Contractor Marketing Insider by Hudson Ink

SPECIAL ISSUE ON CUSTOMER RETENTION CMI CONTRACTOR

MARKETING INSIDER

Coming Contractor Marketing Meltdown The

Are you among the growing thousands who are…

ffOverwhelmed?

ffOverspending? ffUnderperforming?

INSIDE:

Too many options, too much to do, too much information. Every media has their hand out, but refuses ‘accountability.’ Your marketing should pay off in leads and sales. If not, why bother?

5 Common Myths Costing You Big • Sneaky Ways Competitors Steal Your Customers • Mine the Hidden Gold Already in Your Company • Professor Proves ONE Technique Doubles Your Profits

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE “The More Things Change…”

eems like everybody’s begging you to change something.

Some say pour your money into online marketing. Others say if you don’t invest in training, you’ll go under. Others want you to switch brands, switch media or even change locations.

Why this constant “change or else” pressure? Sometimes the advice “happens” to fit whatever is being sold. (You noticed that too?) Yet truthfully, change brings growth, and keeps your business from fading away.

It’s NOT your imagination, and you’re not alone.

CMI CONTRACTOR MARKETING I N S I D E R Vol.3 Number 7

See Articles by or about Adams Hudson and Hudson, Ink in: The News PM Magazine Contractor Excellence ACCA Insider

The question is: How do you keep up with all the changes and continue with proven business builders? Answers are all through this issue. They’re based on the strongest principles that businesses were “retaught” in the recent economy: “You can’t run a business without customers.” Many have tried! Marketing is about getting and keeping customers. Too many contractors waste resources chasing the ‘next’ customer and neglecting current ones. A vicious, costly cycle. “Keeping existing customers is cheaper than getting new ones.” I don’t think my cable company knows this one! You already paid to get them. Customers pay more, buy faster and refer more. Makes sense. “If you want to grow your revenues, grow relationships first.” So true, so overlooked. No one wants to feel like a transaction; we all want to feel like a customer. Building relationships is easy when you follow proven paths shown in this issue. Simply find the method and automate it. And remember —

Gemaire HVACR Distribution News Contractor Contracting Business CB Interactive A/C Today

Hudson, Ink is Preferred National Marketing Partner to:

Marketing methods change constantly, but messages should remain steady.

Earn customers by trust; keep customers with service; grow customers with relationships. Let this issue be your guidebook. Helping Build Customers for Life, Adams Hudson

President Hudson, Ink 2 • Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

COMMON CONTRACTOR MARKETING MYTHS

It can be a shock to learn this:

What separates successful contractors from those who struggle is rarely technical competence. Nor the accounting software, or the latest tools, or inventory management. Those all help, but they don’t drive cash flow. What separates success from failure is really simple: Leads, sales and profits. Profits come from sales. Sales come from leads. Leads come from… marketing. Beware of the following marketing myths.

Forget ‘broad’ and go ‘deep.’ ACTION STEP: Don’t look at “cost per contact” but at “cost per lead.” Tight messages and targets with seasonal “timing” are best, usually starting about 21 days before peak season, then reduce your marketing as the weather forces more leads your way.

“The Internet is the Best Source of Cheap Leads.” Cheap traffic maybe,

but converting them is another story. Social Media is cheap, but can expend much time for good lead generation. Email “purchased” lists are a bad idea if you like your reputation. ACTION STEP: Get email and cell phone numbers from all your customers, starting now, in every contact method you have. Request they “forward” emails and either “friend” or “like” your Social pages. Quality over quantity.

“Good Marketing is Expensive.”

Since it costs the same to run a bad ad as a good one, bad marketing with poor results is actually more expensive. ACTION STEP: “Targeting” your market and message pays off. The best targets are proven buyers such as your customers, past customers and customers of other home services. (Easily obtained. See page 6 in this issue.)

