If you could do with some added profits in your pool, spa or sauna business then solving these little errors could add up to a real difference.
Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves.
Seemingly little things can make a big difference and in these tough times you really need to make sure that your wet leisure business is getting in as much turnover as possible.
All businesses make mistakes and no one is perfect but if you recognise just one or two errors on this list and fix them then over the course of time they could well add up to significantly higher profits for you.
So, what are these little things that you might be missing?
Missing turning a sale into a loyal customer.
Anyone who comes and buys something from you is potentially a loyal customer and who knows what he or she may eventually spend?
They might just buy some pool chemicals or they might buy a hot tub, in either case they are worth turning into a friend of your business, an ambassador for what you can provide and a potential life-long customer.
Make sure they know the full range of what you can provide and if that means handing out some printed information with each sale, well, where is the harm in that.
For the bigger purchases, make sure that you give them a smooth transition from the sales staff to the service engineer
The customers you forget may well forget you.
There is a cost to every sale that you make; a cost in terms of your marketing budget, advertising or promotions.
You have paid something to get that sale so value it and get the most value out of it.
Get the contact details of everyone you sell to and use them to stay in touch in a friendly, helpful way.
Your customers are your competitors prospects so make sure that you keep them close.
Marketing that merges with the background.
If your advertising and marketing doesn’t stand out then it’s just a cost rather than an investment.
But of course, everyone else is trying to make their message heard above the clutter as well.
Try telling people what you believe rather than just what you do. If you have a real love for what you are selling then try and communicate that. A shared passion for a sauna, pool or spa is more likely to grab a customer’s attention than a price promise.
Too much too soon.
There is a thing called the customer lifecycle and it starts off with someone who doesn’t know you and you don’t know them.
Your marketing is what brings you to their attention. They want to know what you can offer and how you can help them, do you share some common beliefs and can you ‘get on together’?
It is exactly like meeting a stranger and developing a friendship. You need things to take their own time and progress at a comfortable pace.
So if someone comes asking for advice, then that’s what you should give them rather than sales patter. Move at the customer’s pace and the sale will follow.
Don’t be shy.
When you have a satisfied customer, ask them for a reference or testimonial or a quote; call it what you will.
That happy customer praising your business in their own words will be far more powerful than anything you or any other marketing person could possibly write.
Use it to support the promises that your business makes, use it as proof that you deliver on your promises.
Don’t assume that all your customers know everything that you do.
It is surprising and really annoying when one of your regular customers goes elsewhere for something that you could have supplied for them.
When you ask why, they say that they didn’t know that you offered that.
Newsletters and mailshots are a great way of making sure that people are aware of the full range of your services but, of course, you need contact details for all of your customers to make that work.
Managing those contact details is so important that there is some more advice on that here.
We hope that the ideas in this article are useful for you.
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