Remodeling companies need to get specific information from a clients about their home remodeling projects before going to the next step. To do this, a remodeler needs a custom questionnaire to help him move smoothly through the sales cycle. I was recently asked if there was an easy way to create a questionnaire for kitchen and baths and post it on a company website or email it to a prospect. The answer is “yes there is!”
The more expensive and customized route is to hire your web designer to create the questionnaire form and post it on your website. Creating custom forms on a website typically require a lot of special coding which sometimes drives the price up. The second option is to use Google Docs. Google Docs has a Form Creator built in, and it is very simple to use. The form tool also comes with over 70 themes to help dress up your questionnaire.
When you create a Google Form, you can easily send the questionnaire via email to a prospect, have them fill it out and then login to see their answers. To make that easy, Google notifies you when a prospect uses the form/questionnaire.
So, the next time you want to create a customer survey, estimate request or questionnaire, give Google Docs a try. Google makes it simple!
Note: To make things even easier for your business, try switching your office to run in the Clouds: Google Apps, a good CRM & Dropbox.
When creating a customer satisfaction survey or report card, I have a couple of quick tips:
- Keep it simple, short and right to the point
- Instead of doing a report card such as A, B, C, D and F, use these words, “Exceeded Expectations, Met Expectations, Did Not Meet”
What you really want to find out from a client is if they were really happy, somewhat happy or if there is a way you can make them happy! If they fill out a survey that you’ve given to them, chances are they are at least satisfied. If they won’t fill it out, they either don’t have the time or they did not like your services. A customer report card is meant to help you be the best. You don’t need to find out if your crew was neat, clean and organized. Just ask them if they received the best value, quality and service!
Finally, get them to write what they really liked about your company (to tell future clients) and 1 thing to make you even better!
Social Networking seems as though it is growing at the speed of light these days. Connecting with fans and friends on Facebook and creating an email blast is a piece of cake. Social Networking and Media is becoming the normal way to communicate. Although there is a place for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Email marketing for your business, have you asked yourself, “Is my company still personal, approachable and real?” Can they schedule a meeting where they meet a real live person? Can they schedule a meeting where they meet a real live person? With technology at our fingertips (literally), it is becoming harder for companies to remember the good old days of old-fashioned marketing.
One old-fashioned marketing technique I’d like to reintroduce is the “handwritten note.” Yep. That’s it. Let me explain how it works. It is where a business owner or estimator spends 5-7 minutes of his or her time writing a thank you or follow up note to a prospect or past client using a pen and stationary. This concept is not just marketing. It is relational, personal and real. People buy from people they like. They want a relationship. Facebook started as a great tool to reconnect with long lost friends. Now it is a social online chat club…sometimes enabling chats with people you’ve never met or can’t remember if you were once friends.
Go back to the basics this spring. Dust off some old stationary and get started today. By the way, for the remodelers and painters reading this, try a custom stationary with a featured home you’ve worked on. I’d recommend talking to a watercolor artist to paint a photo or two you can use on your stationary. Check out this site: Watercolor Artist: Cath Howard.
Does this sound familiar? You sit down to check your email inbox and realized that 75% of your emails do not need an immediate response? If you are using Microsoft Outlook, you can quickly “flag” or create a follow up/reminder for the emails that you can respond to at a later time. But what about for those of us using Google Apps, Gmail and a mobile device such as a Blackberry, iPhone or a Droid?
I get emails almost every few minutes during the day. Prioritizing, setting reminders and follow ups are crucial for me so I don’t waste time. Thanks to a new program called Followup.cc, it has made my scheduling and responding to emails easy and a major time saver. Now when I get an email on my phone or Gmail, I don’t have to respond right away. I just use the Followup.cc service, which sets a reminder for when I want to respond. I mainly use this free service when I’m “mobile” so I don’t forget anything. It is easy for me to view an email and then forget to respond.
Here is how Followup.cc works. Lets say I get an email from my credit card company saying, “Your Bill is Due on April 22nd.” Well, I don’t need to pay it right now, so I will use Followup.cc to remind me of this email at a later date. To set a reminder for April 20th, I will click “Forward” and type in “[email protected]” and hit “Send.” I will then get a reminder email on April 20th to pay my credit card bill. It’s that simple.
Now, with any program I use these days, I have a wish list of things I’d like to change. Instead of having to type in an date or time @followup.cc I’d much rather have a simple application that does the dates and times for me. In other words, I’d like my phone or Gmail program to have a calendar and time dropdown menu where I can select when i want to be reminded instead of hitting the forward button and manually typing in everything. However, Followup.cc is a good start for mobile users. Once you get use to the program, it is pretty easy.
Remodeling companies need to get specific information from a clients about their home remodeling projects before going to the next step. To do this, a remodeler needs a custom questionnaire to help him move smoothly through the sales cycle. I was recently asked if there was an easy way to create a questionnaire for kitchen and baths and post it on a company website or email it to a prospect. The answer is “yes there is!”