Be careful of advertising

“broad and cheap” when it’s better to go

“narrow and deep.”

loyalty. Who wants that? ACTION STEP: Generate high quality leads from target lists (like item 1) and choose other targets based on a) age of home b) age of homeowners c) income level. Look for targets that are most like your current best customers.

never heard of “Repeat business” or “Referrals” (hard to get referrals from NON customers!). Maybe they don’t know your competitors are constantly trying to nab these same customers. ACTION STEP: Existing customers buy faster, close at higher prices and refer readily if re-contacted through regular, scheduled communication. Implement a Customer Retention program that runs automatically and you’ll be miles ahead of the competition.

“To Get More Leads, Advertise Low Prices.” Baloney. Low price ads get

“No Need to Invest Marketing Money on Customers You Already price shoppers, who are harder to close and have poor Have.” Maybe the person who believes this has

“Marketing to the broadest audience brings the best results.”

This advice usually only works for the person “selling” the broad audience! This is how cheap Internet directories, Yellow Pages and “card deck” mailers sell. (Any good results from those lately?)

See www.hudsonink.com for tons of free marketing advice, Case Studies and other contractor sales boosters.

Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

• 3

THE COSTLIEST MISTAKE IN CONTRACTOR MARKETING

ost “standard” contractors get a lead, make the appointment and do a repair or replacement job. They enter this data into the “customer file” and incorrectly assume two things: 1. If this was a current customer, they assume the “standard” approach must be enough to keep them. 2. If it was a new customer, they assume this customer will remain a customer, as long as they were satisfied. So far, no surprises. Yet the surprise for most standard contractors is that what they “think” is a good flow of customers is a trickle of what they could be getting. And it’s one of the most costly assumptions in all of contracting. Your Company Sales Volume 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 7,500,000 10,000,000

The Evils of “CLR”

They don’t realize that the average attrition rate (customer loss rate) per year is 11%. So if your database is 3,000, that’s 330 customers that leave you every year. The average cost of generating one customer is $240-$325. (The more expensive the transaction size, the more expensive the acquisition cost.) So, just to get back your “lost” customers would run about $80,000. (330 x $240) And if you only serviced them once and they left, you probably lost money on them. (Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?)

“WHY Can’t I Get to the Next Level?” This

question nags tons of contractors. Here’s a big contributor to

Marketing at 6% Customer Count Customer Loss (11%) 60,000 90,000 120,000 180,000 240,000 300,000 450,000 600,000

2,000 3,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 15,000 20,000

220 330 440 660 880 1,100 1,650 2,200

ver left you “No customer e id too much because you pa m; plenty will attention to the use you didn’t.” leave you beca in, author of —Scott McCla eally Want R rs e m o st u C t Wha

that problem. The average “acquisition” rate of new customers for contractors is 15%. If you’re losing them at a rate of 11%, your net customer gain is only 4%. Now, look at the huge cost to get those new customers, and you see how this waste compounds the problem. Many contractors grow a certain level, and then go flat, often because they ignore the CLR. The road to explosive profitability is paved by keeping those customers. Solving that starts with knowing why they left. Cost to Replace Lost Customers ($240) 52,800 79,200 105,600 158,400 211,200 264,000 396,000 528,000

Residential contractors often build a customer base relative to 2,000 per $1m in volume. Growth-focused contractors invest in marketing at a 6% rate (lower for Conservative; higher for Aggressive. Contact Hudson, Ink for a free Budget Calculator.) Find your “Customer Count” and see how much you must spend to replace customers you already had. Stop this loss with a Customer Retention program and watch profits soar. 4 • Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

WHY YOUR CUSTOMERS LEAVE YOU 4% Passed away or moved out of the service area. Can’t help this one.

9% Had an unresolved complaint. They didn’t feel they had enough “connection” to your company to let you resolve it.

16% Took a competitor’s offer. Sales killer. These came out of your database from your customers.

55% Left due to your “indifference.” Translation: You never showed them you cared if they stayed or not! You may say you “care” about customers, but how do you prove it?

Look at those last two figures: 71% of your lost customers left you for ONE reason.

You weren’t there but your competition was.

e e r t S l l a The W

You spend a lot of money to get phone calls and appointments. You spend a lot of effort to get customers. Why lose them for free?

