Word of Mouth
Word of mouth: repeat customers, referrals and reviews
Word of mouth means the customers you already won come back and send their neighbors your way. For a home service owner, it is the least expensive work there is, because the customer already knows you and already liked the job. It only happens when someone stays in touch after the truck leaves the driveway.
How do reviews, reminders, and referrals work together for a home service business?
Word of mouth starts from a list of your past customers, with a name, a way to reach each one, and the date of their last job. From that list, a thank-you and a review request go out after the job, a reminder goes out when the next service is due, a few notes go out through the year, and a happy customer gets an easy way to send a friend your way.
The parts feed each other. A customer who hears from you through the year still remembers you when the service reminder arrives, and that same customer is the one most likely to sign up for a maintenance plan or pass your name to a neighbor. Customers who have gone quiet are still on the same list, so bringing them back uses the messages you are already sending.
Phase 1 of 4
Thank and review
Every finished job ends with a thank you and an easy way to leave a Google review.
How does a home service business get more Google reviews (review requests)?
A review request is a short message after the job that thanks the customer and asks them to leave a Google review, with a link that opens the review form in one tap. It works best when it arrives soon after the visit, while the customer still remembers how good the work was.
Reviews are what strangers read before they call, so each happy customer who leaves one helps the next homeowner choose you. They sit on your Google Business Profile, which is often the first thing a homeowner sees when they search for your kind of work.
What we can set up with you
The system sends a thank-you and a review request after each job, in your business's name, with a link straight to the review form on your Google Business Profile.
Phase 2 of 4
Remind
A reminder goes out when the next service is due, and regular customers have a plan.
How do service-due reminders bring customers back (service reminders)?
A service reminder tells a past customer that their next visit is coming due, based on the date of their last job. It might be for a seasonal tune-up, the next treatment, or the next cleaning.
Most customers do not keep track of when the next service is due, and the company that reminds them first is the one they tend to call. Each visit that comes from a reminder also resets the date, so the next reminder goes out on time.
What we can set up with you
The system uses the date of each customer's last job to send a reminder before the next service is due.
How do maintenance plans and recurring service work (service agreements)?
A maintenance plan is an agreement for regular visits on a set schedule, such as a yearly tune-up or a treatment every quarter. Recurring service is the same idea for work that happens more often, like weekly or monthly cleanings.
A plan turns a one-time customer into a steady one and puts future visits on the calendar before the busy season arrives. It pairs well with service reminders, because a customer who books from a reminder is often ready to hear that a plan would save them the trouble next time.
What we can set up with you
The system sends the reminders that tell plan customers when their next visit is coming, and the notes you send through the year can let past customers know a plan is available.
Phase 3 of 4
Stay in touch
Past customers hear from you a few times a year by email and text, so yours is the name they remember.
How should a home service business stay in touch with past customers (email and text marketing)?
Staying in touch means past customers hear from you a few times a year by email or text, even when nothing is due. The note can be a seasonal tip, a reminder of the work you do, or news from the business.
People forget who did the work, and when something else breaks they call whichever name they remember. A few messages a year keep yours in mind without becoming a nuisance, and they give a customer something easy to forward when a neighbor asks who they used.
What we can set up with you
The system keeps your list of past customers and sends those notes through the year, and the list stays in your name.
Phase 4 of 4
Refer and win back
Happy customers get an easy way to send a neighbor, and quiet ones hear from you again.
How does a home service business ask for referrals (referral program)?
A referral is a happy customer passing your name to a friend or neighbor who needs the same kind of work. The simplest time to ask is right after a job goes well, when the customer is already pleased with you.
A referred customer arrives already trusting you, because someone they know vouched for the work. Referrals come most often from the customers who remember you, which is why they grow alongside good reviews and regular contact.
What we can set up with you
Each happy customer gets a refer-a-friend link they can pass along by text or email, so sharing your name takes a moment.
How do you bring back past customers who have gone quiet (win-back)?
A customer who has gone quiet hired you once or twice and has not booked in a long while. Bringing them back starts with a note that reminds them who you are and what you did for them.
These customers already liked your work, so reaching them costs less than winning a stranger. Often they lost your number or forgot your company's name, and a friendly note gives them a reason to call.
What we can set up with you
Because the system keeps every past customer on your list with the date of their last job, the customers who have gone quiet still get your notes and reminders.
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What happens when nobody stays in touch with past customers?
She loved the work and told you so at the door. Then a few seasons went by without a word from you, and when her neighbor needed the same job and asked around, your name never came up. The work was as good as ever, and nobody had asked her to pass your name along. Multiply that by every happy customer from the last few years, and the business ends up paying to win strangers while the people who already trust it drift to whoever reached them last.
What does the Home Service Guild system build for repeat business?
The Home Service Guild Marketing Operations System keeps the list of your past customers and sends each of those messages for you: the review request, the reminder when service is due, the notes through the year, and the link a happy customer can pass to a friend. Robert learned in real estate what happens when a search engine changes its rules, and why a list of your own customers matters; he tells that story in how often to contact past customers. The list stays in your name, along with every account the system runs on.
Articles on word of mouth
- How do I get more Google reviews without being pushy?Ask every customer right after a good job, with a link that takes one tap. How home service owners get more Google reviews without feeling pushy.
- How do I remind customers when their next service is due?Send the reminder before the service is due, based on the last job, so the customer hears from you first. Why it matters and what a fix looks like.
- How do I ask happy customers for referrals?Ask right after a job goes well and make it easy to pass your name along. How home service owners get more referrals without feeling awkward about asking.
- How often should a home service business email or text past customers?A few times a year keeps you remembered without becoming a nuisance. How often a home service business should email or text past customers, and why.
Trades where this job matters most
- HVACMaintenance agreements and seasonal tune-ups give an HVAC company a natural reason to hear from past customers every spring and fall.
- Landscaping and lawn careA customer who booked spring cleanup is the easiest person to offer fall cleanup to, as long as someone asks before the season arrives.
- Pest controlA customer who called about one pest often does not know a recurring plan is an option until someone offers it.
- Pressure washingA driveway looks new for a season and then dirty again, and the customer rebooks the company that reminded them.
Questions owners ask about word of mouth
Why do repeat customers matter so much to a home service business?
Repeat customers matter because they already know your work, so winning their next job costs less than winning a stranger. They also tell their neighbors, which brings in new customers who arrive already trusting you. A business with a steady base of past customers has work to fall back on when the phone goes quiet.
How do I get customers to call me again instead of a stranger?
Stay in touch between jobs, so yours is the name they remember when something needs fixing. A reminder when the next service is due and an occasional note keep you in front of them without becoming a nuisance. A customer who calls a stranger has often just forgotten who did the last job.
How do referrals work for a home service business?
A referral happens when a happy customer passes your name to a friend or neighbor who needs the same kind of work. It happens more often when you ask right after a job goes well and make it easy for the customer to share your name. A Google review does the same thing for people who have never met you, and our article on getting more Google reviews without being pushy covers that side.
What is the easiest first step toward more repeat business?
The easiest first step is to gather your past customers into one list you own, with a name, a phone number or email, and the date of the last job. Once that list exists, the thank-yous, reminders, and occasional notes all have somewhere to go. If you are not sure repeat business is the job to start with, the free business score shows which of the four jobs is costing you the most.
Free business score
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