I was scrolling around this week’s WQA Update.
I saw a blog by the WaterRight Group that piqued my interest. It was titled Why Do Homeowners Need a Service Plan? I clicked in and thought it was a great article.
The truth is that someone like me absolutely should have a service plan in place for lots of things in my home. It’s not just that I don’t know what end of the screwdriver to hold – after all, I make my living walking, talking and breathing data. It’s also that I don’t have the right tools.
In terms of selling homeowners a service plans, the best time is right when they are installing the system. I’m sure we all agree on that.
But that can’t be the only source of data for Service Plan leads. The article points out that many people install their own water softeners.
Service Plans are not as cut & dried as they used to be. Some include annual checkups. Others also offer a smartphone app that can monitor water usage on a system. Very cool technology.
Anyway, this was a fabulous article in terms of all the information it provided.
To me, it served as a reminder for Dealers that Service Plans are great to sell. They can provide dependable revenue. They also offer opportunities for cross-selling new products or trading the old ones up.
This facet of the business also presents a Dealership with another unique selling proposition. For example: You can count on us to not just sell you a system – but to maintain it for you, as long as you own it!
Bottom line, the Dealer needs to get customers for these Service Plans. Therefore, the Dealer needs to market. As you can see, I’m putting my marketing hat back on.
DataDale’s Recommendation:
Consumers get to know your brand because they’ve seen it or they’ve heard about it. Studies continue to show that your message needs to be seen multiple times and via multiple marketing channels. This type of multi-channel approach makes your message more important.
To sell Service Plans, I recommend a multi-channel plan that reaches the same targeted prospect group using different marketing channels.
The prospect group is Homeowners. The age and income levels depend on your market and the cost of the Plan. Families with children may be a good overlay for you as well.
Let’s talk about marketing channels for this product. First, direct mail is the winner. I would use postcards. The week before the mail drops, I would launch a social media campaign to those households where email addresses are available. This acts as a prelude to the direct mail.
Next, I would also take that same email file and upload to Google so your ads show in front of them during search. Again, more brand visibility.
When you do this mailing, make sure to take advantage of the USPS Informed Delivery program. This means that anyone on your prospect list who has signed up for Informed Delivery will also see a copy of your postcard in their morning email. This doesn’t cost you anymore than your regular postage. It doesn’t matter if it’s sent first class or via bulk-marketing mail. Wow – yet another channel to increase your visibility.
Last, I would then mail to the same group a second time, 10 days after the first mailing. Enough time between mailings to feel like a new offer yet still register some recognition. Again, use the USPS Informed Delivery program to get that extra channel visibility.
You should also use any other channels in your budget that can support this campaign. Remember, when you’re selling homeowners a service plan, your goal is to get in front of them in as many ways as possible.
Services plans also keep the service provider’s name current in the customer’s database. If my appliance breaks after many years of being serviced by Company X and further assuming I was happy with Company X, I personally would be more inclined to purchase a new appliance from the same Company X (as opposed to shopping around with different vendors).
I am going to do the same thing! Once I get good service from a company, I am theirs for life!