: TING MEDIA A R E N E G P TO ail al studied em rn u o J t e e tr S ings The Wall s postal mail su r e v s te a r in response tter response e b % 4 5 a and found direct mail.

Bottom Line: Customers don’t want a ‘fix and forget’ contractor. They want a quality contractor who does more than ‘talk’ customer service; they prove it with a Customer Retention marketing program. Customer Retention doesn’t cost, it pays. Implement a program today.

Don’t tell your competition! They think ‘no one mails anymore!’ but that means less competition in the mailbox.

5 Simple Ways to Keep More Customers

• Newsletter – Must be regular, build your image and not ‘hard sell.’ Send 2-4 times a year. (Mail outpulls online 54%.)

d. My Tha Your Good Dee nt. Your Discou

nks.

OMER>:

E OF CUST or Dear <NAM tly improved d PANY> recen wante you, <COM of a friend of yours. I Thanks to to us. em CUSTOMER> electrical probl repaired the <NAME OF placed in us when for referring gh our to thank you confidence you the trust and friends is throu new ciate appre make I way to e that the best e call. >, we believ your next servic <COMPANY us. $X OFF> on our name. At important to COUNT OR you passed along s why referrals are so service call. offer you a <DIS that we can That’ we’d like to coupon for the discounted you. I sincerely hope old friends. to have thanks to you, as your thanks to our pleasure Because of our se it will act token of my come. It is this letter becau is just a small friends for years to OFF> Please save $X of your NT OR This <DISCOU service to you and many like you. you! be of help to be of ing customers ever we can continue to rtive and referr us know when wonderful, suppofor the referral. And let <COMPANY> Thanks again <PHONE> Sincerely, service! URE> NAT of <SIG OFF> on the one the next time e a <DISCOUNT OR $X <NAME> letter handy l receiv to have this e call, and you’l P.S. Be sure makes a servic our technicians

• Maintenance Agreement – This is the next “ascension” step from base customer to “client.” It’s smart to advertise these in your newsletter.

nance Mvainte ings Plan Sa

memories, giving and sharof comfort, security, family, created this Maintenance investment. It’s your place all this. That’s why we our home is your largest to function while providing © ing. And a place that’s supposed our Comfort Club . Savings Plan as part of joining Savings Plan Here’s how your Maintenance a member… SavES you monEy: Here’s what you can get as WiTh each time!

C o SApyr M igh PL te E d

• A Thank You Card or Call – Easily done following a transaction; is remembered.

save WiThouT and labor for repairs. You diScountS: On parts Maintenance Maintenance charge Included at no additional Savings Plan Savings Plan SEaSonal maintEnancE: money. times). Tune-ups save you (when done during scheduled $ ___________ “to do” list. We $ ___________ Take this one off your Today’s Repair: you on schedule! – ___________ handle everything to keep NoNe – ___________ for system Discount on Repair: liFE: The #1 reason incrEaSEd EQuipmEnt equipment lasts longer. failure is dirt! Properly maintained Maintenance Savings + ___________ cooling NoNe and + ___________ Plan Cost: Properly maintained heating n lowEr utilitiES: dollars in your pocket. iNCluDeD + ___________ equipment keeps more energy Maintenance: + ___________ nonheating of ahead line” in You get to “cut n priority SErvicE: + iNCluDeD times! Cooling Maintenance: + members – even at our busiest year that you’re a Get Bonus Bucks every $ ___________ n BonuS BuckS: $ ___________ a new system! ToTAl member. Use like cash toward it’s saving you Your system is safety-checked, who to call! n pEacE oF mind: know Your SaVingS: $ correctly. If it’s not, you money, and it’s working canless. This agreement can be You can get more and pay system life. guarantEE: More n SatiSFaction repair savings. with the unused More energy savings. More reason, or for no reason, celed at any time for any portion of your dues refunded. No.of Systems Covered ______ Tech ________________ _________________ Service __ Next Maintenance Date ________________________________ Date Joined _________________ ___ Phone Number _________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ Name _________________ _ City/State/Zip _________________ __________________________________ Build datE Address _________________ SErial no.

