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7 Quick Tips to Turn Groupon Groupies Into Loyal Customers

Last Updated: November 9, 2017

Have you ever offered a promotion on a daily-deal site like Groupon or LivingSocial? The experience of running a Groupon or LivingSocial promotion can be a mixed bag, to say the least. On one hand, you make a lot of new contacts and your phone rings off the hook for a short time. On the other hand, you don’t make as much money as you hoped, and the overwhelming majority of these new contacts are just there for the discount. These bargain hunters, or “Groupon groupies” as we like to call them, rarely return to your business because they’re only interested in deals.
So, what do you do? How do you capitalize on the opportunity to expand your loyal customer base with a Groupon or LivingSocial deal? It’s not easy to do, given the fleeting interests of your new customers. However, there are a few things you can do to stay top of mind and lure them back. We’ve put together some tips below. Check ’em out!

1. Only use a daily deal like Groupon or LivingSocial if you’re a service provider.

If you use the coupon site to sell products, expect to lose a lot of money and inventory. On the other hand, promoting deals as a service provider just means you lose time. Still not a win, but definitely worth it if it leads to expanding your customer base.

2. Get their email address before you perform any service.

When you get their email address right from the jump, you already have their contact details and you don’t have to track them down after the service is complete. Getting their email address is crucial because it enables you to keep them in your marketing funnel and follow up with them later. Even though they’re bargain hunting, they’ve still demonstrated an interest in your services—which means they have the potential to be consistent customers if you play your cards right.

3. Ask them to like your Facebook page and follow you on other social media right away.

Do this as soon as your service is complete—or even smack-dab in the middle of it. This helps you grow your social reach and follower count, which are important numbers in your overall web presence. Facebook also functions as another channel for promoting specials to customers in the future.

Related: “The Only Checklist You Need for a Winning Facebook Page”

4. Don’t be afraid to up-sell immediately.

Hand them a coupon for a similar service with a comparable discount so they’re tempted to return. We’ve already established these customers are bargain hunters, so another discount will surely lead them back to you. Plus, next time, at least the middleman (Groupon, LivingSocial, etc.) won’t be part of the equation.

5. Remember to follow up a few weeks later.

Following up helps you stay top of mind. Sending them special offers and discounts to get them back in the door is a great idea. However, you should also ask them for reviews and referrals to help you grow your customer base even further.

6. Don’t spam them!

Nothing turns off customers more than a constant barrage of texts and emails. Show some restraint and only contact them a maximum of once per week.

7. Give them an experience worth returning for.

This may seem obvious, but it bears mentioning. Don’t phone it in just because they’re not paying you full price. Give them the royal treatment—really wow them. Otherwise, if they’re unhappy with their experience, all the follow-up emails and Facebook posts in the world won’t bring them back.
Have you discovered any other tricks that work for you? Let us know!
Good luck out there!

Don't Be Afraid to Get Emotional in Local Search

Last Updated: July 27, 2017

At first thought, you might not believe emotions have anything to do with local searches for things like appliance repairs, junk removal services, or window installation. Indeed, these topics appear rather dry. However, as Ryan Shelley uncovers in his recent article on Search Engine Land, emotion is what powers every local search, and what ultimately leads to a purchasing decision—whether we’re conscious of it or not.

Pain and Pleasure as Motivation

In his article, Shelley discusses the two specific emotions that motivate consumers to make a purchasing decision:

  • The desire to soothe pain
  • The desire to obtain pleasure

Or, as he succinctly puts it: “Pain and pleasure are key driving forces behind every person’s action.”
Therefore, your online content should capture at least one of these emotions. For most local service providers, your appeal is your ability to alleviate your customer’s pain: You fix the broken washing machine that’s been making laundry difficult; you unclog the dishwasher that suddenly overflowed in the middle of the night; you troubleshoot the old furnace to figure out why their utility bills have been astronomical; and so on.
Of course, other businesses like car audio installers and home remodeling contractors are successful because they deliver pleasure: a fun, high-quality speaker system or a beautiful, new kitchen. You get the idea.

Target Your Customers’ Emotions in Your Content

It’s up to you to know your customer base and their motivations, and how your business makes life better for them. Why does a typical customer call you? What are the pain points they frequently wish to resolve? Alternatively, what are the luxuries they seek to enjoy? And, most importantly for either scenario, how does your business help them solve their problems and meet their specific needs?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll have a much more effective presence in local search. That is, once all of your online content—including business listings, social media posts, and website pages—addresses them head on. Appeal to your customers’ needs and demonstrate how you meet them. By targeting their basic desires to seek pleasure and avoid pain, you’ll dramatically increase your leads and improve your chances of closing more jobs.
Want more details on how emotions help you connect with customers via local search? Read Shelley’s full article: “The Psychology of Search: Unleashing the Power of Connection.”
And to learn more about what it takes to enhance your local search performance, read our previous blog post: “Want to Dominate Local Search? Here’s One Thing You Need.”

