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B Research Question: I thought I would go right to the source on this one. I am considering the concept of creating an organization that performs the customer service function for small/med sized contracting firms.
As a consumer of trade services, I have been amazed at how much income ethically and technically strong contractors must forego (in terms of referal biz) because the customer service function is not given the proper attention. Of course, there are those, I’m sure, who never will provide the attention necessary. As in any business, these people probably won’t be around long and certainly won’t survive a significant economic downturn. Rather, I refer to those contractors who are sensitive to the power of “service excellence” but are stretched so thin in terms of time/resources that the customer service just doesn’t get done.
While I have no direct experience in the trades, I do have 16+ years of experience in the area of customer/client sales and service (within the financial services industry–also a very competitive marketplace). So, in terms of meeting/exceeding customer expectations, I have quite a bit of successful experience that can (I am thinking) add real value to a small/med contractor’s efforts.
My thought is to allow the contractor client to take advantage of the economies of scale that I might offer in terms of customer service/satisfaction. By allowing a customer service dept to handle less technical questions (scheduling, sales follow up, direct response marketing, customer satisfaction calls throughout the job process, follow up with client during the warranty period, ensuring that punch lists are followed up on and….most importantly…..extracting quality referals,etc), the management team can concentrate on running and bidding jobs with more focus. These services would be provided by customer service reps (CSR’s) with either a construction background or with training that will provide them with a fundamental understanding of your biz and how it is run. The fee structure could be such that a) the contractor pays a flat monthly fee to cover all jobs or b)customer service is contracted on a “per job” basis. In either case, the fee would be a fraction of the cost necessary to bring a well-trained CSR/Dept in house.
In the spirit of 1. helping the contractor do more profitable work and 2. giving the consumer not only quality workmanship, but an unexpectedly pleasant customer service experience, I would appreciate your feedback on this entrepreneurial idea. I hope I have not offended anyone by posting this idea (a “long winded” one, at that) to your message board. Thank you.
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Steve,
You have pinpointed a weakness in the residental housing market, but where are you going to find the multi-skilled tradesman needed to do orderly, clean warranty work and at what cost?
*When a client buys a proposal from a contractor to perform a project/job it is generally based on that contractors reputation, exposure to other satisfied customers thru referrals and, in no small measure, trust in that contractor. What would the client want to have you on the job for when they are buying the contractor? And where is the value to the contractor when he would already have direct access to the nessessary skilled labor already familiar with the client and the job? Maybe as a marketing vehical there is potential, but in my business my follow thru as a company and a contractor is what I'm selling a value to justify the higher price I charge. Anything less and my referral source would die. My customers are buying me and the team of experts behind me to perform, not an outside company. Perhaps larger building companies could use this service. Bill Swales
*I don't like it. I think it is inviting a lot more problems, most significantly, I think the customer would use it as a crutch to nitpick and hold the contractor more responsible for things not necessarily his fault. It seems like overkill in other respects. I'm sure the big payoff would be the referrals, but you must know that right now, finding work is not a problem, more of us are having problems finding ways to creatively turn down work without losing customers or finding qualified crew members to do more work. Maybe you could work that in...Ideas are great things. Yours may be extremely helpful to some. But if a contractor has any jobsite/customer savvy, he is basically taking care of this stuff on a daily basis, and really doesn't need the customer checking in on his punchlist (especially not giving customers more access to this). That's if I read you right. Maybe you meant your company would follow up my punch list to make sure we are doing our work on time? That might be like answering to MOM, and I don't need another mother.Also, I question how an outside firm would be of help in scheduling? Do you mean, you would get the schedule from me and relay it to the customer? I sense complications galore.I'm just a little guy, so maybe my response doesn't count for your research, but what I see as a customer service advantage is maybe, you could answer my telephones and serve as a filtering system of prioritizing messages, but there are many ways to handle that. It may be worth looking at.I think you may have something in the way of marketing ideas for construction