n FrEE rEmindErS: n

Qty EQuipmEnt

makE

money, time q Yes! I’m ready to save

modEl

and maintenance headaches!

q q q q q Check q Cash _____ exp. Date ____________________ ____________________________________ ___ ________________________________________ ____________ Signature q Bonus: Free Newsletter Name on Card ____________________ q Dues Collected Today unless you choose to cancel!) _____ per month. q AutoRenew (renews automatically _____ today and $ ____________________ $ ____________________ o Pay Plan: i am paying ____________________ and on reverse ____________________ Terms and Conditions here Signature of Acceptance of

i’d like to pay by:

Card # ____________________

• Reactivation Letters – Resend to customers who have been “inactive” for more than 24 months. • Referral Request – With a good customer relationship, you’ve earned the right to ask for referrals. (Can also be done in your newsletter.) Hot Tip: If you can’t afford to do all 5, then at least do Thank You card/call and Newsletters. One is ‘transaction driven’ and one is ‘calendar driven’; a perfect marketing recipe.

Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

• 5

“Can ONE Technique Really Double Your Profits?”

This behavioral response professor proved it.

f you found one technique that could double your profits (and was still legal!), would you consider it? What if it didn’t involve buying customers, another company or even hiring one extra person? And since you’re thinking it should be incredibly costly… imagine if this golden principle you found was a “net-net” cost savings over what you’d normally spend. A dream? Nope. Dr. Frederick Reichheld, writing for Harvard Business School researched this topic that eventually became the underground marketing bestseller, The Loyalty Effect. He chronicles exorbitant costs of customer acquisition, which are compounded by customer loss. He saw this as “expense and profit going in opposite directions.” A dramatic illustration was made between two companies in the same industry.  They sell the same things, at the same markup.  They each have the same amount of overhead.  They generate an identical number of leads (15% acquisition rate, or amount of new customers per year).  They close sales at the same rate. The only difference was in their “Retention Rate.”  Company “A” retained 85% of its customers.

 Company “B” retained 95%. A simple 10 point difference. How could that small difference have much bearing on company fortunes? Just like a tidal wave, most of the power is just beneath the surface.

The Dramatic Profit Shift

ver a period of time, Company “A” was losing as many customers as they gained, yet they were spending more to replace them. The “Loyalty Effect” didn’t take place because new customers sapped company resources on lower ticket items, taking longer to close and at a lower closing rate. And, of course, “ex” customers don’t refer, so that profit train was cut off completely. Yet Company “B” piled in the same amount of new customers, keeping a full 95% of them. These customers generated higher tickets, bought faster and multiplied referrals at far less costs than ‘normal’ acquisition. In 7 short years, these “identical” companies were very different. With all other factors except retention the same, Company “B” had double the net profit of Company “A.” A Customer Retention program can literally double your profits.

Answer the following with “New Customer” or “Existing Customer” 1. Who buys faster? 2. Which one has a higher closing ratio? 3. Who will more likely buy your upsell? 4. Who refers more? 5. Who costs far less to reach? In each case, the answer is “existing customer.” Reichheld contends that most businesses lose these high value customers only to send them back to the market… where they have to “buy” them again with costly advertising, and start over!

6 • Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

TOP 7 WAYS A CUSTOMER RETENTION PROGRAM PAYS OFF 1. Ends the “Triple Threat” of Customer Loss – Most

contractors think losing a customer only means those sales. That’s just one problem. Yet you also lose all his future purchases and referrals. Plus you get to go “buy” another customer to replace the lost ones. It adds up.

2. Huge Competitive Threats – Your customers would make great customers for your competition! They are a walking target for mass mailings, clever telemarketers, cheap offers and all the media firepower they can muster. Just makes sense to protect your #1 cash asset.

3. Short Term Memory/ Ad Overwhelm – Customers

see 2,100 ‘commercialized’ messages a day. You think they’re going to remember you 6 months later? Don’t let that happen. If you forget your customers, they forget you. Simple as that.

4. “Active” Instead of “Passive” – A

quality Customer Retention newsletter program keeps customers engaged. It “forces” your awareness back into their

homes, keeps your name in front of them for their next call, next purchase, next need, next referral. Leaving this “to chance” is too big of a risk.

