You want to be nice, but being nice doesn’t make money. Or does it? Yes it does. Testimonials and referrals are the most effective form of advertising for small businesses. Amongst the top-quality painters, the one that makes the client feel good (on top of producing perfect results) gets the job. Not only does it help your business, studies show, making people happy makes you happy too. So let’s get into the 6 ways of making your customer happy and getting that handwritten Thank-You note.
PS If you are keen to learn more, check out our Page for Professional Painters.
1) Keep it clean.
Cleanliness is next to godliness. According to participating tradies, cleanliness is one of the most trusted satisfaction factors. An overall professional appearance is essential to instil a level of caring in your client. Some tidy tradies take special pride in leaving the jobsite cleaner than when they arrived. If you aspire to work in a dust-free environment, check out our Dust Hub. Tips by a professional painter: "When I use my Festool gear my clients are always surprised and impressed at how clean and dust free my work is."
"I like to make sure I keep the client happy by keeping a clean and neat work site while keeping dust to a minimum the cleaner the site the better the finish product is with painting." "Keeping tidy on the job, ensuring you leave the site the way it was before starting work, if not better."2) Communicate clearly and constantly.
Like they say: 'You've got one mouth but two ears'. Carefully listening to the client tell you what he wants and needs which allows to provide the perfect solution. Use simple language and answer all questions. Some tradies even take it so far as to incorporate a feature into the final finish that represents the client’s personality. That feeling of uniqueness will be cherished for a lifetime and encourages repeat and referred business. Tips by a professional painter: “Priority number 1 is to listen. In order to obtain perfect results, you need to understand fully what the end goals are. You need 100% engagement from your client. Once you've listened and have their buy-in, you’re on the right path to perfection.”
“Always keep the client in the loop as far as what stage the job is at, weather restrictions, any issues that you may be having and how you intend to fix them and roughly when you think you will be finished.” “It's Important to understand what will help make your clients living more beneficial.” “I find just being reliable, turning up when you say is the best way to keep ongoing work with the same clients.”3) Treat the client like they're special.
Great customer service is vital, especially within the painting industry. The happiest clients are the ones that are made feel as though you value them and have their best interests in mind. It can be easily done by being polite and engaging in friendly conversation about their interests and hobbies. It helps to relax, build trust and a connection. This is so important because, a poorly-done job is always spoken about whereas a well-done job can be overlooked unless you have connected with the client. Tip by a professional painter: “Ensure they can trust your work and expertise. Fully inform them about the scope of work. Make suggestions to save them money if possible.”
4) Respect their home.
Trust is vital for the client to feel safe and comfortable for somebody to enter their living space or working space. Treat the client’s home like your own – if not better. Minimizing noise and interruptions is the ground work for a client on ease. Tips by a professional painter: “I keep my client happy by enhancing their living space and quality of living with restored and freshly painted homes. Sanding being a pivotal part of painting and plastering, I have a Festool vacuum system and this will help create efficiency and ultimately give better results. ”
“It's Important to understand what will help make your client’s living more beneficial.” “From showing my clients my capabilities with painting I also love to have a chat with them, let them know what's going on with the job and actually treat their home like it was my own.”5) Do the little things.
Some tradies use our systainer as a snack cupboard for tricky conversations. Sharing Tim Tams during a break also go a long way. If not that, most tradies fall back on shouting a coffee for the client from time to time. Extending that gesture to the entire team gives everybody a warm fuzzy feeling and kindles the spirit of team work. We’ve heard of tradies who give the client a stubby holder on completion of job with a beer inside to enjoy the finished project. Tips by a professional painter: “There is nothing like laying down some clean drop sheets throughout the home to keep the client happy that I respect their home.”
“It’s the small things that my clients never noticed before, like blacking out striker holes, cleaning old hardware that has been smashed with paint and getting old doors and windows to open and shut properly. Things like these I do as a little surprise to clients and it’s these kinds of small things that often get overlooked but definitely make my clients happy.“ “Do the little extra things not quoted for while up the ladder like cleaning out split system filters, changing light bulbs cleaning hard to reach windows.” “I leave the windows open to air the rooms out and leave air freshener so they down have to put up with the smell of the fresh paint.”6) Have fun.
Last but not least – enjoy yourself. Fun is memorable for you and the client. Also, describing some of the extra thinking behind the project is an easy way to share your excitement and enthusiasm with the client. And if you share the passion with you clients, that makes it easy for them to recommend you to their friends. Keeping up the good spirit may be hard at times but celebrating the wins and staying optimistic will go a long way.
That’s it! Hopefully you can take something from this list that helps you get the happiest customers. Here at Festool we take great pride in supporting thousands of tradies with high performance systems that genuinely help them find increasing success.
PS If you are keen to learn more, check out our Page for Professional Painters or read our article on 11 Habits of Productive and Successful painters.
‘Til next time
