First, to put things in perspective let's think about another "service" industry that most all of us can relate to -
the moving industry. When you think about hiring a moving company, do you feel joy, comfort and happiness? Or do you get a mental image of a smelly, sweaty guy with tattoos and bad breath, and a secret desire
to cheat you out of your money?
Most of us think of the latter. In fact, when hiring a moving company, most of us are expecting one or more of the following to occur:
- They will show up late.
- They will be scary-looking people.
- They will try to charge you more than they
promised in the original bid. - If they break something, (which they will)
you'll have to jump through hoops to get reimbursed.
This doesn't mean that all moving company employees are scary-looking crooks. It just means that we humans tend to expect the worst when it comes to "service." And here's why -- we've heard the horror stories. Besides, the moving industry is a "hands-on" human-driven activity that - like any human-based activity - will be 98% perfect, and 2% "oops."
"But hey," you might say, "if that's what all homeowners are worried about, then the moving companies should just say ‘We won't be late,’ and ‘We don't use scary looking people.’” And you know, that’s actually good advice. But what do most moving companies actually say? Open any Yellow Pages book, and you will see:
- “Local!”
- “Long Distance!”
- “Commercial!”
- “Residential!”
- “Free Estimates!”
- “Professional service!”
anything to boost your confidence, and allay your fears of an ugly, nasty
experience with a moving company?
Nah, I didn't think so.
And that brings us to the ugly truth about pool service. This general attitude of "not trusting service people" is rampant throughout so-called "blue-collar" service industries. In fact, if you ask your local BBB, they'll tell you that Movers, Roofers and Construction companies in particular are constantly vying for the top spot on the BBB's list of "worst offenders" and "most complaints."
And yes, these boys are dragging you down with them. Most homeowners that you hope to talk to have already decided they don't trust you - long before they've ever met you.
If you want to break free from this ugly “no trust” anchor, then you'll have to stop ignoring "the elephant in the room." Use this “ugly insight” to give yourself an advantage, and separate yourself from all your competition. (Or at least from all your non-IPSSA competition.)
Here's how:
1) “Talk About The Elephant” -
You know it's there, and the homeowner knows it's there – so why hide from it? Your conversations should start sounding more like this: "Hey, I know there are a lot of sleaze-ball service companies out there. But we’re different, and let me tell you why..."
2) “Set the Standard” - Simply acknowledging the problems isn't enough. You've got to talk about what you
do differently, so that those problems are much less likely to occur. For example, you might offer one or more of the following:
- "On-Time Guarantee"
- "Uniformed Technicians"
- "Price Guarantee"
- "No Haggle Satisfaction Guaranteed"
3) "Publish Your Standards” –
Talking about your standards is good, but it's much more powerful when you put it in writing. That's why you need to publish your own "Code of Ethics” and/or "Workmanship Standards" for all the world to see. I recommend you to display them prominently in your office, on your website, on your invoices if possible, and even on the backs of your business cards.
4) "Put Some Teeth into It"
This is probably the hardest part to commit to, but if you want your standards to have impact, you're going to have to prove to the public that you're serious about it. And you do that with guarantees. Now I don't expect anyone to give away service for free, but that's probably not necessary anyway. It could be something as simple as a “10% discount if we miss our 2-hour window.”
By the way -- If you happen to be an IPSSA member, you've got some advantages that already set you apart from most of your competition. Unlike most of your competition, you can proudly say:
- "I've got a backup team to cover my route if I ever get sick or take a vacation."
- "I've got liability insurance, so if I get hurt, you don't have to worry about lawsuits."
- "I go to advanced training every year, to make sure I can make repairs better, faster and cheaper than the next guy. In fact, I had to take a test just to get in to IPSSA!"
- "And I have to comply with a strict code of ethics to stay a member of IPSSA. If I get caught breaking the rules, I’m immediately expelled from the group."
Now, suddenly, the "ugly truth" is pointing a crooked finger at the other guy, and you're the guy everybody wants in their backyard.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more articles on marketing your pool service or pool construction business, go to www.mymaustin.com/newsletters.
Comments
By comparison, if you look at doctors, lawyers, marketing consultants, or other so-called "white collar experts / professionals," the preferred marketing strategy would be completely different. It's difficult for the average person to judge "who is the best expert," because the average person usually doesn't know how to tell the difference between "an average expert" and a truly great expert."
Therefore, the strategy for marketing expert is "to educate the consumer." Give them lots of free information to help them understand what makes a truly great expert (in the chosen industry). In doing so, you will help to demonstrate that you are, in fact the expert. That's why marketing consultants to a fair amount of public speaking -- to help demonstrate that they are the expert. A great lawyer that wanted to grow his/her business could do the same thing.