11 Ways to Fight the Locksmith Scam and Win

Last Updated: May 25, 2016

Google’s lackluster attempts to beat back the locksmith scam are misfiring and hitting honest locksmith companies instead.
Don’t you feel frustrated when you play by the rules but still get targeted by Google? The unfortunate reality is, due to how widespread the scam is, Google automatically puts locksmiths under the microscope simply for being locksmiths. This means locksmiths must follow every rule to the letter. You have to be extremely thorough and careful when creating or updating your listings.
Do these sound familiar?

  • Getting verified by Google is an uphill battle.
  • Your listing keeps getting suspended for no clear reason.
  • You’re having trouble getting new customers because the scams have made everyone more suspicious.

We feel for you. That’s why we’ve put together some actionable advice for honest locksmiths to help you stay in Google’s good graces. We’ve also compiled some suggestions for proving your trustworthiness to local customers.
So without any further ado, let’s get started.

Don’t Make Yourself a Target

Like we said, Google is already scrutinizing your every move because you’re a locksmith. Even the smallest transgression will get you flagged.
Here are some ways to keep that bull’s-eye off your back:

  1. Don’t stuff your listing full of keywords. Write naturally, only using keywords where they actually fit.
  2. Stick to one, local service area. Fight the temptation to list every city in a 200-mile radius.
  3. If you work with an SEO company, be cooperative and don’t do anything against their advice. Better yet, don’t even touch your Google listing and let your marketer handle all of your updates.
  4. Don’t do anything that could possibly be mistaken for spam.

Basically, be conservative. Don’t push the limits at all. As a locksmith, gray areas are off limits to you.

Put Your Trustworthiness Front and Center

As info about the scam spreads, people are increasingly wary of locksmiths they find online. In fact, most news stories are advising people to ask friends and family for locksmith referrals instead of doing a local Google search for one.
What does this mean for you? It means your job is a lot harder now. You must win over the skeptics and prove you’re a locksmith they can trust.
Here are some ideas to help you do that:

  1. Have a physical storefront and use a picture of it on your Google listing, website, and social media.
    • A van or truck with your logo is better than nothing, but a storefront is much more effective.
  2. List your physical address so people know you’re local.
  3. Have a logo or some form of consistent branding across the web.
  4. Include high-quality photos of yourself and your team members on your Google listing, website, and social media.
  5. Post precise business hours and emergency services instead of just claiming to be open “24/7.” Even if you are open 24 hours a day, people see that as a red flag.
  6. Include upfront pricing that’s based on a flat rate for each job. Do not charge per hour.
  7. Share information and warnings about locksmith scams with your customers. Post links to news articles about the scam right on your website and social media.

As we discussed in our previous blog post, “Google’s Incompetence: Hell for Legit Locksmiths, Great for Locksmith Scams,” these scams have complicated matters for locksmith companies everywhere. We can’t expect Google to come up with a fail-safe solution to this problem overnight, so it’s best to take action yourself.
By following the recommendations we’ve listed above, you’ll prove your professionalism and honesty, increase your compliance with Google, and reassure a nervous customer base.
Interested in advice that’s tailored to your own, unique business? Call or e-mail us for a pressure-free chat!

Ring, Ring… Part II

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

In our last post, we announced three new features available through our client portal:

  • Calls by Day of Week
  • Calls by Hour of Day
  • Call Length by Hour

These reports provide our clients with valuable information regarding their busiest days in terms of phone traffic, helping them to make informed business decisions to promote the success of their companies. To make all this a little bit less abstract, we’ve created a case study to show you just how valuable this call information can be!

Case Study

So we’re going to take a look at real data from all three reports for one of our actual clients. Let’s call them Flooring Company X.
To start, let’s take a peek at their calls by day of the week:

By looking at this graph, you can clearly see that Flooring Company X receives the majority of their phone calls Tuesday through Friday. They get the greatest number of calls on Thursday, with Friday being a close second.
Now let’s see what time of day the phone is ringing:

You can see that calls start coming in about 9 a.m. and don’t really die off until after 3 p.m. These are prime working hours when the company is most likely on the jobsite and unable to take calls.
Finally, let’s take a look at the number of calls that are being answered versus how many are going to voice mail. The Call Length by Hour report can do a pretty good job of illustrating that info.

