Just for a moment, let me take you on a short journey.
It's the journey your ideal kitchen customer could well make next week or mid-afternoon on some weekday this month…
Your ideal customer has made themselves a cuppa, sat down and is ready to take their next step towards her new kitchen. (It's a big decision they made while they had more time to think over the summer break.)
They Google ‘Kitchens Your Town' to see who their options might be and which kitchen companies they recognise.
And there are a few names they recognise, including yours. (Because you've invested in your marketing for the long term and become known before you're needed.)
In fact, you're their first choice, so they click your number and call your showroom.
No one answers.
Surprisingly, after 20 seconds, the answerphone kicks in.
It's not a personal, pre-recorded, warm and welcoming message asking them to leave a message and that someone will get straight back to them. It's a banal, impersonal message courtesy of your phone network provider.
Subconsciously wondering if they may have even dialled the wrong number, your ideal customer quickly decides not to leave a message.
Instead, they go back to their Google search and look for the next kitchen company name they recognise.
They hope that, while they have some time today, they can speak to a kitchen designer who can answer a few initial questions and maybe even make an appointment for a showroom visit.
If they're lucky.
So, despite the hundreds or thousands you may invest in marketing every month. Just like that, your ideal customer floats past, and you don't even know it. All because the one thing you didn't give enough consideration to in your ideal customer's journey was the telephone experience.
A wasted opportunity and a waste of money.
If it's not abundantly clear, you need a human being with a warm and enthusiastic welcome to answer every call during business hours.
Otherwise, your ideal kitchen customer will continue calling until someone, somewhere, does.
If you and your team can't achieve that day in and day out, you should engage a call-answering service like Moneypenny. They're set up to pick up the calls you miss, handle the enquiry professionally, and get the customer details to you for an efficient and timely response.
Some data suggests that the response needs to be within 10 minutes, or the opportunity begins to dissipate rapidly.
In fact, simply contacting a company like Moneypenny will expose you to what world-class enquiry handling really looks like!
Call handling for small businesses costs about £100 a month. It'll likely help you make at least one kitchen sale a year that would otherwise pass you by, making it an absolute no-brainer. (And code it as a marketing cost!)
Even in 2024, a large percentage of the population—the percentage relevant to your kitchen business—still prefers to make a phone call.
Be sure you're set to meet them where they want to meet you.
PS—If you’re confident you’re handling your new kitchen enquiries well and just want more of them, email me at david.barker@inspirekbb.com and let’s arrange a chat. It’s what we do.
