August 2013 • 13
online access to account information, offer
paperless billing, and to enable basic online
transactions such as bill payment.
Companies can further improve the
customer experience with an online
rewards program where customers accu-
mulate points for spending money and
redeem them for merchandise or company
discounts. It’s a nice way to say thank you,
enhance customer appreciation, and keep
customers coming back.
As you cater to customers’ rising
expectations, never take their appreciation
for granted. Americans are thoroughly
accustomed to company self-promotion,
and persistent customer communication
is the best way to shape perception. The
phenomenon known as “brand loyalty” is
never spontaneous; it is invariably culti-
vated assiduously by the company.
TAKE CONTROL
Customer communications is the tool
you use to drive perception of your cus-
tomer experience. A company that goes to
great lengths to provide great service but
then skimps on self-promotion is making
a serious and dangerous mistake. They are
investing heavily to treat customers well
and then
entrusting
them to appreciate the
value they’re receiving. If success was that
easy, marketing and advertising would
not be the massive industry it is today.
Customers may tell you they don’t like
company marketing, but if you don’t com-
municate to them, they simply won’t fully
understand and appreciate the experience
you provide. A tune-up is just a tune-up
until you add context.
Every home comfort company should
evaluate its customer communications
with the same critical eye that they use to
evaluate customer service. If the customers
aren’t receiving proactive communications
that frame the value proposition, accounts
are at risk. You don’t tolerate CSRs or tech-
nicians speaking rudely to customers, and
you shouldn’t tolerate a lack of proactive,
promotional communication.
Whatever communications channel
you choose, evaluate the frequency and the
reach. If more than a few of your customers
are not receiving regular promotional com-
munications from you, you are not doing
enough. Of the available solutions, the
company newsletter, printed and mailed to
the entire base, remains the undisputed best
choice because of its reach, ease of use and
extreme flexibility.
A great newsletter is custom-crafted to
match the company’s own long-term and
short-term goals. It can include a mix of
topics, or it can focus intensively on one
topic such as heating upgrades – whatever
it is that best supports the company’s own
agenda. It should also provide context for
the company’s services to enhance customer
appreciation for all the good work that the
company does.
SEND PROSPECTS THE RIGHT SIGNALS
Giving current customers a stronger
appreciation of your services is half the
job; a company also needs to send effective
signals to the prospects it hopes to attract.
If price is not the lure, the focus should be
on the first impression. You can’t deliver
your great experience to a prospect, so
instead you influence their perception of
your company and services.
There are a few important steps that will
help prospects choose you.
• Put customer reviews or a prominent
link to them on your home page,
so prospects can read what your
customers are saying.
• Give your website, all your online
touch points and advertising a warm,
professional feel.
• In your online copy, directly discuss
the customer experience you provide.
Your best prospects are the ones who
want exactly the type of service that
you have perfected. Give your website
visitors a clear sense of how you pamper
your customers so that they can think to
themselves, “This is exactly the kind of
company I’m looking for.”
• Display the interactive features of your
website prominently, including account
login, online rewards, paperless billing
and mobile phone communications,
so prospects who embrace e-commerce
can embrace your company.
• Expand your web presence by joining
Yelp and Angie’s List and claiming your
listings in online directories such as
Google Places and Citysearch.
Full-service home comfort continues
to be a great business model that is easily
understood and appreciated, provided you
promote it effectively. Keep delivering great
customer experiences, and provide the
communications to match. We’re available
to help you as always. Call us any time at
1-800-796-3342.
Are you losing control over
your cash flow?
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