the price isn’t going to change in the long term. Often this is about ensuring that employees know how to interact with customers and ensure that they are being as clear as possible. While it’s important not to treat the clients as though they are stupid, team members will need to break down the jobs so they are easy to understand and make the cost as clear as possible.
Quality
Quality is a major factor that is always going to play into the reviews that you receive from customers. Are you delivering the level of quality that they expect from your company? If you’re not hitting the target here, then what can you do to change that? One thing to consider is the parts that you are using. Plumbing companies are always going to need to connect with a supplier to get the right parts. That’s true whether you’re fixing a valve or replacing a washer in a kitchen sink. It’s important that the parts you use are built to last. If you are worried about this, then you should check out the supplier you use carefully. Make sure to look at the reviews that they are receiving from other clients. Are they hitting the right marks? If not, then it’s worth shopping elsewhere even if it means paying a little extra.
Don’t forget that you also need to make sure that you can rely on the supplier to deliver the parts that you need on time. Customers aren’t likely to forgive you if they have to wait weeks or even months to get a crucial repair because you couldn’t source a key part for their system. Again, issues with turnaround time should be present if you check the reviews of the business in question.
The Right Price
Finally, it’s worth ensuring that you are providing your service at the right price to customers. If you don’t do this, then they are more likely to complain that they are either being ripped off or gouged by your company. You might think that with the economic situation the way it is, customers will forgive you for charging a higher price. However, this is not the case as they too are feeling the squeeze.
As such you need to make sure that you are checking the average costs on the market and make sure that you are matching them. If you can’t match them without putting your business under a considerable level of financial strain then you need to think about cutting costs in your company model. There are numerous ways that you can do this. For instance, you might want to think about using freelancers as part of your business team. The big benefit of freelancers is that you won’t have to provide them with any additional incentives as part of your business model. This is always going to make hiring them far more cost-effective.
Another way to cut the costs in your business model would be to go a little greener. You could have a fleet of vehicles as part of your plumbing company. It’s likely that you’ll be covering the cost of the fuel and while you can claim this as a tax deduction to an extent it could still be adding a lot of money to your budget. To deal with this, you should think about investing in hybrids. These are always going to provide a massive benefit and save you a large amount of money in the long term.
We hope this helps you understand the key improvements that you can make to deliver a better service to your clients. If you take these steps, you will be able to put your company in a far stronger position on the market and gain more support from a far larger customer base.
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