Appliance servicing blogs can boost your more lucrative cash call business
By Paul MacDonald, ServiceSource
Profitable service operations require a healthy ratio of 70% COD (cash calls) to 30% warranty billings.
Warranty work is seldom profitable, making COD service is necessary to offset losses warranty service may cause. Sadly, the COVID pandemic forced many retailers to all but abandon COD calls to concentrate on the overwhelming demand for warranty repairs over the last two years. To fix this, we need to focus attention on COD service.
Mind you, don’t stop making warranty service calls, as they are not only essential to customer satisfaction but also serve to differentiate BrandSource members from the big-box stores. The trick is to sustain the warranty work and grow the COD service business.
Service Feeds Sales and Sales Feeds Service
Growing COD service requires service advertising to attract new customers in need of appliance repair services. You can pay to advertise or take small, cost-free steps to let customers in your market know your company provides this service.
Consumers search online when they need goods and services. Does your company appear in Google search results for “appliance repair in your town”? If not, you’ve got some search engine optimization (SEO) work to do. SEO happens organically when the Internet crawlers find relevant, current and authoritative content posted online.
See: Understanding SEO
While claiming your Google and Bing business pages is vital, so too is the content you post on social media and YouTube channels. And an especially powerful form of online content is service blogs. Create blogs that address specific questions consumers are researching online, and post them regularly on your company website alongside sales-oriented blogs. Consumers who aren’t current customers will be so soon through your service channel.
Haven’t got time to blog? AVB Marketing (AVBM) can help. Just ask Grace Kuhn, social content manager at AVB’s advertising, e-commerce and digital marketing wing. Take it away, Grace …
Can Blog Content Drive Service Calls?
We know what you’re thinking: “I sell and service appliances … what do I need blogs for?” We’re here to tell you that blogs are valuable for your business for many reasons, but for the sake of time, let’s talk about the big three.
1. Consumers Want to Buy from Experts
When you (actually AVB’s team of writers) post content about topics your consumers are interested in, it showcases your industry knowledge and elevates your credibility. Now you’ve got another reason to stand out against the box stores. See a sample of our service-oriented blog content here.
2. Blog Content Strengthens Your Relationship with Consumers
Marketing isn’t just about selling yourself or your product; it’s also about educating the customer. That’s essentially the definition of “content marketing.” By having a library of blogs to choose from, consumers can deepen their relationship with you on their own terms.
3. Content Builds Trust
When consumers have a problem they can’t solve, they usually turn to Google. Imagine them finding out the appliance shop down the street has the answer to why their dryer stopped drying their clothes. When you can answer consumers’ questions, your customers will trust you to solve their problems (and will likely refer others to do the same).
Content marketing expert Andrew Davis summed it up nicely: “Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.”
We couldn’t agree more.
To learn more about adding AVBM’s appliance servicing blogs to your website, click here.
AVB’s senior ServiceSource lead Paul MacDonald ran his own 38-tech service business and is a past president of the UASA. He currently operates the Expert Service Program, which helps servicers run their operations more efficiently and profitably. You can reach Paul at (647) 500-7785 or at paul.m.macdoanld@pmdgroup.ca.
