Don’t Be a Digital
Dinosaur!
By Maurice Bushroe, President, Blue Ribbon Pool Care
For those of us who’ve been in our industry for many years,
the introduction of new ideas such as computerized billing, web-based ordering
and smart phones have led to tremendous changes in our businesses. Every year we have a new assortment of time
and money saving #technologies to select from, and, for most part, the financial
rewards have been sizable. Many of you
have a company website, maybe even an on-line store. After the initial expense
of time and money, you’re now part of the digital community, right? Well, maybe not.
HANDLING #COMPLAINTS – FACE THEM HEAD ON
The term “social media” makes most of us a bit nervous. We use – and maybe understand – our personal
Facebook account (mostly as a way of #communicating with our kids!). All too often, the first exposure a pool
professional has to social media is an online complaint written by a customer
and posted somewhere for the whole world to see. It’s easy to dismiss just one complaint as a
crazy former customer who expected you to give them too much, for too little, and
too quickly.
And when you ignore that #complaint, you’re immediately on
the endangered species list – you’re becoming a digital dinosaur! Respond to every response whether it’s positive or negative.
MAKE
MILLENIALS PART OF YOUR MARKETING APPROACH
The ‘baby boom’ generation that many of us belong to is no
longer driving the swimming pool industry. Whether you own a small service
company or a large construction operation, your customer is getting younger.
Gen-X, Gen-Y, millennials – the members of these groups are your prospective
customers. #Research repeatedly shows
that they are squarely focused on leisure activities, and swimming pools are
surely part of their future. They look
for pool professionals using online search tools, and those tools show not only
your website but the negative comments people have posted about you. The first thing they learn about your
business is negative, and unless you have a program to address these
complaints, you’ll probably never see their business. When the ‘boomers’ are gone, you might be
too.
SOCIAL
MEDIA IS AN INVESTMENT NOT AN EXPENSE – THE SOONER YOU REALIZE THIS THE BETTER
You need to proactively create a positive online presence
beyond your website. Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter – and a dozen other sites you’ve never heard of – are your
way of ensuring current and prospective customers that you are a good business
partner, not just another shady pool guy.
Yes, learning these technologies takes time, and creating an online
presence requires investments on which you might not see a quick return. But I don’t think our industry will be the
only one where the new, digital age rules don’t apply.
Set an easy goal – research your own company, and three of
your competitors. Based solely on
information from the web, decide which you would choose to work with as a new
homeowner. If your company isn’t the
obvious choice, you’ve taken a second step on the path to extinction.
A proactive social media program is an investment in your
future. There are social media
specialists everywhere, and you need to get to know one. Even though it might not improve your bottom
line immediately, their advice might just help you avoid becoming a digital
dinosaur.
LEARN
MORE
The East Central Chapter will be hosting a marketing seminar on Tuesday,
January 12 from 6-7:30pm at Persimmon Hollow Brewing located at 111 W Georgia
Avenue in Deland. The topic will be “Don’t
be a Digital Dinosaur in 2016” Enjoy the best food truck in town, some beers
and learn best practices for marketing your business. Feel free to bring your
office manager or marketing specialist to learn tips on how to be seen and
heard on and offline.
#DontbeaDigitalDinosaur
