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Water damage and disaster mitigation are often seen as one and done jobs, but that’s no reason to treat your customers as disposable. Repeat business is easiest when you offer non-emergency services, but your customers have friends, family, and neighbors that may face a disaster. Whether through repeat business or referrals and reviews, learn how to keep your customers coming back again and again.

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For your customers, ever disaster mitigation job is an emergency. Most customers will expect you to arrive with sirens blaring like the fire department just minutes after they call. While this is obviously unrealistic, there are steps you can take to set realistic expectations for your response time.

The difference between landing the job and your customer calling a competitor usually comes down to effective communication. While you deal with water damage every day, this is likely the only time your customer will encounter this situation. Their home or business has been devastated and they are likely stressed out, frustrated, and emotional.

Even after landing the job, your customers will have their own expectations on how long the job will take. Clearly outlining your response time and managing expectations through the job will reassure them their lives will return to normal soon. This will lead to more return customers, positive reviews, and referrals.

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You work with water damage and disaster mitigation every day, but each job is likely a first for your customer. Having solid customer service skills will help make them feel more comfortable you and make the process go smoothly. That will not only lead to more repeat business but also more reviews and referrals that will generate more new business.

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The simple truth is not every call is going to turn into a job, but follow up calls can help you land a few more jobs that otherwise would have lost. The trick is knowing which calls to you should follow up on.

Follow up on any call where you provided a free estimate because you have an existing relationship with that customer. While they probably made other arrangements, you should still follow up with customers seeking disaster mitigation services. Those jobs may be more lucrative a few days later too.

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Phone calls are the life’s blood of most water damage and disaster mitigation businesses, so it’s important that you know how to avoid common phone mistakes that will prevent you from converting leads into jobs.

Not Being Available

One of the most common phone mistakes is to not answer the phone. No one likes late night calls or having holidays and special occasions interrupted,

Every business will get a bad review from time to time. However, the way you respond to bad reviews is just as important as the review itself. While you may think defending your business will make you look better, but typically it’s the exact opposite. Some customers may be dissuaded by a few bad reviews, but they will definitely call your competitor if they see you constantly arguing with your customers. You will look much better if your responses show that you value your customer’s business and take their opinions seriously.

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Most commercial jobs will require you to be properly insured and even some residential customers are asking for proof of insurance. We asked the experienced team at Brunswick Companies to share their insight on the importance of insurance.

Senior Vice President Michelle Hirsch has over 14 years of insurance experience, working with entrepreneurs and small business owners to help them manage their risks while they grow. Brunswick Companies has offered insurance brokerage and risk management consulting services since 1972.

Business owners and individuals recognize the benefit of transferring potential liability to others and negotiating contracts to their advantage. When hiring contractors like you, these buyers are aware of possible risks in having workers on their premises or in their homes and will take steps to mitigate those risks.

When contracting a job, buyers will request your certificates of insurance and may ask to be an additional insured on some of your insurance policies.

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Launched in 1999 as an online book retailer, Amazon has grown to become the seventh largest company in the country. One of the keys to their success is Amazon Prime, which includes free 2-day shipping on all Prime items and a number of other services and offers.

Amazon launched Home Services in 2015. The service provides an upfront estimate and allows consumers to add that service to their cart like any other item. While they do not offer disaster mitigation services currently, they have the system in place to expand into water damage or other disaster response verticals at any time.

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As this year draws to a close, we take a look back at the headlines of 2017, review the exciting changes here at 33 Mile Radius, and look forward to what’s in store for 2018.

The Top Headlines of 2017

In terms of marketing, the biggest headlines are that HomeAdvisor acquired Angie’s List and Google launched their Local Services ads. It’s hard to predict what this will mean for the industry, but you should definitely keep these changes in mind when planning your marketing strategy for 2018.

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Referrals are the most trusted form of advertising, with 84% of consumers trust referrals from their friends, family, and colleagues. Also known as word-of-mouth marketing, referrals have a level of authenticity that is unachievable with traditional marketing and advertising because there is no sales pitch or agenda.

This should go without saying, but you absolutely must do a good job before asking for a referral. If your customer is unsatisfied with your service, asking for a referral is only going to make matters worse.