Sep 27thWhy it’s important to listen to your customers.

Part 1 “Ideas to grow your concrete raising business.”

Have you ever asked your customers how your service is? They may offer insight that you didn’t know of or offer ways you could improve your service.  Understanding your customer’s thoughts on your job can create a personal connection between your business and them which can generate more business and more money. Consider asking customers how their experience was or if they would change anything. It also shows the customer that you care about the quality of work you do and also that you value their opinion.  Raising concrete back up is amazing!  The more impressed they are with the process and your service, the more likely they will be to tell more friends, family and neighbors.   In the concrete raising industry referrals can be one of the best ways to grow your business.  When they call for a lead, during scheduling or even a follow up call, do not forget to ask them for referrals.

How was your experience with our service?

You don’t  know unless you ask. Measure what you hear and find out if there is trend in your customer’s feedback. Positive feedback will help you spread the word that you are doing a great job and you can tell other customers how satisfied your customers experience is. Negative feedback can provide information about employee’s performances, mechanical issues or attention too detail that need to be addressed. It also provides insight into the customer’s eyes and perception of your business.

Keep in mind that people are expressing their opinions not only by word of mouth but on multiple social media platforms reaching many more people.  REMEMBER people are more willing to share a poor job done or customer experience rather than a positive, emphasizing the importance of a job well done! It is important to cultivate positive feedback, but to also embrace negative feedback.  As your customers to post comments or reviews, but when something turns negative the best way to handle the comment is basic Customer Service 101.  Be empathetic, apologetic and never forget Rule #1, the customer is always right.  Correctly addressing a negative comment can be more impactful then never getting a comment at all.

What should I pay attention too?

If you measure your customer satisfaction levels you can compare it to how busy your concrete raising business is. You can also use that information to predict how busy you will be in the future. Do you need to improve something or can you expand your business?  For example, if you have a lot of customers complaining about hole size after a mudjacking job, it may be time to look into polyurethane concrete raising.  If customers complain about you taking too long to complete their work, this could be an excellent opportunity to start another crew and grow.

It also may be important to ask customers about what they least liked about your service or how you could improve it. Not to open a can of worms, but it is a way to get important feedback. More or less, the answer might be that your prices are too high, it took too long to estimate or complete the work. Again good feedback to justify growing your business or taking a hard look at your business practices and how to improve them. Don’t worry, you may not need to change your prices but improve your quality of service and prove you are worth every cent.

How did you hear about us?

This is a great question to ask to all your customers. This will not only help you realize your biggest driving source of revenue, but illustrate where you should spend advertising money and what areas  of contact you should focus on.

In conclusion, the customer is the most important thing to your concrete raising business. They are the ones who pay you, recommend you to others, and share their overall experience with family and friends.  Better yet ask them to share their great experience with others!

We at HMI are always open to answer any of your questions and comments.