Your fencing company has only three markets
This includes Customers, Prospects, and Suspects. To reduce your advertising budget, you must focus on customers first, prospects second, and suspects third.
Most fencing companies do just the opposite. They focus on attracting suspects first; converting prospects second; and finally keeping close to customers third.
The profitable companies focus on customers first.
Customers
A customer is anyone who has given you money. This is your smallest market, but your most valuable market. 100% of your profits come from this market. Your goal is to persuade customers to buy from you again and remember you when talking to their friends. You do this by keeping close to them. See the next page for ideas on keeping close.
Prospects
A prospect is anyone who has called, visited or driven by your business. This is your second most important market. Your goal is to follow-up with them using a variety of creative methods. It is best to put prospects in your pipeline earlier in their buying cycle when they are “cold” prospects so they can become “hot” prospects.
Suspects
A suspect is anyone who is in your trading area who could and should buy from you—but they don’t know about you yet. Ideally, this should be your least important market. Your goal is to persuade them to give you their contact information so you can start a long-term relationship with them until they become a prospect or customer.
TEST these ideas for keeping closer to your customers!
Reduce your advertising budget by spending the bulk of your time, money and effort by focusing on customers. If you want more details about these ideas, contact us.
If you have great ideas, share them!
Outside
Put signs on the customer’s property during installation
Leave up your signs for as long as the owner will allow
After the job, put your company’s name, logo and phone number on the fence using a decal or permanent metal marker
Improve your building signs by making them more customer-friendly
Hold a “fence palooza” at a bowling alley
Hold an open house party in January
Clean their fence for free
Direct Mail
Mail a birthday card to the owners
Mail a birthday card to their kids, the future buyers of your fences
Send post cards reminding them of your services
Mail a printed newsletter
Up-sell them on the NVP Timberland Collection with a direct mailer
Mail a thank you note before you send your installers
Mail a thank you note during installation
Mail a thank you note after the job is done
Mail a thank you note on the anniversary of their installation
Personal
Start a birthday club
Teach your customers how to opt-in to a customer-only texting service
Do an annual “audit” of their fence
Ask for referrals via phone or face to face
Make follow-up phone calls every three to six months
Visit the customer unannounced
Make an appointment and visit them
Internet
Start a Facebook page; update it often
Start a members-only Facebook page
E-mail your customers regularly
Hold a referral contest
E-mail a newsletter
Start a tip-of-the-month for extending the life of their fence
Post on Instagram, an online mobile photo- and video-sharing site
Post on Pinterest where you can upload images (pins) and other content through collections (pinboards)
Get listed on Houzz.com