I’ve been helping residential Plumbing, HVAC, and Electrical Service Contractors increase their sales and profits by providing them with expert advice and coaching on Sales, Customer Service, Business Process, Marketing, Advertising, and more for the past few years. A fairly common frustration within the industry seems to be in regards to the use of coupons for marketing and how these coupons affect sales, revenues, and consequently, commissions for technicians.
Coupons: To Use, Or Not To Use. And How? That Is The Question. – Shakespeare’s Cousin
Some common questions I receive on the use of coupons within a service contracting company are:
- Are coupons good to use in a service contracting business?
- Do coupons actually help increase sales?
- What are some specific coupon sales strategies?
- How can I get my commission technicians to actually use the coupons since any discount would ultimately affect their pay?
- What things should I consider when creating a coupon offer?
We will address these questions and more within this article. Scroll to keep reading!
How To Use Coupons To Maximize Service Sales
A Sound Coupon Strategy.
“Strategy?” What’s that mean?
Well, that would be your plan for using coupons to generate sales.
Here is a coupon plan:
Set a goal.
Encourage new customers. I.e. “Save $50 off as a new customer.”
Encourage replacement sales. I.e. “Save $100 off a new water heater installation.”
Encourage referrals. I.e. “Refer a friend, family member, or neighbor and you both save $35.”
Pick The Offer/Discount Model:
Percentage Discount. I.e. “25% off.”
Defined Savings. I.e. “$35 off.”
Discounted Flat Rate Special. I.e. “Fall Furnace Tune-Up Special. Only $59.”
Pick delivery method(s):
19th Century Approach: Printed coupons advertised in the newspaper, periodicals, neighborhood association magazines, coupon saver club handouts and programs, etc.
20th Century Approach: Digital coupons available online. Have a “Coupons” or “Money Saving Offers” tab on you website where people can print and clip coupons to use towards your services.
21st Century Approach: Create coupons which are made available in exchange for the client’s email or cell phone number. These can be online or printed coupons where in order to receive the coupon offer, the homeowner must provide a cell phone number or email where the coupon will be delivered to. This is GENIUS because from there you can position yourself to make regular contact with the homeowner and stay at the top of their mind. Next time they need a plumber…who are they gonna remember to call?
Define terms of use and conditions for use of coupon(s).
Can it be used more than once? My recommendation is no. Unless it’s the referral coupon. That can be used as much as they want to. Go wild.
Can it be used in combination with other offers/coupons? Again, my recommendation is no.
Does it expire? My recommendation is yes. Make your coupons valid for 3 to 6 months at a time. Why? …
Because a coupon that never expires doesn’t feel special. It’s just an open advertisement that you’ve purposefully overpriced your service.
It gives the homeowner an incentive to look for updated coupons and thus keeps them reaching for your company.
An expiration will encourage action to be taken by the homeowner. An expiration date creates a sense of urgency. I.e. “This offer won’t last long, so pick up that phone and call right away!”
It allows you as a company to periodically alternate your coupon offers based on business needs, company performance, seasonal offers, etc.
Make the timing of your special offer make sense.
Would you run a coupon special discount for service on a frozen or burst water line in July? (Well…maybe if you’re in South Africa, but not anywhere here in the Northern Hemisphere, right?)
What about furnaces? Would it make sense to advertise a discount on furnace tune-ups in the summer? Not likely.
You get the point.
Things to consider when designing your coupon offer.
Is it profitable?
Yes. Great, that’s of course ideal.
No. Is this intended to be a loss-leader service? I.e. A low revenue service which may lead to an additional repair or replacement which would then make the original offer profitable?
Examples: A $59 Drain Cleaning could result in hydro-jet service or excavation while a $59 Fall Furnace Tune-Up Special could result in a needed repair or a discussion about a furnace replacement/upgrade.
High vs. low dollar tasks/services.
Does it make sense to offer coupon specials on low revenue services?
My recommendation is to offer coupon specials on your higher dollar tasks/services.
This encourages homeowners to upgrade to a higher dollar task/service.
Why pay to repair the water heater when there’s a special promotion to buy a new one?
Getting your employees to buy in.
Be Transparent. Share your strategy with your employees. Let them know WHY you’ve made this offering and what this means for the company’s success. Explain how it’s designed to generate a higher volume of paid customers.
Record, recognize, and reward them. Record their efforts to give customer referral coupons, leave door-hanger coupons at the neighbor’s house(s), get homeowners signed up to receive our special offers by email/text, etc. then openly recognize these efforts in front of the other people within the company at your weekly meeting(s), then reward them at the end of the week with a small bonus on their paycheck for contributing to the cause.
But what if they’re commission and it affects their pay?
Don’t penalize them for using coupons. Penalize them for unwarranted or other unearned price discounts.
Or, go back to being “Transparent” above and see if that works. Sometimes just understanding the “WHY” behind a decision is enough to persuade people.
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About The Author:
Patrick is a Husband, a Father, a Modern Entrepreneur, the Founder of BizPAL.org, and the Creator of BizPAL’s Automated Recruiting Program.
He holds certifications in Social Media Marketing, Facebook Advertising, Inbound Marketing, Business Automation, and more!
Fun Fact:
Patrick was born and raised in a predominantly Amish community in Northern Indiana.
Got questions about the Amish? Ask Patrick!
Patrick is the son of a Career Tradesman and is extremely passionate about helping the Contracting industry grow and advance.
He has over 10+ years of experience in Customer Service, B2C Sales, Social Media Marketing, Sales Training and Coaching, Business Consulting, etc.
He has spent the past 7+ years working with Service Contractors from coast to coast to increase their Sales, boost their Profits, increase Customer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty, and improve their Operational efficiency by Building Creative Solutions and Implementing Innovative Ideas!
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