29 Nov Put Yourself In The Customers Shoes
Determining how unsatisfactory service affects the prospect.Has Your Prospective Customer Been The Victim Of Poor Carpet Cleaning?
It is likely that your prospective customer has been the victim of a bad service experience from a carpet cleaner in the past. Undoubtedly, they or someone they know has been subjected to poor carpet cleaning at some point in time. In this article, we will discuss turning that negative experience into an advantage for you.
Empathize
Put yourself in your prospective customer’s position. In most cases the residential customer is a woman and most likely the carpet cleaner is a man. Therefore, she may feel a little bit intimidated to begin with. Additionally she has been less than thrilled with the performance of a previous cleaner. Now her carpet is dirty. She is forced back to the task of choosing another carpet cleaner. Moreover, she is probably thinking something like; I wonder if the new cleaner is going to be as lousy as the last guy was.
Diagnose Their Pain
Poor service has cost this customer a loss in money, time, and peace of mind. Show in your marketing material that the customer will not experience this type of anguish when they hire your services. Your marketing should identify the pain, isolate the cause, and then remove it.
You might use a headline like this: Why Settle For Poor Service? Then go on to list the attributes that make your service different. This might include items such as:
#1) An on-time guarantee. #2) A total satisfaction guarantee. #3) A non-recurring stain guarantee.
Did you notice the recurring theme: “guarantee”. It is very important that we take away the customer’s perceived element of risk with a rock solid guarantee.
Prescribing A Pain Reliever It is also very important that you interview your new customer. Ask questions like these:
#1) When was the last time that your carpet was cleaned? #2) Were you satisfied with the service? #3) Why not?
Determine what method was used and then ask questions like this:
#1) Did they run a hose from the truck into the house? #2) Did they use a self-contained unit? #3) How long did it take for the carpet to dry? #4) Did the carpet remain clean or did it quickly resoil?
Asking questions like these will help you to gain a better understanding of what your
prospective customer has experienced in the past. Now you can turn these objections
into an advantage. Armed with this knowledge, you can begin to dispel the prospective
client’s anxiety about trying your service. Show her how your company successfully
addresses each one of these areas of concern.
A word of caution here: avoid the temptation to take a shot at your competition. Do not
say, “Oh yeah, Stevie Steam is the worst cleaner in town. Those guys wreck carpet!”
Instead, simply say, “I am very sorry that Stevie Steam was a disappointment for you.
As a professional carpet cleaner, I am very concerned with the image that our industry
portrays. I hate to hear a story like that. I will surely do my very best to replace that
bad experience with an excellent one. In fact, that is why we offer a risk-free
guarantee.”
Now The Selling Begins!
It is up to you to determine how unsatisfactory service will impact upon the customer’s
time, money, and peace of mind. It is also up to you to deliver a service that will not
lead to further disappointment. When we dispel a new customer’s anxieties and then
provide them with a positive service experience, we go a long way toward building a
satisfied customer for life.
Rick Gelinas