“Close The Loop” To Make Your Concierge Business Profitable
The key to increasing your sales is closing the loop!
When you boil it down the goal of all your marketing efforts is to build a brand for your new concierge company and bring more profits to the bottom line.
“Closing the loop” is the term used to move a person from your “potential customer” list to the “active list.” A busy website, hundreds of Facebook friends, lots of interaction on Twitter, a well-placed ad mean nothing if they’re not translating into sales. The challenge as a concierge business owner is how to increase your sales conversion rate by closing the loop from your initial contact to the first booking.
Think of the sales cycle as a marathon race with a starting point, and end point, and some check-in stops along the way. Good marketers know the task at hand is to find ways to encourage potential customers along the “last miles” to keep them going on a journey that ends with the customer booking your service.
Creating numerous stops along the way, or customer touchpoints, helps take the fear out of completing a transaction with your company—especially the first transaction. Keep in mind that different customers have different levels of risk tolerance—and every first interaction with a new service contains some risk.
Mrs. Jones may be willing to book your service after a quick Google search that leads her to your website. But, her neighbor, Mrs. Adams might need to start there…have a personal consultation to discuss her needs over coffee…pore through your brochure…call back in a couple of weeks with a few more questions…check out references from some of your other clients…so on and so forth. In fact, Mrs. Adams may just want to lollygag, meander, and take her own sweet time making it to the finish line until she’s perfectly comfortable that your concierge company can complete her tasks to her 100% satisfaction, 100% of the time.
In my concierge business, I’ve mapped out possible touchpoints that are logical and not overly obtrusive to potential customers. The paths vary by customer, but I’ve found that these touchpoints get our prospects more and more comfortable with doing business with us, until they finally make the decision.
Your touchpoints might be different than mine, but generally speaking, you should have more touchpoints and more frequent touchpoints than you initially think necessary. I learned this from a proven ace at marketing. Shane told me, “Think of it as leading your customer up a mountain. Standing at the base and contemplating climbing that hill can be overwhelming and frightening for someone new to mountain climbing. But an expert guide helps you reach the summit by holding your hand and taking baby steps. Each baby step gets the new climber closer to the goal, but no one step was very difficult since each builds on the next.”
Got it? Take their hands, climb the mountain together, and it’s not scary.
Analogies aside. Here’s the basic flow I use with potential customers. Remember not all clients need all these touchpoints to make a decision. At any point he or she may feel satisfied that you’re the person to turn to for help with their situation. And, in some rare cases, a person will need even more touchpoints before booking your service. I’ve had people tell me they’ve been receiving and reading our newsletter for more than a year before ever booking our services.
- First interaction
- Within 1 hour: Initial response
- 24 hours: Email thanking prospect for inquiry and restating details of conversation, pertinent terms. Add email address to newsletter list
- 48 hours: Mail brochure with coupon, business card, and handwritten note
- Day 5: Phone call follow-up to prospect, offer to supply references and proof of insurance
- Day 5: Email references & proof of insurance
- Day 9: Phone call or email scheduling face-to-face consultation
- Day 12: Consultation—bring hard copies of references and proof of insurance
- Day 13: Email thanking prospect for meeting, restating details of consultation, and suggesting available dates
- Day 18: Email or phone follow up asking if the customer is ready to schedule service. If not, ask when they’d like to be contacted again.
- Perform service
- Follow up first service with hand-written thank you note
- Day 30: Send newsletter
Go for it! The view from the top of the mountain is spectacular!