Strong customer service is vital for delighting clients, increasing word-of-mouth referrals and retaining loyal customers, but do you have the systems in place to ensure you’re working in the way that potential customers expect?
Aged between 26 and 41, millennials are tech natives who have grown up with technology at their fingertips for everything, and they’re your next generation of customers. With a tech-first approach to all areas of their lives, these potential customers expect their tradespeople to make their project more transparent and easier for them through the use of technology.
They are also investing in their homes, with millennials’ spend on home renovations surpassing older generations, who historically reflected higher median spend, with a 70% jump in 2020 (£17,000 versus £10,000 in 2019), according to Houzz research.
Andrew Small, Managing Director for leading home renovation and design platform Houzz.co.uk shares tips on how you can leverage technology to elevate your client management techniques and market yourself to this tech native demographic, with these low maintenance yet high-touch strategies…
Deliver smooth communication
Clear communication is vital for a successful renovation project. In fact when surveyed, the professional users on Houzz tell us that miscommunication and misunderstandings are often the root cause of frustrations. Similarly, in our research, homeowners stated that communication was the number one deciding factor when choosing to hire a tradesperson.
With Houzz Pro, you’re able to deliver a streamlined communication experience, where all interactions are stored centrally, helping to avoid misunderstandings as there is a record of what has been agreed. And with the personal project dashboard, clients can access all the information about their project at any time, from any device, helping them to feel part of the process.
Use tech as a selling tool
Winning a project is as much about selling your design as it is about selling yourself. Potential clients will also be evaluating your processes and how easy it will be to work with you. Impress them with tools that make their life easier and help to alleviate any concerns they may have.
Visualising the finished project can be difficult for the client, which mat prevent them going ahead and investing the money, with the Houzz Pro 3D Floor Planner, you can help your clients envision how a space will look and feel and align on important project decisions early in the process.
Manage (and exceed) expectations
For many customers, this is likely to be the first time they’ve undergone a project, and they won’t know what to expect. As the experienced one, it’s your job to inform them about what will happen, ensure they have realistic expectations and help them to understand the timeline.
It’s also important when working in someone’s home to be respectful of their space and let them know what will be happening and who will be there. The Timeline feature on Houzz Pro lets you create and share a visual timeline that helps the homeowner understand the stages of the process, which they can access online. By doing so, you’ve not only set an expectation, you’ve probably exceeded it. These are the things people remember and tell others about.
Provide financial clarity
A home renovation project is a deeply personal investment for a homeowner and not just financially, they are also investing their time, personal space and trust in you. A recent Houzz survey found for one in five renovators, lack of financial transparency was a challenge in their recent projects. By being up front and clear about costs, the impact changes have on the budget and when payments are due, you’ll ensure that there are no surprises for the homeowner. It’ll also give you the reassurance that payments will be made in full and on time.
Remember: When they win, you win
By incorporating all of these points as a fundamental part of your day to day, not only are you delighting your clients and helping to attract new ones, you’re also building transparency and trust into your core business operations and mitigating any risk from miscommunication or misunderstandings, which all lead to a better bottom line. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
Over 1,400 decorators have already created a profile on Houzz.co.uk, where consumers, interior designers and other trades can then link up or request their services. Simply visit www.houzz.co.uk/getStartedPro and sign up today – It’s free!
