Loyal Customers Are Key to Building an Alarm Company
Loyal customers are critical to a running a profitable alarm company. Not only do they give you a solid account base and steady RMR, they can be excellent referral sources for new customers.
How do you attract and keep loyal customers? Here are some tips:
The Sale is the Beginning, Not the End
Customer loyalty depends on what happens after the sale is closed. It may seem obvious, but the first step in building customer loyalty is delivering on the promises your sales team made to your new customers. The first step is making sure that your sales people are accurately representing your company’s services and capabilities. Then deliver on those promises. Meet deadlines, communicate openly and consistently with your customers, and own up to – and fix – mistakes ASAP. Going above and beyond what you’ve promised is great for building customer loyalty but only once you’ve provided the basics of your sales promise.
Customers Are People Too
Yes, RMR is the gold standard for the alarm industry. But behind every dollar of RMR is a real homeowner or business owner with real problems and concerns. Treating your customers like people, not sources of revenue, makes them feel valued – and at little or no cost to you. Honesty and sincerity lead to trust and loyalty. So while standard operating procedures are important for maximizing your revenue and minimizing your costs (Read: Standard Opportunistic Procedures), scripting all customer interactions comes off as insincere and impersonal. Hire great employees and give them clear guidelines and procedures. Then allow them to have dialogues, not one-sided conversations, when customers call for help. Empower them to offer individual solutions for problems wherever feasible.
Preach to the Choir
Your existing customers can be your biggest fans – and your brand ambassadors – but only if they are well informed. Take the time to provide your customers with good information about your company and its services on a regular basis. An educated customer is a good customer – one who might be willing to upgrade to new products and services (and generate more RMR) and who is willing and able to recommend you to new customers. Regular communications with your customers that address issues that concern them – and your solutions to those issues – is an authentic, low-pressure way of building an informed, loyal customer base.
Be Good to Your Loyal Customers and They Will Be Good to You
Providing a great service and great value to your customers is the minimum that customers expect. To incentivize new customers and acknowledge existing customers, consider a program that rewards loyalty, whether it’s with a small gift or discounts on new services or products. Taking a personal approach with a core group of your best or most long-standing customers can also cement those important relationships and help generate referrals, at a cost of only a few extra dollars or moments of your employees’ time. Send along articles of interest, call just to check in or consider having a special event for long-standing clients, not as a sales pitch, just as a thank you for their support and then reap the rewards.