For anyone familiar with modern business practices, the importance of brand loyalty cannot be understated. It is a major driver of profitability in the home service industry and responsible for most repeat business and improved customer retention. Brand loyalty is often called a “virtuous circle of growth” by many in the corporate community because it’s self-reinforcing: it helps companies generate loyal customers and compels them to recommend your brand to others (https://bit.ly/4h6mYk6).

However, creating brand loyalty isn’t always easy.

Not only does it require your company to provide exceptional customer service, but you must consistently deliver the highest quality and create a sustainable emotional connection with your clients. This requires you to regularly share your story with your customers, local and trade media, and social media channels.

This can be a challenge to those who aren’t used to writing on a consistent basis and don’t know how to handle the media. That’s why you need a public relations partner who can help you develop your story and share it regularly.

Making your company stand out

When you made your initial business plan, one of the things you may have considered was how you would be different from your competitors. Whether you have a distinctive origin story, you offer a service that no one else provides or you have a dual mission to create positive changes in your community, you need to let the public know how you are unique.

You also want to be known as the local expert on all things plumbing or as the plumbers who genuinely care about your community.

For example, if a cold snap is on its way, you want the media to know that your team can be called on to provide homeowner tips on camera about preventing pipes from freezing. You may also need media coverage if you are trying to collect money or goods to donate to a local shelter as part of your mission to improve your community.

By consistently talking with the media, you will gain their trust, which makes them more eager to cover you. And earned media is one of the best ways to drive growth and garner customer loyalty (https://bit.ly/3DGt24b). Not only is earned media trusted by more consumers than advertising, but it also helps you reach markets you had not considered before.

When your regular business is to provide unparalleled plumbing service, it’s hard to find time to write your story or pitch your expertise to local media.

That’s where a professional PR team can help. It employs skilled writers and a team of media relations experts who know how to talk with reporters and editors. These people know how to make your company stand out from your peers in your local market.

Once you’ve gained the trust of your local media, you build a positive perception that helps build trust with your customers.

Increasing customer retention

In addition to becoming a media draw, you also need to make sure your customers are happy.

While providing the best service is the best way to satisfy your customers, you also need to nurture them so they keep you top-of-mind when they need other services.

This can include responding to online reviews, engaging with customers on social media and building a community around your brand.

According to most surveys, more than 90% of consumers either read online reviews before calling a home service professional or make buying decisions based on online reviews (https://bit.ly/425PgXG). Now, imagine you have negative reviews that you’ve never seen, much less responded to.

If a customer has a bad experience with your company and you don’t acknowledge that complaint, it makes your company look like it doesn’t care about its clients. You need someone on your team dedicated to monitoring your reviews. 

This person needs to thank customers for positive reviews and apologize with an offer to resolve the complaint offline if the review is negative. A PR team can help you craft messages that don’t sound like canned responses and can ensure you answer these reviews promptly.

PR can also keep your company in front of your followers on social media. By planning an ongoing social media message, you can be sure that your company posts even when you’re not making news. Staying active on social media keeps your name top of mind.

And, by addressing customer concerns publicly and privately, you help increase your customer retention rate. Even if a customer was not initially pleased with your work, immediately correcting the mistake improves the chances of that customer returning to your company when more plumbing work is needed.

Boosting your brand reputation

Think about the brands you regularly use in your personal life. You probably use these products because they meet your needs, but you stay with the brands that make these products because you trust the brand and its quality and because it has a positive reputation.

The same is true of home service brands. Most homeowners will need a pipe repaired or a new water heater in their homes at some time. However, that doesn’t mean they have to use your company or even return to your company if they used you in the past.

That’s why you need to boost your reputation in your community.

Most customers say they want to engage with brands that care about them or care about their community (https://adobe.ly/3Wb95ZS). That’s why your media outreach when participating in local charitable events is so important. People want to do business with companies they believe are making a difference in their lives or the lives of their neighbors.

While advertising does keep your name in front of customers, it’s public relations that builds the positive reputation those customers look for.

For any home service company, brand loyalty is significant to your bottom line; it is less expensive to retain a customer than to acquire a new one. A satisfied customer base means you get free word-of-mouth advertising and a more loyal customer following.

However, because this takes consistent effort and the ability to write compelling stories while talking with media professionals, it might not always be easy for a home service company to accomplish. Preparing a PR strategy or enlisting a PR team to help you achieve these goals can help you gain the brand loyalty you need to stand out from your competitors and improve your customer experience.