This data illustrates that Flooring Company X is only answering their phone at 4 p.m. and catching a couple of calls during the lunch hour. Going back to the second graph, you can see that the bulk of their phone calls are actually coming in between 9 a.m. and noon. However, since this last graph indicates that their call lengths hover under two minutes in those morning hours, you can see that they’re, in fact, missing the majority of their calls.
Unfortunately, chances are that all of those callers who are being sent to voice mail are not leaving a message. Instead, they’re likely to hang up and call a competitor instead. So, it’s important to make sure you prevent that from happening to capture more leads and help your business succeed.

What You Can Do About It

Using the information from these call reports, we’ve developed a couple of recommendations for Flooring Company X that could help their business get ahead. For starters, we’d suggest hiring a part-time receptionist. This receptionist could work Wednesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., thus covering the company’s busiest call days during their peak calling hours. Having a receptionist on hand to handle the calls means the rest of the crew would be able to concentrate on their work at the job site without having to worry about who’s answering the phone.
However, realistically, we understand that it’s just not feasible for every business to bring in a receptionist. If that’s not a good option for you, setting designated office days and appointment/job site days might be a good alternative. Look at the days with the highest concentration of calls, which for Flooring Company X is Thursday and Friday. Leave those days open to be in the office to answer the phone. Then, since Saturday through Tuesday tend to have lower numbers of incoming calls, it makes the most sense to schedule appointments to do installs and service on those days.
Whatever solution you choose to help you catch more of your calls—one of our recommendations or a solution you devise on your own—your business will benefit. Every call that goes unanswered is a potential job lost, and each potential job that’s lost is a potential paycheck down the drain, too!

One Size Does NOT Fit All

Of course, each and every business is different. Perhaps your company receives the most incoming calls first thing on Monday. Maybe Wednesday afternoon is your busiest call time. Once you’ve checked out your reports in the client portal, you’ll know your business’s specific call patterns and you can create a plan to best accommodate your potential customers. From hiring a receptionist to scheduling strategic office hours to transferring calls to different employees throughout the week or even the day, you can use your company’s incoming call data to boost your business’s success.
Still not sure how to use these reports in the client portal or how to leverage your call data to your company’s best advantage? Just contact us today and we’ll walk you through it!

Ring, Ring… Part I

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

At Prospect Genius, we’ve created a handful of tools that allow us to analyze the performance of our clients’ lead generation campaigns. One of the primary tracking tools used to indicate a campaign’s efficacy is the call report, which provides us with statistics about when and how the customers of our clients are searching for their business. These statistics are broken down by day of the week, hour of the day, and length of the call.
We recommend that every business owner take a few minutes to compile data about each day’s incoming customer calls. Here’s why.

Some Days Mean More Calls

After taking a peek at our Calls by Day of Week tracker, we found that many businesses received a major increase in incoming calls on one particular day of the week.
Since many businesses receive the most telephone traffic on a specific day of the week, this means it’s extra important to be available to take calls on that particular day!
For example, across the paving industry, Monday had the highest volume of calls, at nearly 30%.

However, for the roofing industry, Tuesday had the greatest number of calls, with 27% coming in on that day.

With Saturday and Sunday being the two slowest days for call traffic in both industries, people seem to be waiting for the beginning of the work week to call and schedule their service needs (likely to avoid emergency/weekend service fees). If you miss calls on Monday or Tuesday, you could be missing out on a ton of appointments! Potential customers aren’t likely to leave a voice mail or to call back—when you don’t pick up your phone, they are probably calling your competitor next!
Your particular business might be experiencing different results from the roofing or paving industries, so it’s important to keep track of your incoming calls to understand what your specific call patterns look like.

Strategically Managing Call Volume

Are you too busy to answer the phone? Hire a receptionist! You could bring someone in part time to answer the phones and schedule appointments on your busiest days.
Every business is different, so you should be keeping track of the day and time of all of your customer calls. These metrics can help you determine not only which days, but also what time of day you’re receiving the most incoming calls, so you can plan accordingly to maximize your company’s success!
Be sure to stay tuned for more details on how you can apply this data to help your business get ahead. Our next blog post will be Part II of this discussion. We’ll take a look at a case study to help you understand how to make business decisions using information like which days and times you receive the most calls.
As always, if you have questions, please contact us. We’ll be happy to talk to you about your call data and what it can mean for your business!

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