Too much work on? Change your marketing mix
Turning work away is never ideal, and while there are many different ways to reduce the impact of exceptionally busy times, if these options aren't the right strategy for your company, then you could consider changing the mix of your marketing to focus more on 'on demand' services. This solution focuses on the steps that you take before you receive a phonecall or email from a customer.
Getting customers into your 'prospective customer channel' can be done in a variety of different ways. Your marketing mix could be one or more of the following:
- Advert in your local paper
- Traditional directory service
- Online directory
- Direct marketing (leaflets, etc)
- Word of mouth
- Website and contact forms
- On demand services
Generating too much work - choosing your marketing channels wisely
Without getting too detailed about the downsides of other marketing channels, it's safe to say that everything other than an 'on demand' service is not always efficient for the customer or your business. Each time you hang up the phone after declining to quote a customer, you're spending $20, $50 or even more and getting no payment or benefit. You're also wasting your business's precious time, and potentially damaging your company's reputation by not answering emails, web queries, returning phone calls etc.
How 'on demand' services are different
The idea behind Service Central was not only to offer customers a better way to locate businesses, it was also to cut down on the inefficiency that naturally exists in the trades business too. We know, as you do, that not every trades business is the same - each offers different specialities, range of service, and times of service. For example, one plumber might also do bathroom renovations but another might specialise in unblocking drains. On top of that, some businesses don't have the capacity to take on all of the jobs that come their way.
So we flipped it around, and let customers advertise their job, giving you the power to decide when you want the work and when you don't.
So if you've got too many customers, what solutions are there?
Many of our businesses operate with a mix of 'traditional' marketing and 'on demand' marketing. Traditional methods are not always bad, but on demand marketing solutions like Service Central allow you greater flexibility to choose when you want to work and what you want to do.
If you're struggling with too many customers and not enough time, you may want to make a shift towards 'on demand' marketing. If before you were investing 70% of your marketing dollars into traditional methods and 30% in your Service Central membership, and are declining 3 out of 10 customers before quote stage, there's a better way to spread your marketing budget around.
There are other solutions too
In my experience, one solution isn't enough for this problem. Usually it takes a combination of solutions to come right - and I've written about a few of the other options in the past.
- Keep your customer(and your sanity)
- Turning work away(and keeping a customer happy)
- Increasing your capacity
Talk to your Account Manager today about their recommendations for your business.
Or, if you're not yet a Service Central member, register your business on Service Central today.
