Modern technological advancements are changing consumer behavior and the sales process. Gone are the days of simple sales calls that come from customers looking you up in the phone book. If you want to generate leads for your business and keep the customers you already have, your company must adjust.
It’s an unfortunate fact that many home services providers are still using outdated practices when communicating with prospects and customers. They’re letting calls go to voicemail or setting up elaborate call-back systems because technicians are away and staff is limited, and it’s costing them.
These practices may have been fine in another era, but consumers have evolved. To close more sales and retain more customers, you’ll need to understand how modern customers think and adapt your home services communication strategy accordingly. And that’s exactly what you’ll learn here.
How Consumer Behavior is Changing
Before you change your approach, it’s important to understand how today’s audience behaves. With all the information in the world at their fingertips, consumers are used to getting answers immediately, whenever they want them.
Here are the big trends in modern consumer behavior.
Consumers Expect 24/7 Availability
In today’s world, anyone can order food or furniture in a few clicks, even in the middle of the night. In fact, home services businesses receive up to 25% of their calls after 5 p.m. or on weekends. Modern buyers don’t exactly notice or care about a company’s office hours. They’ll call whenever they’re in need, and they expect your business to be available.
Consumers Value Speed and Convenience
In addition to availability, it’s no surprise that customers are used to a competitive speed and convenience when shopping. A research survey from Gartner found that 64% of people believe customer experience is more important than pricing.
Consumers don’t want to work through a call menu or be put on hold. They want to talk to a real person immediately, without any hassle.
Consumers Don’t Wait
Surprisingly, only 20% of unanswered calls result in voicemails. The rest become dead leads. People don’t want to leave a message and wait around to see if your business can help them or not. They want their problems solved right away. Instead of leaving a voicemail, most of today’s consumers will simply call the next service provider from an endless list of businesses.
What Today’s Trends Mean for Home Services Providers
This shift in consumer behavior affects all industries and professions, including home services providers. If you’re in services like pest control, lawn care, or plumbing, here’s how current trends are likely to affect your business.
Consumers Choose Whoever’s Immediately Available
The home services industry is tightly packed with competitors. Your target audience can easily switch to one that offers similar pricing and quality. Since consumers often have their choice, they typically go with the first business they reach.
With 75% of people believing it takes too long to contact a live agent when they call a company, it’s important to answer calls quickly. If you’re not available when someone wants your service, you’ll miss out on customers.
Furthermore, modern buyers do not like leaving voicemails. Four out of five callers will simply hang up if a business doesn’t answer. This means you can’t rely on voicemail and returning calls to catch all of your customers.
Complicated Purchasing will Chase Customers Away
How difficult is it for customers to buy your services? If people find the process too hard, 74% of them are likely to switch providers. Customers want phone calls to be brief, and they don’t want to be transferred to different departments. If there’s too much back-and-forth calling or waiting on hold, your prospects will likely ditch your business altogether.
The Evolution of Home Services Communications
Home services providers around the nation are following today’s trends because they’re forced to face the challenges of an on-demand economy. The Evolution of Home Services Communications eBook provides an overview of these changes and the solution to improving customer engagement through communication. Get the eBook here.