firms. Maybe rather than working on warranty/current job customer relations, your idea could be of benefit to keeping steady jobflow in other ways.Just thinking off the top of my own self employed (and not looking for more ways to spend money) head.MDxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Hey...thanks for the feedback, MD. Your input has mirrored that of alot of other biz owners. In fact, this idea has already had 3 or 4 different lives. The most recent version revolves around helping owners (large/small) tap into the most profitable source of biz in any industry...referrals. As you know, the truly profitable biz comes not from the initial work performed for a new client, but from subsequent work that is done for that client and from work performed by that client's referrals. The objective of my most recent biz idea is to act as the contractor's "marketing dept.". Envision a recently completed, well done job. The client happily goes on his/her way to enjoy your work. As the occasion arises, he/she will mention your name when asked "who did this work"? However, as is the case with all of us as we live our hectic lives, time seems to cause us to "disconnect" us from past relationships. Such is the case with past customers in any field. The key is to stay "connected" with your past customers (and in this way, connect with future customers as well) through a variety of means. These techniques are not completely unique (altho I have a few proven ideas that can be highly effective, but not commonly applied). However, from what I have learned, small/med contractors have so much on their plates that the cultivation of former/future (read "high profit margin") clients often does not get the attention that it deserves.While I don't have direct trade experience, I do have alot of experience as a consumer of trade services as well as a great deal of experience in the marketing end of things. In addition, I am a fast learner. For example, I have already learned that I should stay the he** away from the jobsite.:)You mentioned that, as things stand today, you (and many others in your industry) are presently trying to come up with tactful ways to turn down work. What if, through a well-designed, disciplined approach to marketing, you could find yourself in a position to not only take just the most profitable work now, but position your firm to successfully weather the "storm" of the upcoming economic down cycle (a reality of the free market economy)? All this without adding a single person to your staff. What would such a service be worth? $100, $200, $500/month? This is my current dilemna.I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks, Steve
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B Research Question: I thought I would go right to the source on this one. I am considering the concept of creating an organization that performs the customer service function for small/med sized contracting firms.
As a consumer of trade services, I have been amazed at how much income ethically and technically strong contractors must forego (in terms of referal biz) because the customer service function is not given the proper attention. Of course, there are those, I'm sure, who never will provide the attention necessary. As in any business, these people probably won't be around long and certainly won't survive a significant economic downturn. Rather, I refer to those contractors who are sensitive to the power of "service excellence" but are stretched so thin in terms of time/resources that the customer service just doesn't get done.
While I have no direct experience in the trades, I do have 16+ years of experience in the area of customer/client sales and service (within the financial services industry--also a very competitive marketplace). So, in terms of meeting/exceeding customer expectations, I have quite a bit of successful experience that can (I am thinking) add real value to a small/med contractor's efforts.
My thought is to allow the contractor client to take advantage of the economies of scale that I might offer in terms of customer service/satisfaction. By allowing a customer service dept to handle less technical questions (scheduling, sales follow up, direct response marketing, customer satisfaction calls throughout the job process, follow up with client during the warranty period, ensuring that punch lists are followed up on and....most importantly.....extracting quality referals,etc), the management team can concentrate on running and bidding jobs with more focus. These services would be provided by customer service reps (CSR's) with either a construction background or with training that will provide them with a fundamental understanding of your biz and how it is run. The fee structure could be such that a) the contractor pays a flat monthly fee to cover all jobs or b)customer service is contracted on a "per job" basis. In either case, the fee would be a fraction of the cost necessary to bring a well-trained CSR/Dept in house.
In the spirit of 1. helping the contractor do more profitable work and 2. giving the consumer not only quality workmanship, but an unexpectedly pleasant customer service experience, I would appreciate your feedback on this entrepreneurial idea. I hope I have not offended anyone by posting this idea (a "long winded" one, at that) to your message board. Thank you.