5. Customers Reward Relationships and Service More than Ever – Why? Been

to a fast food joint lately? This is what customers have come to ‘expect.’ Yet time-proven values of customer service and recognition through a regular, helpful newsletter skyrockets your image and separates you from the competition.

is a true program that runs automatically. Your customers don’t just want a contractor who can “fix” their home service problem. They want a contractor who proves they care about customers. A regular customer newsletter does that, automatically.

Offline Marketing Meets Online Marketing

6. Psychological Triggers Push ‘Sales Buttons’ –

Great salespeople sell without pressuring. Same with a great newsletter. We pioneered the ‘trigger’ concept, and have enhanced it with every issue. “Soft” selling your products and services goes under the radar; hard selling (like other newsletters) goes into the trash. Which do you prefer?

7. Boost Image, Professionalism and Sales Automatically – Most Contractors “talk” about customer appreciation, few prove it. A powerful newsletter program sets you apart, taking you to the next level in image, retention and referrals. The Hudson, Ink program

A Quick Response code can easily be put in your newsletters. (Hudson, Ink pioneered this strategy too.) Many phones already have the barcode reader (free). Just scan the code with your smartphone for a message (do it now!). We can insert these into your newsletter to direct customers to your site, a discount or a special ad. Just another way to engage your customers online and offline.

Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

• 7

Gone Are the Days When…

The Relationship Matters

Gone are the days of throwing marketing money away to get leads.

Customers Who Bought In-Home Services…

Gone are the days of broadly advertising, ‘hoping’ someone would call.

• 37% said the relationship was the most important reason

Gone are the days of depending on weather or luck to make your phones ring. Gone are the days when you service a home and call them a ‘customer.’

It is time for maximum marketing efficiency.

So Now Is the Time to… Protect your most profitable assets: Customers. Once you get a customer, it makes

sense to build an “iron cage” of retention around them. You’ve already spent marketing money to acquire a customer. Ensure their retention with an automatic program designed just for that purpose. ffNewsletters arrive in their homes 2-4 times a year, like clockwork. Drives your name into their recall. ffNewsletters build your image. Face it. Blending in is no way to get noticed! Our newsletters professionally position you to stand out from other contractors; helps makes their offers “invisible.” ffNewsletters “upsell” your customers. Hudson, Ink plants seeds for equipment upgrades and maintenance agreements, stealthily moving them from “good to better to best” in each issue.

• 22% said it was because they owned another product/service • 14% were referred by a friend or family member • Only 4% said price was most important

“It’s easy for your customers to find another contractor. It’s very hard to replace a relationship.” —Adams Hudson, author of Contractor Marketing Secrets Your Competition Doesn’t Want You to Know ffNewsletters go ‘under the sales radar’ yet get read and remembered. Customers discuss them with friends and neighbors. ffNewsletters ‘remind’ customers of your value. Educate them on products, services, benefits. There is no better, easier way to get more retention, sales, profits and referrals than with a Hudson, Ink Customer Retention Newsletter program.

Newsletter Paid for Itself in 1 Week — Over 30 Calls from 1 Ad

“When I first started the newsletter program, I had my doubts. Imagine my surprise when the newsletter generated over 30 calls (from one ad in our newsletter). As soon as it hit the mailbox, the phones began ringing. I’m a believer. This has changed the way I run my business. I can’t thank you enough!” —Phil Ward, Flynn Heating & A/C, NE

8 • Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

Want Even More Rewards & Benefits Starting Now? Okay, we hear you. You can get it. Here’s how.

Fast Action Bonus 1 Beat the early order deadline and get 200-500 newsletters, Free.

Fast Action Bonus 2

‘one on one’ coaching to help you through any marketing snags. (We’re a contractor marketing firm, not a ‘quickie print shop’

We include one with your order!

like most newsletter vendors.) PLUS you get a monthly one-hour group Coaching Call with Adams Hudson (and often a guest expert

Free shipping for over 5,000 ordered by the deadline.

or author). PLUS discounts on

Free Bonus 3

There is not another program

FREE Marketing Coaching for Customer Retention Newsletter clients. This is not just ‘call in support.’ This is a systemized

How Do We Insert a Marketing Coach Inside Your Newsletter?

other marketing services.

like this in all of contracting. Once again, Hudson, Ink leads the way to take you to the next level .

