Service-based businesses, especially those where you can work from home, are on the rise, with many people using their hard-earned skills and expertise to build a new business or side-hustle to mitigate against the effects of the global pandemic.
Service-based businesses give entrepreneurs the opportunity use their skills to earn an income – but thanks to technology, many of these services can be offered remotely, meaning less money spent on commuting, in addition to the entire world being a potential customer!
However, just as with a product-based business, the success of your service-based business depends on your ability to sell your skills – and then to keep your customers once you’ve converted them from being prospects into being clients.
Did you know that it costs five times more to attract new customers – and that the success rate of selling to an existing customer rather than a new one is as high as 70%? That’s why it makes sense to follow these top tips to retain your clients, and keep them coming back for more!
Estelle Nagel, brand marketing manager at Gumtree South Africa, shares the following advice:
- Know your customers and what they expect from you and your service.
- Follow the golden rule of always treating your customers as your number one priority. Treating customers with respect, professionalism, and a friendly demeanour will help build strong relationships and keep them coming back for more.
- Always be dependable, even if that means working extra hours to meet a deadline you promised you would meet.
- If something doesn’t go to plan, remember to be honest upfront and manage your client’s expectations; never wait for the customer to reach out to you to find out what is going on.
- Never discuss your client’s private business with others.
- Be as straight forward as possible with your customers. There should not be any confusion on what you can and cannot do, what your fees are, what your fees include, what happens if hours are exceeded, and so on.
- Protect yourself and your business with the appropriate insurance policies for your type of business and industry.
- When starting out, many business owners take on any and all customers to ensure they build a client base and to make money, even if those customers are not your ideal target. If possible, it is best to only accept customers or clients where you feel confident you can offer them your very best.
- Do not undervalue yourself; if you need more time for a project or if you need extra assistance in the form of outsourcing help, be honest with the customer before you take them on.
- Do not be afraid to say no if you can’t do the job – it’s better than letting a customer down, who may tell others about their bad experience – that’s the type of word of mouth that you don’t want!
Now that you’re ready with a toolkit on how to keep customers once you’ve won them over, it’s time to market your business, whether it’s via traditional advertising, social media, or a service like Gumtree, which connects customers to service businesses all over South Africa.
Provided by Gumtree SA
