Having recurring revenue is a major part of running any successful business. At Jackson Fire and Security, it’s one of the reasons why our franchise offering is so appealing. There’s an ongoing need for support in activities like fire and security assessments and not only do our branches install vital fire and security equipment; they maintain and service it too. But having repeat business is not something that should ever be taken for granted. It must be earned and nurtured by ensuring high-quality relationships where customers are continually delighted by the service they’re receiving. So what does it take to build these kinds of relationships in a franchise business?
A clear focus on quality and continual improvement
It goes without saying that customer satisfaction is closely connected to you offering great products and/or great services. And the quality must be consistent; maintaining standards is vital for ensuring loyalty and excellent levels of customer retention.
To maintain standards, you need to actively listen to what clients have to say about the quality of your products or services. So encourage as much honest feedback as possible. There are various ways you can ask for that information – more formally through customer surveys, feedback forms and online reviews for example. But less formal touchpoints like emails and general conversations can be very valuable too. It’s all useful information that can continually help you improve your franchise offering. Plus it’s also a way of letting customers know that, whatever their opinions might be, they’re always appreciated. It’s important to remember to thank them for taking the time to share them.
But receiving feedback is one thing – you must also do something with it! It can actually be quite damaging to ask for feedback and then not act on it. So evaluate all comments and decide on any necessary steps. Then track improvement actions to make sure you’re making the necessary progress. Where it’s appropriate to do so, keep customers up to date with what you’re doing so they know you’re taking their feedback seriously. If the feedback is really positive and there are no specific actions to take, still share it with your team. It’s their success too and it’s an important way of helping them know what’s working well for customers.
Quality standards can play a key role too
At Jackson Fire and Security, we hold several industry accreditations including NSI Gold. As our Wirral franchisee comments, having these accreditations plays an important part in giving clients peace of mind. They enable all our franchisees to both get and give the best possible advice and expertise so they’re able to consistently support customers to the highest standards.
It’s worth investigating relevant quality standards for your sector and considering the positive impact having such accreditations could have on your level of customer service. If you’re currently considering taking on a franchise business, take a look to see what types of quality standards the franchisor is working to.
Consider all touchpoints on your customer’s journey
What’s it like being your customer? What more can you do to make sure every interaction is as good as possible? Think about every opportunity a customer has to engage with you: that obviously includes all of your face-to-face interactions but also the way you respond to comments on social media, the way phone calls and follow up emails are handled, the functionality of your website and its contact pages… and so on.
If you have anyone else working as part of your team, either as employees or on a self-employed basis, make sure they understand their role as representatives of your business. Help them develop a strong customer service ethos so every interaction they have with a customer is a positive experience, focused on listening to and understanding customer needs and pain points and providing the very best solutions to meet them.
Share your positive stories
Doing all the above will potentially provide you with a wealth of positive stories that can be shared. Regularly post out content on your website and on social media highlighting the great work you are doing. Share the case studies and testimonials that illustrate both your expertise and the fact that your customers value the relationship you have built with them. This can reflect very positively on existing customers – for example, in our case, it’s a way of showcasing many excellent businesses and organisations who are taking their fire and security responsibilities very seriously.
At the same time, it will demonstrate your focus on excellent service and continual improvement, building your reputation and helping you connect with potential new customers. Excellent customer service is highly prized (in fact, there’s research suggesting many people are prepared to pay slightly more for a product or service if they know they’ll get good customer support with it). Happy customers are also very likely to share their own stories and word-of-mouth recommendations too – ultimately helping you generate even more business.
Find out more about a Jackson Fire and Security franchise
Do you get a lot of satisfaction from delivering excellent customer service? Do you like the prospect of running your own business as part of a company with an excellent reputation and approach to quality standards? If so, then please do get in touch with us for a discovery chat to find out more about our franchise opportunities.
