Nobody likes misunderstandings and arguments over price promotions and especially with a prospect on the phone. (As an industry we already have a bad reputation for “bait and switch” pricing so the caller will probably already be on their guard.) Here is a very simple way to keep all your advertised prices straight. Or of course you could quit advertising price …
IF you are running multiple price promotions (after attending Strategies for Success you probably will stop using this dead-end marketing tactic!) this Procedure will avoid a lot of “price bickering” between the technician and the homeowner. The phone dispatcher should ask the caller, “Do you remember where you heard about us?” (A vital question anyway so you can send Thank You notes to your Cheerleaders.)
The phone dispatcher should then note which, if any, promotion applies AND include a copy of the promotional piece (brochure, coupon, copy of newspaper ad or even the copy of the radio or TV script) in the Job Folder. Now if the customer has a question on the price the carpet cleaning technician can show the actual ad, brochure or coupon to the home owner. Problem solved!
One of the basic principles of Value Added Service is AVOIDING negative MOT’s. This is a great way to do so. Sure, you can “win” a price argument with a customer. But how many positive Moments of Truth will you have to produce just to get back to the Value Line? (At SFS we learn that it takes at least 12 positive Moments of Truth to equal one negative one!) Having the actual advertising pieces with the technician in the Job Folder adds great credibility and moves the blame away from the technician, as in “Mrs. Jones, lets just check what the ad said.”
Steve
P.S. Are you making it easy for your customer’s to find your name and number when they need it? Jon-Don offers professional marketing aids for making sure your brand is always in their view. (Just PLEASE track the results as recommended above.)
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