Plumbing issues are often urgent, and consumers expect immediate answers to their questions or appointment scheduling inquiries. When someone has a plumbing issue or question after hours, they want to be able to rely on your business to respond to them. Unless it’s an emergency, most homeowners won’t want to pay an after hours fee to have a plumber come to their home in the middle of the night, but they’d like the option to schedule an appointment or ask a question about services, hours or pricing right away. 

75% of consumers expect businesses to utilize technology that will enhance the customer experience. One of these technologies that is becoming increasingly necessary in the world of business-to-customer relationships is a live chat feature. Live chat speeds up your sales process and makes the transaction smoother for your customers. 

Over 40% of consumers agree that having the option to live chat through a business’ website is a must-have feature when they are determining which business to work with. Customer service expert Shep Hyken says, “Whenever you see the opportunity to create a WOW moment, act on it!” The perfect way to do this is to create that ‘WOW moment’ for your customers from the get-go by implementing live chat on your website. 

Why is live chat so valuable to businesses?

It Allows Consumers to Multi-Task

When a customer can chat with you business while they’re at work, chasing toddlers around or watching a baseball game, their life becomes easier. The keys to successful customer service is making your customer’s life more convenient and helping them through your expertise. Providing web chat on your site fulfills both of those orders and satisfies the customer’s need to feel heard and receive a quick response. 

It Gives Your Business a Better Chance of Making a Sale

The sooner a business responds to a customer inquiry, the more likely they are to make a sale. The truth is, consumers aren’t going to wait around for a business to call them back several hours later or to email them back the next day when they’re in the midst of a plumbing emergency. If you want your customers to trust your business, allow them to ask common questions through your website in order to receive immediate feedback.

You Better Serve Your Customers

At the end of the day, the most important thing a business can do is continually look for ways to better serve their customers. Plumbers are no exception to this. Consumers searching for a plumbing company to work with are looking for expertise, friendly service and fast, convenient communication. Serving your customers the way they want to be served means that you focus on what matters most to them; Quick response time, quality work and friendly customer service.

For more insights on marketing strategy that actually works for small business, connect with Jay Bean, Founder of FreshLime and Small Business Marketing Expert on LinkedIn and Twitter. If any of these tips have helped you or if you have anything to add, please comment below. We’d love to hear from you!

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