How relationship marketing creates raving fans (and profits)

What you can do today to produce high-quality, profitable leads tomorrow

Let’s face it: The market is changing. Inflation means increased costs for materials and advertising. Would-be customers are tightening their purse strings. And all this spells very real concern for your bottom line.

But don’t get me wrong—this is not doom and gloom talk. This is opportunity talk.

Play your cards right, and you can take steps to set yourself up for greater profits—no matter the economic conditions. It all starts by creating ‘Raving Fans’ using these four simple steps:

1. Deliver a WOW customer experience.

The great entrepreneur and storyteller Walt Disney once said, “Whatever you do, do it well. Do it so well that when people see you do it, they will want to come back and see you do it again, and they will want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.”

What Disney knew was the power of stories. Once your customer buys from you, what kind of story are they going to tell?

From their first phone call to after the crew is gone, you must design and deliver a customer experience that will WOW them at every turn.

2. Properly thank your customers.

While it’s done too little these days, there is nothing people love more than feeling genuinely appreciated. In fact, there is very powerful psychology behind it.

In Robert Cialdini’s book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, he reveals six principles. The first is the Law of Reciprocity. Basically, ‘You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.’ It’s for this reason that servers provide mints with the bill in hopes of increasing their tip—and studies have shown this actually works.

Take the time to send a thank-you card or gift (we send cookies on behalf of our customers to their customers) and you’ll be more likely to get repeat business, referrals, or 5-star reviews from them in return.

3. Ask for (and reward) referrals.

We all love a referral, right? It means that your past customer thinks you did such a good job that they’re willing to put their reputation on the line in order to promote you to their friends. That’s a big deal!

Not only does it feel good, but this lead closes easily and produces a big return on your investment. So how can you systematically generate more of these referrals?

For starters, you want to be sure to thank and reward the past customer who referred you. Send them a check or a gift card acknowledging the referral and thanking them. If this past customer has referred you once, they’re likely to do it again. Encourage that behavior, and they could turn into your own personal referral engine.

4. Keep in touch.

Are you doing everything you can to keep in touch with your customers, so the next time they need your services they will remember who you are, what you do, and where to find you?

You don’t have to knock on your customers’ door every day to stay in touch with them! The right combination of emails, direct mail, and print and digital newsletters will make your customer feel valued so that they’re more likely to provide you with repeat business and referrals in the future.

Sustainable, profitable relationships are yours for the making

The sad reality is, too few painting contractors are willing to put a relationship marketing system like this in place. And that right there is your opportunity. This is your chance to differentiate yourself in the marketplace— by creating strong customer relationships that will continuously deliver high-quality leads to you when others are closing up shop.

The best way to get started on tomorrow’s profitable repeat and referral business is by creating raving fans today

BRIAN KASKAVALCIYAN is cofounder of gFour Marketing Group and host of The Wealthy Contractor podcast. Author of several books, he also hosts industry events and develops resources that draw from his extensive experience as an owner of multiple home improvement businesses to help business owners achieve more success, wealth and freedom. TheWealthyContractor.com