Have you seen the ads for Carvana that are now flooding the airwaves? Billed as “the new way to buy a car,” the company’s strategy is to cut out car dealers, eliminating the middleman and the hassle and passing the savings and the ease on to the customer.
In their business model, you no longer have to go from lot to lot to see what kind of car selection is out there, and you don’t have to haggle with salespeople and their horrible commission breath; you don’t even have to get dressed. You just log onto their website, browse or search for the car you want, take it for a virtual spin, and buy what you want when you want it. Carvana will then deliver the car to you. If you’re not happy with it, you can return it within seven days.
I’m not in the market for a new car, and I have no actual experience with—or stake in—this company, but their ads certainly grabbed my attention. Why? Because the company has focused their whole value proposition on making it easy for customers to do business with them, and there’s a great lesson, and a big challenge, in that for all of us.
Now, I’m not suggesting we all set up websites that enable folks to purchase whatever landscaping they want online, but I do think you can gain a real advantage over your competition by being easy to do business with. To start, consider these questions:
Is your company easy to find online? Do you show up at the top for searches of landscaping companies in your area? Do you proactively maintain a company presence on Facebook and Instagram? Research indicates 70–80% of people research a company online before making a purchase.
Does your website make it immediately clear how people can get in touch with you, and provide them with more than one way to do so? Whether they’re a homeowner thinking about redoing their patio or an existing client with a complaint, they should be able to easily find the right number to call, address to e-mail, or Facebook page to DM.
Do you have a process in place that guarantees someone from your company will get back to them within 24 hours? The sooner you respond, the better your chances are for winning a new customer or retaining an existing one. In our fast-paced society, people are less and less willing to wait. Smart companies beat the clock.
Is it easy for your customers to pay online and by credit card? To be competitive, you’ve got to offer your clients this option and make the experience seamless for them. Doing so can also improve your own cash flow; the easier you make it for people to pay you, the sooner they actually will.
Do you do what you say you’re going to do? The easiest, most appealing companies to do business with are the ones that follow through on their promises. Deliver on quality and service. Meet your deadlines. Exceed your clients’ expectations over and over again.
If your answer to any of these questions was not a resounding yes, then you have work to do. What steps will you take to make your company easier to do business with?
Have a great week!
Marty Grunder
President & CEO
The Grow Group and Grunder Landscaping Co.
P.S. If you want to learn how to win at sales in the green industry without subjecting anyone to commission breath, join me for a special one-day bootcamp December 10 in Cincinnati, OH. I’ll show you, step by step, the approach we take at Grunder Landscaping that’s made 2019 one of our most profitable years yet.