Every Tuesday at 1PM Central Time, Portage Cartage moderates a Twitter-based "movechat" for movers and consumers looking for information on moving. The topic of today's movechat was Creating Repeat Business. Below is the abridged transcript of the questions and the responses.
Q1 - How important is repeat business to your business, and to our industry?
RELORoundtable To put the discussion in the proper context, I think you need to define 'repeat' business.
PortageCartage @RELORoundtable Good point - repeat business means a customer who uses you at least once more after winning the first biz.
PortageCartage We'd have to consider both corporate accounts and individual clients as potential repeat customers.
movertim Repeat Biz very important, without your done
QMMAllied Repeat business is an integral part of our business and to the industry to stay successful and growing.
xpressmovers You can't have repeat biz, without great service. Every biz relies on repeat customers. Otherwise it will fail.
RELORoundtable National accounts and third parties are repeat business, but both types are shrinking as more co's use lump sum distributions.
QMMAllied Both consumer and corporate account relocations are important. Builds rep and brand awareness.
MyMovingReviews We are a little different from other businesses, but without people returing to our website, we would not be so sucessful.
movertim In my 11 years clients have followed me like I was the sheep herder
QMMAllied Obviously big reason it should be a high priority in our industry (or any industry) is the much lower cost of acquisition
RELORoundtable In today's global economy, more GenX&Yers are using same co. to move around the world as they follow their fast-track careers.
xpressmovers I think corporate accts and individuals are not much different. If you fail with your service, you will loose both.
PortageCartage That's a great observation. At the end of the day, it's a person you impact with your service, no matter who pays.
BekinsVanLines important to see a cust as a repeat cust possibility because their referral to another is a 2nd level of repeat biz.
RELORoundtable WOM referrals as so much easier and significantly more important in today social media martketplace
Q2 - How do you make a customer want to move with you over and over again?
BekinsVanLines - agree - we focus so much on the new cust but it's current/past customers who spread the word
BekinsVanLines both are important - new and current
PortageCartage So what are the ingredients in a good move that make the customer think of you 5 years later for the next one?
xpressmovers You can't make the customer come back if you haven't impressed him with your service.
BekinsVanLines exactly! So we look at it as - one last chance to right any wrongs - finish strong
QMMAllied Good follow up with the customer after the move such as thank you card, email checking in, etc.
MovePoint Agree 100%
RELORoundtable GREAT MOVE MANAGEMENT SERVICE!
MovePoint make an impression, help them relive stress by providing the absolute best & smoothest transition when moving their valuables
xpressmovers New customers are hard to get, existing are hard to keep!
PortageCartage I'd suggest the biggest thing that customers remember is happy workers. Price & damage matter, but don't stick in the memory.
PortageCartage Although if price & damage issues are left unresolved, they won't be forgotten. Like @BekinsVanLines said, finish strong!
QMMAllied Totally agree. Expectations need to be met & exceeded & they were left feeling warm and fuzzy from the experience.
BekinsVanLines I think people remember how they were treated -do we keep them informed, in touch, honest, there each step - eliminates probs
BekinsVanLines ppl in the biz assume a lot because we get it. Customer doesn't have all that knowledge - need a personal walk thru it all
QMMAllied Key pt!
BekinsVanLines have heard recordings of the first touch call to an office - can be a neg till the end if impressions are not strong from beg.
Q3 - Are customers loyal to the company, or to the people they dealt with there?
BekinsVanLines Wow good ? maybe they see us as one and the same....?
xpressmovers Both is true I'd say. I've seen cust to be loyal to the person that handled their move and ask for him when the new one comes.
PortageCartage As an example, when @movertim came on board here, he brought many clients with him from his past employers.
PortageCartage But on the other hand, we frequently have customers ask for the same moving crew they had before, regardless of salesrep.
xpressmovers That's true. We have many examples when people call us, please send specific guys for our next move.
PortageCartage This leads me to conclude that people connect with people, and if the company retains the right people it's a win/win.
QMMAllied Could it be a combo of indiv & comp loyalty? Depens on personality of cust? Some connect w/ brand, some w/ the front-line ppl
BekinsVanLines - of course good people doesn't mean bad service will be forgotten & the ppl making the lasting impression are anyone involved
PortageCartage That's right - it only takes a single bad experience with one person to lose a customer for life.
MovePoint IMO it should be seamless, the culture should run throughout the company
QMMAllied Like Vince Lombardi said: The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.
Q4 - How do you track your customer relationships? Software? Rolodex? Cave paintings?
PortageCartage For us, it's a software solution, but I'm pretty sure the code was originally written as cave paintings.
movinggal Firm believer of electronic records.
xpressmovers In the 21st century tracking customers have never been easier. Software helps us stay organized on every level here.
QMMAllied CRM system is key to managing customers across departments
PortageCartage Are there any favorite CRM solutions out there? Ours is a proprietary one, written by our van line.
MovePoint Shameless plug our software is an amazing CRM
PortageCartage @MovePoint Very shameless! Well done! :)
xpressmovers There are quite a few options out there for the moving biz. It's a choice between price and features. We use MoverWorx + MS Office
PortageCartage Next week's topic will be "Moving Internationally. "
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