Keeping Customers in the Loop

Welcome to the new Complete Tree Service blog! This is your tree service business owner and blogger (apparently!) - Katie! 👋 Yes, I am indeed a blogger because...I love writing. And, I wanted a space to write about both business-related and tree-care (and the like) content - for anyone who's interested!

First of all, of course you'll be able to find tree-care (and the like) content here. That's what we're all about! But I also wanted to write about all things related to running a small business because, well, that's sort of also what we're all about. I might make a dedicated post to my whole learning journey at some point, but right now I'll just say this: Coming into my current role in the business 4+ years ago sent me right into learning a whole heck of a lot firsthand. The way we operate now is very different from how the company used to operate (when my father was the owner years and years ago - he was much more "old school"). So much has had to be "figured out" through trial and error. And do you know what that equals? Yep - a whole bunch of learning! I want to share what I've learned because I know that there are many people out there (young and old) who are starting their own businesses (or are perhaps taking over family businesses); I hope that what I've learned can help others! (That's also why I wrote a guide on many key details regarding starting a small business in Virginia, that you can check out here!)

Well, that really had nothing to do with the title of this blog post, did it? We're getting to that now! (That introduction just felt proper since this is my very first blog post on the site.)

Your Business = Your Customers

Okay, not totally! Of course leadership matters. Of course employees matter. Of course your connections matter. Of course those you've outsourced certain tasks to (e.g., payroll) matter.

But what's a business without customers? It's not a business! It doesn't exist. It won't survive.

Now, I've never been one to study (not in the "school" sense but rather in the "lived experience" sense) customer relations just in order to keep customers (i.e., for customer retention). I personally believe in just treating your customers as awesomely as you can (yes, I like the adjective "awesomely" - I like to write in a pretty informal style, as you'll learn haha 👈🏻 see? I even add in things like "haha" every now and then because it adds personality and flavor, in my opinion...). Okay, regroup: I personally believe in just treating your customers as awesomely as you can. And as long as you do that? You're going to retain customers. All of them? Nope! But that's going to happen regardless of what you do. You can and will "lose" customers for all sorts of different reasons - many of them not having anything to do with what you/your business did or didn't do! (Yet sometimes you do definitely need to reflect on why you "lost" a customer/customers to see if there are things you can do to improve. Lack of reflection = lack of growth.)

Whenver I've heard advice like "if you do XYZ, that's how you keep your customers," that's always felt sort of...icky to me. Yes, "icky" truly is the best word to describe it. To me, it has often sounded like "doing XYZ" was only to keep customers - as in, it was all business-focused but not customer-focused.

Now, I'm sure that's rarely ever anyone's intent when sharing advice like that! I highly doubt there are many people out there who care nothing about their customers and only engage in customer care to "help their bottom line." (But hey, are there some people out there like this? Yep.)

Happy Customers = Strong & Steady Business

In opposition to caring for customers just to retain their business (and hope they spread the word about you), I like to think of things this way:

You just treat your customers as awesomely as possible and a natural consequence of that is customer retention. Another natural consequence? Having your existing customers spread the word about you! Word-of-mouth advertising is some of the most powerful advertising.

I like to analogize this to gratitude. We're told that when we intentinoally engage in gratitude, we end up having more things to be grateful for. (Whether this is totally due to a change in perception is up for debate! But we certainly do know it to be a reality - I'm sure we've all experienced it!)

That's awesome, right? But we don't engage in a gratitude practice in order to "get more" - we don't engage in gratitude in order to have more things to be grateful for. (That's kind of manipulating gratitude, huh?)

In the same way, we don't have to treat our customers well only to keep their business and hope they tell others about us. (Is that even genuinely treating someone well if there's an underlying motive?)

But just as we can enjoy the fact that gratitude leads to more, we can enjoy the fact that treating your customers awesomely will lead to more! (And we just get to "trust the process" here.)

One Way to Treat Your Customers Awesomely = Keeping Them Informed!

No one likes to feel forgotten, left behind, or like they don't matter.

Even if you are incredibly busy and have not yet been able to get around to something you said you would get done for your customer (or prospective customer) ASAP (in our instance, this is usually conducting an estimate for needed tree work!), people still like to be kept in the loop. I know I do! I like to be kept in the loop.

To me, that shows me someone cares. I matter to them. I matter to them enough that I'm on their list, I'm on their mind.

Transparency shows that you care, too. And? Transparency adds some "humanity" to your business! Can you be too transparent? Of course! (You can be too transparent in many areas of life - not everyone needs to, or wants to, know everything!)

For instance: You don't have to go into great detail about your dog's unfortunate and newfound intestinal condition that has set your schedule back a few days (just a random example where, yes, there could definitely be too much transparency haha). But would it, in this case, be a good idea to still let your customers know a bit about why XYZ is taking just a bit longer for you to do/complete for them? Or why you haven't been in touch in a couple of days? You bet!

But here's another word of caution: Make sure it's not an excuse. You can have reasons without making them excuses! (Yet, most of the time...people can sense when you're trying to make excuses rather than just state reasons.)

People Appreciate Honesty

All humans...we appreciate honesty.

Even if a customer is unhappy that something is taking longer than they'd hoped, they most likely still appreciate you being honest with them. (Honesty exemplifies integrity. Honesty is a form of respect.)

I've found this out in my personal life. Here's an example: I've been dealing with anxiety and anxiety attacks since I was little (like, really little - for reference, I'm 30 now). In high school, I used to be embarrassed by it. Whenever I'd have to cancel plans because of it, I never fully told people why. I always defaulted to "I'm sick" or "I just don't feel really great" or something vague. I wasn't lying, but I wasn't telling the whole truth. Oh, and other times? I simply just didn't show up for something or I didn't communicate that I couldn't do XYZ - I just disappeared (I engaged in a lot of "ghosting" to use a Gen Z term haha). When I finally started being open and hoenst about the anxiety? I was met with understanding. I was met with compassion. I was met with, "How can I help? Is there anything I can do to make this better for you?"

Obviously this doesn't translate 1:1 over to business! But it exemplifies how people appreciate transparency and honesty.

We're all human. Businesses are made up of humans. Customers are humans. Human relations principles, therefore, apply to the business-customer relationship.

Go Against the Grain

There are all sorts of "rules" we're supposed to follow when it comes to relating to our customers.

There are all sorts of formality guidelines we're supposed to follow.

But...why?

The businesses I'm drawn to keep working with... I see their humanity.

I see their values exemplified in their customer relations and communication.

One of the coolest things I've experienced as of late was a letter in the mail from someone we work with explaining the reasoning behind their price increases. I know that often we see charts that communicate to us price increases from year to year, just to keep us informed. But this letter was personal - it communicated the "why," plus the regret in having to raise prices, along with transparency into another "why" related to their business in particular.

I loved that. That meant a lot to me. That showed me that they care.

They were keeping their customers in the loop.

Whether it's about prices or scheduling or anything else, keeping your customers in the loop shows you care. Just sending them a text or an email letting them know that they are still on your list or still on your mind, that they haven't been forgotten, goes a long way! Again: It shows you care.

It's treating your customers awesomely.

I know that this will look different for everyone depending on industry and depending on the size of the customer base. But I believe that we can all be transparent with our customers in some way! To keep them in the loop. To genuinely let them know they matter. (And remember: Most people can sniff out if you're not genuinely being genuine!)

Thank you for reading through my first blog post! I introduced a lot of topics here that we will unpack in more depth later on. I never thought this would be the case but... I love talking about all things business!

And again, there will be blog posts about tree care as well!

Until Next Time,

Katie Flinchum

Owner

Complete Tree Service