Feb 20, 2023 How to Turn a Customer Into a Brand Evangelist
What every business should really want are brand evangelists that are so happy with your product or service, that they tell everyone and send customers to your door. So how can you turn a customer into a brand evangelist? It starts with knowing what your customers really want. You need to know what is the most important factor that will satisfy them.
For example, I did research reaching out to homeowners to determine what factors were most important to them in being satisfied with their contractor performing a renovation or construction project at their house. I asked them to rank in importance the quality of work, price paid (value), neatness, timeliness, quality of the materials, design, communication with the homeowner, among other factors. What would be most important to you? What do you think they said?
Overwhelmingly, they said that the most important factor was that they started when they said they would and completed the job when they said they would. Amazing! Most contractors think it is the price/value. For customers, those that were most satisfied, told all their friends and acquaintances about their contractor and why they should hire them. They went from being a customer to a brand evangelist!
In order to start and finish a job on time, contractors need accurate estimates and they need to be good at project management. Of course, a lot of contractors do not consistently develop an accurate estimate and they are often really poor at project management. They don’t accurately plan in the time for all the usual delays, especially when they need to coordinate different trades. Less scrupulous contractors take a deposit and provide an estimated start date even when they know they are seriously overbooked and then don’t show up as planned. Goodbye to a happy customer regardless to what happens next!
I would be remis if I did not point out that I work with contractors all the time to improve their estimating process, on project management and other matters including increasing profitability. For other industries, I can identify the most important satisfiers that will convert customers to brand evangelists. I then help them to delivery what is needed. I can help you too.
Bryan B Mason
Apollo Consulting Group, Newport, RI
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