The better online platforms make it easy to leave feedback, so most satisfied customers are happy to give you a positive review…but you do have to ask them – if you don’t, you could find the only ones who make the effort are those with some kind of grievance.
Consumers love the convenience of posting a job on online platforms and, within minutes, having their inbox fill up with competing quotes. But are the latest online trades portals also good news for electrictians?
Amanda and Derek Munn of Munn Electrical initially liked the idea of winning business online. Over the past 12 months they have tried a range of digital marketing systems – but found they failed to live up to their expectations.
‘Two were particularly bad,’ says Amanda. ‘They didn’t qualify leads and we ending up paying as much as $40 for leads that weren’t genuine – think 10-digit phone numbers and spam email addresses.’
They were also constantly undercut by tradies charging less than $50 an hour.
‘We pride ourselves on the quality of our service and we add value by offer extras such as free quotes, credit card payments and no call-out fee,’ Munn continues. ‘When we include the cost of license fees and insurances it’s simply not worth our while to try to compete at the online level. It costs a lot more to run a compliant business than one that’s not compliant and, if some of the other services on offer are poor quality, there’s also the risk that our brand could be damaged by association.’
The Munns have now switched their investment to pay-per-click advertising and a local reviews/SEO strategy.
‘We have even started using old-school local area marketing such as flyer drops, which is working remarkably well,’ says Munn.
The power of positive feedback
Brad Rosen, who co-owns Glenco Electrical Services with his brother Glenn, says they’re both committed to providing customers with outstanding service.
‘We have a number of full-time, qualified electricians who offer extras such as using shoe covers and tidy mats to protect clients’ homes as well as free safety inspections,’ says Brad. ‘But sometimes it can be difficult to show our points of difference on an online platform.’
However, he has found that some platforms provide a cost-effective way to put the business in front of people who would otherwise be hard to reach. And he considers the biggest plus to be online reviews.
‘The better online platforms make it easy to leave feedback, so most satisfied customers are happy to give you a positive review,’ he says. ‘But you do have to ask them – if you don’t, you could find the only ones who make the effort are those with some kind of grievance, which everyone gets from time to time.’
Glenco now has over 140 positive reviews on one site alone.
‘I think that’s a real plus for the people who are looking for value rather than just the lowest cost,’ says Brad. ‘We can also use that as a selling point in our other marketing material – by including it in our email signature for example – and it doesn’t cost us a cent.’
Next time we will look at online bidding and the home services sector.
Domini Stuart, Journalist, Author and Speaker