There are other "General marketing strategies" as well, to cover most general situations. The recommended strategies to promote each of these different types of businesses are distinctly different:
- service industries
- professional services
- retail
- manufacturer
- opportunity
Of course, if you're not in marketing, you probably don't give a hill of beans about all these different strategies. But I was on a roll...
Some industries have shifted their reputations, or at least are trying to. Used car salesman being a prime example -- now called "pre-owned vehicles". If the name change was the only actual change, then the reputation wouldn't budge, but a concerted effort is being made to make deals more transparent. Time will tell if this change is permanent and how widespread.
White-collar professions are not immune from this perception difference. Accountants are generally seen as more trustworthy or having more integrity than lawyers. This is in spite of the fact that lawyers have professional rules of conduct that try to emphasize the importance of public perception of trust, but a simple examination of how each has dealt with crises shows that it takes more than words to create a reputation. When there was a string of corporate scandals involving accounting and law, such as Enron, Worldcom, Adelphia, the accounting profession panicked and knew that their high-valued reputation was threatened by a few rotten apples. They subsequently required all accountants (and this was followed by enrolled agents who do tax work) to take 2-4 hours of ethics training (varies by state) every year as part of their continuing education requirement. Lawyers have no such requirement -- they offer ethics training, but it is not required and only a very small number of attorneys take such training and the training often side-steps core issues of integrity (especially deceit) focusing more on procedural issues. The focus in criminal and civil law with "vigorous defense" or "zealous representaiton" has created a greater priority on "winning" with a "what can one get away with close to the legal line or not getting caught" rather than on practicing with the highest level of integrity in a highly competent manner.
The pool and spa industry seems to have more inaccurate information than many other industries except for perhaps the supplements (e.g. vitamins) industry. This isn't so much the fault of the pool stores and service professionals as it is of the manufacturers who present incomplete or biased information. Some of the "science" pages on some ionizer websites are simply laughable to anyone who knows science, but even the mainstream chemical companies don't disclose very relevant information retailers need to pass on to consumers to make informed purchase decisions. So far, consumers are taking things into their own hands by helping each other on multiple pool and spa forum websites, but the tens of thousands of such users are a drop in the bucket compared to the 8 million or so pools in the U.S. so their is little incentive for the industry to change.
Ironically, these poor practices in the pool industry have likely accelerated the trend towards saltwater chlorine generators since part of that movement was due to the unnecessarily high expense of chemicals and/or the too frequent dealing with algae blooms. That is, the manufacturers have to some degree shot themselves in the foot, though it may have been worth it in terms of profit in the short run and it is still a billion dollar industry.
So what can a pool service professional do? One example comes from Ben Powell who serviced commercial pools and started one of the pool websites that mostly ended up helping residential pool owners. Ben describes how he solved the dilemma of selling fewer chemicals which was better for his customers while still being able to make a living in this post. A decade later he ran into trouble with his subsequent test kit business so as with much in life it's not so black-and-white and is mostly shades of gray, but that does not detract from the lessons learned. Another example comes from the local pool store in our area where they combine their retail business that offers chlorinating liquid at a reasonable price as well as traditional Trichlor tabs, algaecide, clarifier, phosphate remover, etc. with a much larger pool service business that gives them a consistent revenue stream no matter which way the market shifts.
Did you ever see "Ace Ventura, Pet Detective"?
Do you remember in the beginning, how Jim Carrey dressed up as a delivery man, and totally abused that box that he was delivering to someone? As usual, Jim Carrey was ridiculous and over the top, but nonetheless, it was still within the realm of believability.
But in your example, you didn't mention "the delivery industry"; you specifically mentioned "UPS." I dare say that UPS has gone to great lengths with strict hiring practices, uniforms, strict policies and procedures, and "always clean (albeit ugly) brown trucks," to bolster their image as a "to be trusted" delivery company.
I would give a positive nod to FedEx in this vein also. Maybe even DHL. But what this really means is that some specific companies have deliberately and successfully separated themselves from the stigma of an untrustworthy industry. But that doesn't mean all delivery companies can be trusted - Just those that have implemented and enforced policies that reflect "how a GOOD delivery company SHOULD operate."
So in my estimation, "no blue-collar service industry is immune." but they all provide the opportunity for one or two stellar companies to stand out as the exception to the stigma rule. Companies like Florida Leisure & Spa....
Thank you for the question!
-Jeremy
Florida Leisure Pool & Spa
www.FLLeisure.com
and thank you for mentioning auto mechanics -- they are definitely part of that entire genre of "blue collar services" -- and they have at least as bad a reputation as the moving companies!