How’s your deck and patio business doing? Sure, you’re great at what you do, building decks and patios, but does that mean that business is going well? What do you need to do to make sure you succeed this year? Not only do you want your deck and patio business to do well, but you also want it to thrive. We’ve got some suggestions for how you can not only thrive, but also dominate. Here’s the deck and patio business’s guide to dominating the competition in your market.
Manage Your Costs and Manage Your Deck and Patio Business
One of the first rules of business success is simple math. In order to be successful and ultimately dominate the competition, your business needs to be financially successful. That’s often easier said than done, particularly in the early years of any business, but especially in construction and home improvement. However, you have more control than you may realize. If you learn to manage your costs, you can often manage your business well.
It’s a fine line to walk between keeping costs down for your deck and patio business and maintaining quality and customer satisfaction. Make sure you invest your time and money wisely where it matters most. Things like investing in power tools that cut down on the need for extra manpower are a wise investment. Plan ahead and don’t waste your resources and manpower where you don’t need them. A little extra thought and care can go a long way to helping you keep your costs down. Then the extra success for your deck and patio business can help you dominate the competition. Now what about keeping those customers happy?
Keep Your Customers Happy and Satisfied
The next tip in our guide to dominating the competition is to keep your customers satisfied. Running your own deck and patio business is complicated. There are a lot of moving parts, and it can be difficult to manage it all. What doesn’t have to be difficult is prioritizing customer service. Make sure that you’re professional in all your customer interactions. Be honest and clear, and own your mistakes. If you make sure that you operate your deck and patio business with integrity all the time, then you’ll have a reputation that speaks for itself when you inevitably run into that customer that you just can’t please.
Speaking of those more challenging customers, there are some strategies for managing them as well as you manage your business. Consider offering a few “extras” for those customers who you suspect might be a little more difficult to please. And make sure you keep your lines of communication open and clear. Sometimes managing expectations can help your business thrive and dominate the competition in your market.
Increase and Expand Your Deck and Patio Business
Another way you can dominate the competition is by increasing and expanding your business. How can you grow your business? One great way to increase your customer base is to offer deck financing and patio financing. For some families, finances can be a huge reason that they neglect their home improvement needs. The simple solution is for those families to find financing options. And if you don’t offer contractor financing, then there’s no reason for them to choose your business over any other contractor.
But if you do offer contractor financing or deck and patio financing, then you’ve already set yourself apart from your competition, and you’re well on your way to dominating the competition in your market all because of contractor financing.
Now consider expanding your deck and patio business. If your deck and patio business is doing well, how can you take it to the next level? Consider ways to expand your business like offering outdoor kitchen builds or gutter installation. Whatever you see a need for in your market is where you can focus your efforts to expand your business. Business expansion is just one more way you can make sure that your business is dominating the competition in your market.
Be Intentional with Your Hiring
And since we’re talking about business expansion, you should definitely be intentional about how and who you hire for your deck and patio business. Finding good help these days is hard, so don’t make it any harder for yourself. Be clear about your expectations in your job descriptions and take job interviews seriously. You want to hire smarter, not hire again. Make sure your pay is fair and competitive, so you’ll draw the right kind of manpower for your team. Then support those workers who bring real value to your business. Your business is only as good as all of its working parts, so make sure you’re intentional about your team building.
Maintain an Active Online Presence
And finally, as we wrap up our guide to dominating the competition, you’ll need to maintain and manage an active online presence. Like we’ve already pointed out, running a deck and patio business is not an easy task. Not only do you have the day-to-day in and out of everything, there’s also a virtual presence you have to consider as well.
Do you have an effective website? What should your website include? Your business’s website is often the first impression that most people will get of your company. You want to start out on the right foot, so spend some decent time and effort to make sure that your website is clear and easy to navigate.
When most people visit a contractor’s website, they’re in search of specific information. Make sure that you provide the information they want to know. What services does your company provide? What are some pricing expectations? Do you offer contractor financing? These are the general questions you need to address on your website, especially if you intend to dominate the competition.
Once you’ve covered those, show off a little. Include high-quality images of your best work. Brag about your accreditations and any awards you may have earned. Highlight your awesome team and give a little information about what your customers can expect. As the cherry on top, ask some past satisfied customers to leave some great reviews. After all, you are selling a service, and you’re in it to win it. So, make sure your online presence works for you.
Offer Contractor Financing Through HFS Financial
Once it’s all said and done, you won’t regret offering the best contractor financing through HFS Financial. Our team makes it incredibly easy for you to partner with us to make your customer’s home improvement dreams come true. All you have to do is give us a call at 1-800-254-9560, and we’ll handle pretty much everything else. Help your customers become the equivalent of cash buyers in as little as a minute. With HFS Financial, “You Dream It, We Finance It.”