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As equipment prices have decreased and technology has improved, more and more customers are considering outdoor security. Integrators who are active in this market sector say they can make some [...]

I spend a lot of time in hotel rooms and, after many hours standing under hot, cascading water in different cities, with no notepad and nothing else to reflect on, [...]

If you've been in business for any amount of time, you understand the importance of customer retention. Acquiring new customers is one of the biggest expenses in most companies. Therefore, [...]

A well run customer satisfaction measurement program is the key to improved customer retention Quality has become the strategic driving force for the 1990s. SPC, TQM, ISO 9000 and other [...]

Editor's note: In the conclusion of a two-part series on callbacks, contractors share their solutions for reducing the percentage of callbacks. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to predict [...]

Good ole Joe has been calling on your biggest customer for almost 20 years. He knows all of the managers by their first names. He has been to their kids' [...]

Let's say you meet someone for the first time and during that meeting, you have a great conversation and realize you have some common interests. You seem to look at [...]

Contractors: It may be in your best interest to just let them go. 'Ruthless compassion,' it was explained to me, is how to fire a customer. Here's the story behind [...]

Being too fast is a problem when a customer calls to complain after the work has been finished. 'This bill is way too high. Your guy was only here five [...]

Go to a devastated region like Darfur and ask a starving woman what she would like to eat. Her answer would be pretty basic. She'd like just about anything to [...]

You can be a client killer or a client saver. You can operate your business in a way that alienates and aggravates your clients, or you can take steps to [...]

I frequently write articles on fairly broad business topics. This can be quite helpful when looking at the big picture but sometimes it is better to talk about one subject [...]

Whether they are working in residential, industrial, or commercial markets, HVACR service technicians often come across the necessity of replacing motors. It's a hard-working part of the system and its [...]

The most valuable asset that HVACR contractors have in their inventory is their updated customer list. And even more valuable is the list of service agreement customers. That is a [...]

There are tons of companies and products that are making a name for themselves by making things easier for consumers. Many of the hottest products today are simply plug n' [...]

Here is a quick profitability puzzle for you. Which of the following scenarios means more to your company? Scenario No. 1: A homeowner calls you from the Yellow Pages. You [...]

When I entered the finishing business 20-plus years ago, instant communication didn't exist. No desktop PCs, cell phones or pagers. Much more time was spent on developing relationships. When people [...]

In today's fast-paced, rapidly changing business world, your customers play a pivotal role in the long-term success of your business. Lose a customer and you can lose your business, one [...]

I'm a big believer in the fact that the image we project, both personally and through our company, has a great deal to do with our eventual success. When I [...]

Customers write your paychecks. They pay for your overhead and equipment. Without customers, there would be no business. This seems obvious, yet many companies forget this simple fact. If the [...]

It's not nice to call people names. Didn't you hear that from your mother as a kid? But most, if not everyone has had a nickname at some time. They [...]

Customer service is key when looking to gain and maintain customers. If a company fails to provide the customer service a client feels he or she deserves, the client will [...]

I ran across an incredible marketing book that I strongly suggest that you read. It is Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith. It's a very easy book to read and [...]

A customer spends several thousand dollars remodeling her bathroom, and your company really appreciates the business. The question is: 'Does the customer know you appreciate their business?' Maybe the tech [...]

Retail store owners should face up to the truth that there is no such thing as an ever loyal customer. The most retailers could do is to strengthen customer's interest in their business. This they could do by providing personalized service to regular clients. Frequent communication with customers also makes them feel that you care for them while investments to give stores a makeover ensure that these do not look humdrum and dreary., It wasn't so long ago that customers were fiercely loyal. Today, they are frighteningly disloyal. Driven by sales and self interests, business owners as a whole are the guilty ones. [...]

Customer relations is an important area of business that is often not given enough attention. Many companies do not have a specific plan for developing customer relations, and miss out on the rewards a good program can bring. Customers want to deal with friends, and they appreciate being thanked for their business. Small gifts are a good way to thank them for referrals or keep them thinking of a company. New customers appreciate packages with company information and contacts. The demeanor of the credit manager is also important., Although millions of dollars are spent by American businesses each year to create favorable corporate images and attract new customers, comparatively little is spent on a conscious effort to keep [...]

It is not legal for service contractors to achieve a market monopoly through price fixing, but they can dominate the competition by demonstrating a value monopoly - the ability to provide customers a unique service. To accomplish this it is important to: understand customers, provide them with a competitive advantage, demonstrate consistency and reliability in service contracts, respond to problems quickly and take full responsibility for work performed., A monopoly is 'the exclusive control that makes possible the fixing of prices and the virtual elimination of competition.' Unlike a Power Monopoly broken up by the Sherman Antitrust Act, [...]