From the Trend Tracks Magazine...

Recently a carpet cleaner complained to me about his need for more customers. The strange thing about this complaint is that it came from an owner operator who had been in business for more than seven years. My response was: "What did you do with all of the customers you had?"

This cleaner's frustration is common in our industry. Many companies provide quality service at a reasonable price and are still struggling after years of working hard.

The key part missing from most of these companies' plans is a consistent follow-up system that creates loyal, repeat customers.

If you only focus on the immediate need to make the phone ring and how to get work now, it is easy to overlook the importance of staying in touch with your current customers.

Business success and profitability are achieved faster and easier when you establish a clientele of profitable repeat customers. An owner may initially sacrifice profit in exchange for expensive advertising in order to grow the business. But the key goal is to build up the number of loyal customers to the point where you can scale back on this advertising and keep more of the profit.

Focusing your attention on both growth and customer retention from the start will slash the time it takes you to become profitable in half!

The misconception of expected loyalty from customers

Many cleaners expect that a satisfied customer will automatically be a loyal customer, so that they don't think follow-up is necessary. Companies providing outstanding service are the most likely to believe this misconception. When customers regularly exclaim how fantastic your service is and that you provided the best service they have ever had, it is easy to think that customer is yours for life; to expect that they will be loyal and don't need follow-up. How could they ever consider using a different cleaning company?

The misconception results from overestimating the job's impact on the customer, and the ability of the customer to remember you in the future.

As an IICRC Instructor, I start my classes by asking the students what the consumer expects the cleaning results to be. The resounding answer from the class is that the consumer expects the carpets to look like new. If the consumer expects the carpet to look new, the best you can do is meet their expectations. Instead of being recognized as the miracle worker you truly are, the customer only sees you as someone who was finally able to do the job as expected.

Yes, you may have just performed a miracle restoring a totally trashed and abused carpet to an almost-new appearance. Yes, the customer is thrilled that you outperformed the previous four carpet cleaners. Unfortunately, they still don't truly appreciate what you have just accomplished. They don't understand how unusually good you are, but instead think the other cleaners were unusually poor.

At this point you have a customer who wants to be loyal to your company. You must help them with a challenge they might not be able to overcome on their own. To be loyal, they need your help finding your name and number when they need service in the future.

Are you making the mistake of assuming your customers are either extremely organized or have remarkable memory skills?

What's the chance that your customer will file your business card and invoice in a place that they can readily extract it in a year or two when they need your service? Some consumers are that organized but I wouldn't bet the success of my business on someone else's organizational skills.

You might be thinking, "surely the consumer will remember my company name and memorize my phone number". Again, do you really want to base your business success on their memory? When the time comes for the consumer to write you a check at the end of the job, what do they ask? " Who should I make the check out to?" You haven't even left the house and they can't remember your company name!

Your customers want to remember your company and use you next year, but they are dependent on you to help them out. It will be more profitable for you to use a follow-up system that makes it easier for them to find your information and to be loyal customers.

Four money making reasons to have a follow-up system

1. Customer retention will improve significantly. A mature company will see a 5 to 20 percent increase in work that would have been lost because the customer forgot your name or number. Don't let good customers slip through your fingers simply because they can't find you. It is generally accepted rule of thumb that it costs six times more to acquire a new customer than it does to properly follow-up with a satisfied past customer. New companies are at an even greater risk!
    
2. Customers have cleaning done more often. This is the greatest underestimated value of a follow-up system. Your customers intend to have you clean for them on a regular basis, but they forget how long it has been or don't know when it should be done again. Without a specific reminder, consumers can let cleaning slip from every 12 months to 18 months or more. To give you an example how significant this is, consider a company which produces an annual revenue of $100,000. If their repeat customers increased their frequency of cleaning from an average of every 18 months to every 17 months, their revenue would increase by almost $5,000 per year.
    
3. Customers provide more referrals. By staying in professional contact with your customers, you stay in their minds in a pleasant way. This makes it easier for them to refer you and keep your contact information easily available.
    
4. Customers will purchase more services. The more a customer is informed about and understands the different services you provide, the more they will purchase. A good follow-up system educates your customer about the value of restoring carpet protector or other services you provide, such as upholstery or tile and grout cleaning. It is wonderful, and a clear indication that your follow-up system is working, when the customer asks you about your extra services.

A simple and effective follow-up system

A follow-up system should be simple. Make it too complicated and you will be less likely to maintain it consistently.

In order of importance, here are the four elements of the follow-up system that every company should have:

1. Reminder card. This vital tool tells the customer it is time to call. It is a call to action. If you want your customers to schedule cleaning every 12 months, this should be sent out at the 11-month anniversary to give the customer time to schedule the cleaning appointment. The effectiveness of the reminder card is increased by including the date of their last cleaning. If the customer does not respond, additional reminder cards should be sent out every six months.
    
2. Refrigerator magnet. Leave a good quality company refrigerator magnet with the customer. This 70-cent investment will earn you a spot on the family refrigerator holding up the kids cherished artwork. Everyone in the family will know where the phone number for the carpet cleaner is located. You'll know the system is working when you return to a customer's house and see your reminder card stuck on the refrigerator with your company magnet.
    
3. Quarterly consumer newsletter. I recommend newsletters go out every three months. It's more realistic that you will consistently mail them, plus customers tend to stop reading the newsletters if you send them out more frequently. It is not a good investment of your time to create your own newsletter. There are many consumer newsletters available in our industry. The newsletter will be more effective if the articles relate to the services you provide rather than recipes, puzzles, or other trivia.
    
4. Thank You card. Send out a thank you card in an invitation envelope (not a postcard or a letter) within a week of completing the job . Make sure the message is a pure thank you . This is not the time to sell more or ask for referrals. This simple courtesy makes a big impact. It is rare for people to receive a thank you card from a service provider. Your company will stand out, not only from other carpet cleaners but from other service companies. This sends the message that you are looking to establish a long term-relationship with your customer.

This simple follow-up system will have a major impact on your success. Don't let your business success depend on the organizational and memory skills of your customers. Increase customer retention, referrals, job size, and frequency with a small investment on your part. Don't let perfectly satisfied customers slip through your fingers just because you didn't stay in touch. If you start an effective follow-up system, you will need fewer new customers and be profitable sooner.