“The #1 Guerilla Marketing Weapon on the Planet is – without question – the Customer Retention Newsletter.” — Jay Conrad Levinson, Creator-Founder, Multiple Author of Guerilla Marketing, Guerilla Marketing Series

Want more leads, online and offline? Do you have challenges and questions, about your overall marketing? That’s why Hudson, Ink started the industry’s first Coaching Program for regular, on-going marketing coaching and support. The Coaching Program is included with your annual retention program. Call 1-800-489-9099 now.

What Program Is Best for YOU? Basically, the most expensive one. Kidding.  If

you’re just starting out,

consider two times a year.

 If

you’re on a tight budget,

go with a 2-color format.

 If you

want to stand out, go

 If you

want global domination

4-color. It’s a little more, but the impact difference is pretty big. (or some local version of it!), go with a 4-color, 4 times a year.

Don’t worry, we’ll coach you through this, and basically anything else you have a question about. Give us a call at 1-800-489-9099.

Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

• 9

Driving Digital Success with Print Media

t’s no secret that we’ve been advocating the marriage of our client’s print and online media campaigns. Why? Because this is no longer a world of paper and ink – but neither has the onlineonly era arrived. If you’re not reaching out to your customers in both formats, you’re missing out on customers. So, how exactly do you use your newsletter to drive the interaction between your print and online presence?

1) Offer more. You know that your newsletter is

designed to be a customer retention piece. But when you use the integration between print and online, you’re able to offer more. For instance, an article in your newsletter offers “more on this topic at our website. Just visit….” Once at the website, your report uses sales triggers that bump the reader towards scheduling an appointment for your services. It’s a two-step method that combines retention and soft selling for a winwin. (Even better, these reports are already written and ready to post with your Hudson, Ink newsletter.)

2) Take advantage of smartphones. That

means putting a QR code on your newsletter (available from Hudson, Ink) so that prospects and customers can immediately learn more about your offer via their web-enabled phones. This decreases the chances that once the newsletter is put down or thrown away, so is your offer. It combats the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality with a taste of instant gratification.

3) Stay on top of technology. That means using clean design in your newsletter – that go to

Bottom Line:

an equally clean and professionally designed website. Why? Because image matters. If the newsletter a prospect is holding in their hand looks like a kindergartner doodled it during recess (especially if the spelling and grammar are on that par), then they are never even going to give your website a chance. If you want your newsletters to work for you, then they’ve got to follow the rules of good pieces: legible, benefitsfocused and easily identified calls to action.

VERY IMPORTANT: Research proves that mailed vs. emailed gets higher open rates, better branding, better imaging and most importantly – higher response rates. The study showed that postal mail got between 4 and 22 times more response from the same company, for the same product, to the same list. Pretty good test. Hudson, Ink recommends sending short, contentrich emails to your broad “free” list, linking them to a longer article or product info within that email. Then supplement your email communication to your “paid” list (customers) with real mail, such as your newsletter. This way, you’re communicating both ways to the higher value list members.

Do NOT forgo offline marketing unless you want to reduce your image and response.

2 1

Ways to Get Your Customer Retention Newsletter Program Going

The “Slam Your Head in the Car Door Method”

Simply hire a college student or have someone on staff “just come up with something.” Grab some articles online, then rewrite them so you don’t get sued. Then cobble up the best ones (remembering to attribute quotes, facts, sources, so you don’t get a friendly letter from the FTC) and make it look almost like a real newsletter. Then… Find some graphics, making sure you get copyright release forms. (We have a library of nearly 30,000 images.) Then come up with some ads. (We have an ad arsenal, ready to plug in.) Then lay it all out. Print off a few thousand at a quick-print place. Get your postal permits in order (allowing for NCOA regulations too). Then either spend a weekend labeling them, or pay another company to address them. Then bundle by 3-digit presorted zip, in ordered batches and send them out. Do this once per quarter, on time.

