HomeStars – News and Updates

How to guarantee customer retention? Be a BIG Spender

I was recently talking to the owner of a very successful company in Toronto. Don Parker (not his real name). He has been in the business over 20 years installing high end products in very expensive homes. We were talking about a negative review he had recently received. He told me didn’t think HomeStars was providing him any value (no new clients) and asked to be taken off our list. We can’t do that of course, as every company is listed whether they advertise or not.

But why did he think HomeStars wasn’t providing any new clients? I was very interested in understanding more at this point. Essentially Don felt his traditional way of marketing worked the best, and having stellar reviews from happy homeowners was not going to change anything.  Certainly he was not going to have his team spend any time asking clients to write reviews. 

But what was his method of marketing I wanted to know? After a few round about answers I discovered this tried and true technique that Don uses has been around for centuries. He schmoozes with his network of buddies: the builders and architects. This takes place at hockey games, junkets to Las Vegas and on the golf course. They are his friends and they’ll continue to use his company he says, with the kind of deep loyalty he’s built over many decades. And it sounds like Don invests big $ dollars in these activities.

What about the homeowner I asked – don’t they do their homework and want to see if the company that will install their product is top notch? And will stand by their product after it’s installed? Don replied that the homeowner will always go with the recommendation of the builder / professional they hired – so fellow homeowner opinions don’t factor in the decision. It won’t build his business (no pun intended).

Hmm … must be nice! If Don’s company gets any more negative reviews, will his marketing costs go up? 

Posted by NancyP