The success of your service business depends on a wide range of geographical, economic, legal, and social factors. Not to mention that you need to compete with hundreds of similar businesses for the market share.
Therefore, providing exceptional service is not enough to grow your business. You need to have a strategic plan that will help you stand out in the sea of competitors.
Here are several tactics you should implement right now.
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Improve Customer Support
Customers are most likely to remember the direct contact with your staff. Therefore, exceptional customer support is an essential aspect of your service company’s growth. It boosts customer satisfaction, nurtures stronger client relationships, and inspires their loyalty.
Now, you can improve customer support in multiple ways.
For starters, practice patience and empathy. Some of your customers will have loads of questions. Others can be frustrated by your services. Even when dealing with difficult clients, your customer service reps should always provide the same level of service.
Most importantly, stay available to customers. For a service business, the accessibility of customer support is essential. Customers should reach out to you via multiple channels, such as your call center, social networks, email, IM apps, etc.
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Outsource Time-Consuming Tasks
Repetitive tasks suck the energy out of your employees and prevent them from delivering exceptional service.
That is why you should consider outsourcing them to a third-party company. Outsourcing helps your staff get more done faster. It boosts the overall workplace productivity and keeps your expenses under control. Most importantly, it maximizes employee satisfaction and inspires them to provide better customer service.
For example, in the previous section, we discussed the importance of customer support. If you cannot afford to hire a full-time customer support team, virtual assistants may help you. They are available to your service company’s customers 24/7.
You should also consider outsourcing your accounting and bookkeeping. For example, check issuing is extremely time-consuming. By hiring a check printing service company, you can simplify the process and reduce check issuing errors.
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Boost Relationships with Employees
For any service business, employee engagement and satisfaction are critical. These factors directly impact service quality and interactions with customers.
For starters, invest in a culture of honesty and transparency. Remember that you cannot be everywhere at once. Your workers can identify the problems in your services and business processes that need to be resolved.
Open communication is the best way to build trust with your staff and increase their morale. Make sure your staff members understand that you are listening to them. Introduce the open-door policy and encourage employees to talk about any problems they may be facing. That will make them feel more comfortable voicing their concerns and providing honest feedback.
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Have a Strong Online Presence
For local service businesses, having a strong online presence is paramount. That is how you increase your company’s visibility, boost brand awareness, and build brand reputation. Most importantly, by investing in a consistent online presence, you can position yourself as a trustworthy and experienced industry player.
Now, there are several elements of a strong online presence.
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Build a Website
To show up in search engines, you need a website optimized for the right keywords and packed with valuable content.
A website is the opportunity to spread the word about your brand. It is a place where you can show off your brand through colors, fonts, text, videos, and images.
You can inform potential clients about your services and pricing. Make a detailed list of your services and explain how your customers can benefit from them. Transparency builds trust with users.
Most importantly, use your website to show your industry credibility. Create a detailed “About Us” page that informs users about your company’s history, experiences, values, etc. Most importantly, add a blog to your website and produce high-quality content.
Finally, rely on social proof marketing to showcase the legitimacy of your business. For example, create case studies where you explain how you have helped your clients. Encourage customer testimonials and add the logos of the brands you have collaborated with.
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Invest in Local SEO
As already mentioned above, SEO is a fundamental aspect of your business. It increases your brand’s online visibility and helps it attract and convert the right customer groups. If you have no SEO experience, consider hiring professionals to help you.
Start by optimizing your website for the right keywords. For local service businesses, it is essential to use local, long-tail keywords that contain your city, area, or even state. Keep in mind that, with the rise of voice-enabled searches, keyword optimization has changed. A smartphone user now searches for businesses “near them” and “open right now.”
It is also important to optimize your website for off-site searches. Start by claiming your Google My Business listing. Add relevant business information, such as its exact name, address, phone number, website, etc. Even provide maps to make it easier for consumers to find it. Therefore, when someone is searching for businesses in your area, your website will show up.
GMB is also an invaluable source of customer ratings and reviews that build trust with prospective customers.
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Register in Local Business Directories
Find relevant local business directories and register your business there. Some of them are BBB, Angie’s List, Yellow Pages, Glassdoor, and Yelp. That is how you will make your service business available to both clients and potential employees. Just make sure your company data is accurate and consistent across these channels.
Over to You
To stand out in the hypercompetitive market, build a people-oriented business.
Start by changing the company culture from within. Provide employees with exceptional working experiences and encourage transparent communications. In service businesses, customer satisfaction exponentially grows with employee satisfaction.
Next, offer spectacular customer support and be available to clients 24/7 across multiple platforms.
Finally, market your business to get noticed by the right customer groups.
How do you grow a successful service business? We are listening!
