Why Repeat Customers are Your Home Services Company’s Most Valuable Resource

Repeat buyers are one of your most valuable resources as a home services business. While it’s tempting to focus on building your customer base and reaching new people, you’ll find that your marketing dollars go much further when they’re focused on customers who are already familiar with your brand. By simply increasing customer retention a mere 5%, your home services business’ profitability can increase by an average of 75% or more. You can’t afford to overlook the value of your brand’s most loyal and engaged customers.

Read on to learn more about the benefits of focusing on customer retention as a core metric and how increasing Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) can increase the profitability of your home services business.

Organic Brand Ambassadors

Over 80% of customers in the United States have at least one brand that they’re loyal to. Customers tend to maintain strong loyalty to brands that treat them well. A whopping 81% of customers will make a repeat purchase if they get great service from their first point of contact with a brand.

When brands focus their customer service efforts on treating existing customers well, they’re making an indirect marketing investment in these individuals. Satisfied customers will champion your brand to friends, relatives and neighbors via word-of-mouth and online reviews. Ninety-two percent of consumers trust a recommendation from someone they know personally, and 88% trust online reviews about a company as much as they would a personal referral. Invest in current customers and get those recommendations out there.

Your Most Reliable Buyers

Though repeat purchasers account for just 8% of online visitors, these shoppers are responsible for 41% of revenue. This percentage increases in difficult economic times. The small percentage of visitors who are already familiar with your brand are far more likely to convert to a sale than new leads, so make sure you’re not leaving them out in the cold. While new customer promotions have their place, include plenty of offers that cater to repeat buyers as well.

The average revenue per visit increases with a customer’s familiarity with your brand. Not only does it cost significantly more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing customer, studies have show that, on average, existing customers have a 67% higher order value than new customers.

More Affordable Marketing Opportunities

Marketing to existing customers is far more affordable than reaching out to new leads. Acquiring a new customer costs 5 to 25 times more than retaining an existing one. Your marketing campaigns are also far more effective with current customers. You’ll enjoy a 60 to 70% success rate selling your products and services to existing customers versus just a 5 to 20% selling rate for new customers.

The bottom line? Don’t overlook your current customers. Increasing share-of-wallet from an existing customerbase is a great play for home services business, and it’s one of the major steps on the path to growing your revenue in a major way.

Get More Repeat Customers for Your Home Services Business

This is all good in theory, but how can you get more repeat customers for your home services business? Here are five quick, actionable tips that should get things going in the right direction for your business:

1. Provide excellent service: The best way to retain customers is by providing top-notch service. Make sure you go above and beyond to meet their expectations, and always leave them satisfied with the work you’ve done. This will ensure they remember you for their next project and recommend you to others.
2. Build more value into your maintenance plans: Instead of simply offering a maintenance plan, focus on building more value into it and more face-to-face touchpoints with your customers. Consider including additional services, such as annual inspections or priority scheduling for emergencies. You could also offer discounts on future services or special deals on equipment upgrades. By providing more benefits and showing your customers the value of your maintenance plan, they will be more likely to continue using your services and recommend you to others.
3. Use Marketing to stay in touch and remain top-of-mind: Stay in contact with your customers through email newsletters, direct mail and postcards, or other marketing materials. You can also use social media to keep them informed of your latest services and specials. Make sure to remind them about the value of their maintenance plan and ask for feedback about their experience. Without these touchpoints, your customer is less likely to stay engaged with your company and renew their contract when the time comes.
4. Offer referrals and incentives: Encourage your existing customers to refer their friends and family to your business by offering referral incentives. This could be a discount on their next service call or a free service or product. This will not only keep your customers coming back, but it can also bring in new business. By putting a strong referral marketing program into place, you can increase word-of-mouth advocacy by up to 10x in your local service area.
5. Provide personalized service: Personalize your service to each customer by remembering their preferences and specific needs. Keep detailed records of their past service and make recommendations for future maintenance based on their history. By showing them that you care about their specific needs, they will be more likely to return and continue to use your services.

Without regular touchpoints and a customer retention marketing strategy in place, it’s very easy to lose these potential brand advocates to other competitors in your marketplace.

Transform One-Time Customers into Lifetime Advocates

Mediagistic offers well-rounded marketing strategies for maximizing your current customer database and catering to established customers. We’ll help you maintain customer loyalty and remain top-of-mind with your existing customerbase while also helping you to find opportunities to grow your business through acquiring new customer. Get in touch with our expert marketing team today to learn more about how we can help.

Sydney Gagnon is an Account Development Manager based in Tampa, FL. She excels at interpersonal communication and loves building relationships with her customers so she can help their businesses grow. Sydney played Division I women’s lacrosse at Virginia Tech, where she also earned her Bachelor’s degree in Multimedia Journalism and Professional/Technical Writing. Connect with her on Linkedin.

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