5 Success Basics For Service-Based Businesses
 By B.J. Addington

Sole proprietors in every nook of the nation operate service businesses. Plumbers, Web site designers, janitorial firms, landscapers, electricians and a host of other service providers build their small businesses one customer at a time.

The competition is tough. But by learning and following a few basic business principles, you can lead your service-based business to success.

Some service providers act as if there is an unlimited supply of customers. They’re wrong.

If you deliver bad service, lousy products, uneven pricing and poor communication, the news will get out. Your business will struggle. Your profits will stagnate.

It’s much easier, much more profitable and much more fun to follow the basics and watch your business flourish.

See if your small business incorporates these five important principles.

1. Deliver quality
Customers want top quality. They don’t want products that fail. They don’t want the inconvenience of jobs that must be redone – or worse, jobs that are not completed. In all aspects of your work, deliver quality.

That means you must stay up to date on the newest products in your industry. You must also stay up to day on the latest trends in your market. If you don’t, you’ll be left in the dust by your competitors.

Go to seminars. Attend trade shows. Read industry-related publications. Stay informed.

2. Deliver on time
If you say you’ll be at the customer’s location at 9 a.m., be there. Don’t show up an hour late and expect to see a happy client.

Missing a deadline will undermine your credibility – fast. At every opportunity, deliver your service on time.

Sooner or later you’ll hit a snag. A part you ordered won’t come in on time. A rainy day will set back your project. One customer’s emergency will trump another. The project will take longer to complete than anticipated.

Those and other unexpected events will cause you to miss a deadline. Customers will understand – but only if you’ve met most of your other deadlines. If you too often offer excuses for missing your deadline, you’ll lose customer trust. And lost trust means a lost customer.

3. Keep customers informed
When things go wrong, tell your customer as soon as possible. Explain the situation. Give reasons, not excuses.

If you’re going to be late by even 15 minutes to a pre-arranged appointment time, call the customer. If you encounter unexpected problems in the middle of a project, tell your customer and explain how those problems will impact the project’s deadline or cost or both.

Customers don’t like surprises. Keep them in the loop.

4. Price right
Pricing can be tricky. Quote too high and you price yourself out of business. Quote too low, and customers might be skeptical of your quality.

Base your prices on what you need to make per hour or per job. Add to that the cost of your materials. And then calculate the expenses of your overhead, such vehicle maintenance, cost of tools, telephone expenses and such.

Keep an eye on competitors’ prices. Be sure your prices aren’t significantly higher or lower than your competition.

5. Offer value
Of course, customers don’t buy on price alone. They look for value.

You create value by showing customers that your prices are fair, your service is excellent and your products are top-quality.

How can you demonstrate value? By nurturing a stream of satisfied customers. Ask those customers if they’ll give you a recommendation.

They could provide a brief letter of recommendation, which you can show to new, potential clients. Or, ask your existing customers if they would simply give you a two-sentence testimonial that you can print in a brochure or post on your Web site.

(Posted March 2005)

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