Or you could pay us about 50¢ to do all that for you.

Option 2 is the “We do the work and you get the results” method. That’s why we’re here.

Yes, we assemble what is modestly the finest newsletter in all of contracting, aimed at the specific trades in HVAC, plumbing and electrical. Articles are professionally crafted for maximum readership and retention. Your company name is shown the ‘right’ number of times to drive recall. ‘Psychological sales triggers’ are inserted to drive phone calls. Loyalty is thanked, referrals are invited… in that order, for a reason. Graphics are designed to ‘lead’ eye patterns where we want. Photos are carefully selected. Even certain phrases are highlighted, or in a different font, for ‘scan-readers.’ This is no random effort. Even the paper was selected from a mountain of paper types for: a) Weight b) Printing clarity c) Feel d) Density

(so you can’t ‘read’ through the other side) e) Foldability without breaking the ink. Our MailSmart© program gets your newsletters addressed correctly for fewest returns (I hate waste) and keeps your mailing list fresh. They go into the mail on schedule and arrive like a welcomed guest, for each season you choose. Truly a “push-button” program. Why do we go to all this trouble? Customers pay for all you have. They pay for all your equipment, your staff, vehicles, property, your tools, insurance, utilities and your income. Losing just one can cost you thousands. Isn’t it worth spending 50 cents on the finest Customer Retention Newsletter program to keep them? We think so. Call, email or fax us if you agree.

Coach at 1-800-489-9099 if Think having your own cusyou have any questions. tomized newsletter program 3 Tell us how many customers is hard? You’re 90% done you want to impress, how while you’re reading this. often and that’s it! 1 You have a newsletter sample in your hands. (If not, contact us for another.) 2 Check out the Easy Order Form. Call a Hudson, Ink

4 Now, go sell something. Call or email now to get started today. Each day you delay could cost you more customers. 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com

• 11

CMI CONTRACTOR MARKETING I N S I D E R Vol.3 Number 7

Customer Retention is Simple and Effective “Thanks so much for your Customer Retention newsletter program. I’d been putting it off until I got to it (yeah, right) but your program made it so easy. What an impression it makes on customers! You guys are the greatest and thanks again for making my customer retention so simple and effective.” —Wes Hutchinson, Marke’s Inc., SC

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: • Profit Doubled? Exhaustive study from Harvard Business School shows two businesses can be identical in all aspects – except one. This single difference doubled profits. See the graphical evidence on page 6. • Response Rates for One Media Have Soared. Even though most ‘flash in the pan’ experts would be surprised to see this, The Wall Street Journal proved the point for all to see, on page 5. • The Most Important Business Question a Contractor Can Ever Ask. It’s not “how much money are we making?” or “how do we get more customers?” Page 4 holds the answer. • What Causes More Customers to Leave You Than Any Other? The answer is one most contractors would deny. A dire warning awaits any contractor who ignores this simple fact. See page 5.

Customers Love the Newsletter; We Get the Credit! “Just wanted to say ‘thanks’ for making our newsletter program just as easy as you say! I barely have time to write this email – so you know I’d NEVER get to do an entire newsletter! Plus, our customers love the newsletter… and we don’t mind taking the credit. I’ve seen others and they just don’t compare to yours. It looks and works great! Thanks again for making this program easy and rewarding.” —Diane Frey, Frey Heating & Plumbing, NJ

93% of Newsletter Callers Move to an Agreement! “Soon as I sent out the first one, I started getting calls. One customer I hadn’t heard from for 2½ years called to ‘check out’ her system. (Nothing else I’d tried got calls like this.) This one customer paid for the entire season’s newsletters. Plus… are you ready? So far, we’ve sold 93% of the newsletter callers a Maintenance Agreement. There IS a difference with your newsletters.” —Dave Van Westerhuyzen, Van West Comfort, CA

See how they did it starting on Page 2!

Contractor Marketing Insider • 1-800-489-9099 • www.hudsonink.com