Make your customers remember you with small gestures
Sometimes, little gestures can make a big impact. It’s true in your relationships with your friends and family, and it’s true in your relationships with your customers.
Homeowners hire designers, home builders and remodeling contractors to do big, expensive jobs. Remodeling a kitchen, adding a deck, putting an addition onto the house, or even building an entire house. These are projects that can last weeks or months, and cost many thousands of dollars.
And customers will appreciate a job well done. They’ll love their new kitchen, patio, or home. But what will make them remember the experience of working with you?
As important as it is to do the job you’re hired to do well, it’s just as important to make the customer feel special. And the best way to do that is by creating micro-moments.
What are micro-moments?
Micro-moments are just what they sound like: small gestures or interactions that are both pleasant and unexpected.
A micro-moment can be almost anything.
- Your foreman could bring coffee and donuts for the customer on a day they need to arrive early
- You could provide pictures of the project at key milestones to keep customers informed
- One of your crews could spend a few minutes showing a customer’s curious child what they’re doing
- You could bring a treat for your customer’s dog
The possibilities are endless, as they could be anything. The key is that they cost you very little (sometimes nothing), but can make a huge impact in how the customer perceives your work.
Memorable
These little moments, because your customer doesn’t expect them, are memorable. Years after the project is done and they’ve been living in their new or remodeled home for all that time, your customer will remember that little moment.
And they’ll smile.
And the next time the need help with their home, you’ll be the first call they make.
Forgive mistakes
In a project as large as a home construction or remodeling, there are bound to be hiccups. Errors, delays and mishaps of all sizes are inevitable, whether they’re your fault or not.
Projects like these can be stressful for your customers, and they might be on a short fuse.
Creating micro-moments can soften their responses and help them see that you’re human, and that you’re doing your best to make their home beautiful.
Leads to referrals
Because they’re so memorable, customers are not only more likely to call you for their next project, they’re also more likely to refer you to a friend.
When people are considering a new home or remodeling project, one of the first things they’ll do is ask a friend or neighbor who they should use.
Because that little moment stuck in their mind, creating a positive memory of working with you, there’s a good chance they’ll give your name to their friends and neighbors.
Plan to be spontaneous
The best micro-moments come out of the blue. But that doesn’t mean you can’t plan for them to happen.
Empower your people to look for opportunities to brighten a customer’s day, and give them a small budget to make it happen. Maybe even have a few “planned” moments when you can surprise your customers.
They’ll never know it was planned. But they’ll remember it for a long time.