Tag: advertising

Writing the perfect customer response – secure more business with Bark in 6 easy steps

The first response you send to a customer is far and away the most important. Many people will decide whether or not they’d like to hire you based on this message alone, so it’s essential you get it right.

Making sure your pitch is the best one a client receives is a key part of pitching for new business with Bark, and we want to do everything in our power to help you stand out from the crowd.

So, in this week’s blog post we’re looking at how to write the perfect customer response in six easy steps.

STEP 1: Promote your company

The best sales pitches all have the same basic structure.  You start by getting the customer’s attention. Then, you explain what’s unique about your pitch. Finally, once the customer has decided you’re the pro for them, you give them an offer they simply can’t refuse.

That’s why your opening message should stress exactly what experience and qualifications you have that make you perfect for the job. Include links to your website, your online portfolio, customer reviews – and anything else you think might improve your chances of securing the business.

STEP 2: Explain what’s included

Next, make sure the customer knows exactly what they’ll be getting for their money, and explain why your service is great value.

In many industries there are ‘extras’ which sometimes aren’t included as standard. If you’re a photographer, are prints included in your estimate? If you’re a cleaner, will you provide your own products?

If your service costs more than some other providers, explain that’s because you offer a superior service – if you’re cheaper than your competitors, be sure to stress what a good deal you are offering.

STEP 3: Move the conversation forwards

Unless you’re really lucky, the chances are you won’t secure the business from your opening message alone.

Your customer will usually have a few questions they need answering before they’re satisfied that you’re the right pro for the job, so ask them to call you whenever is convenient to discuss things further.

Encouraging the customer to take a look at your previous work and offering to meet them in person to provide them with a bespoke estimate are also good ways to move the conversation forwards.

STEP 4: Give your contact details

Customers you contact through Bark will always be able to reach you via the Bark messenger, and they can get your phone number and email address by clicking the “view contact details” button under your display name.

But to make sure it’s as easy as possible for them to get in touch with you, we also recommend including your contact details in the body of your message, so they’re impossible to miss.

STEP 5: Respond quickly

It’s important to respond to new Barks quickly. Our analysis shows that pros who get back to the customers we alert you to right away are twice as likely to secure the business as those who don’t.

So when we alert you to a potential customer you like the look of, it’s best to send them a message right away to register your interest in their business. To help with this, we created our ‘one-click response’ feature – you can find out how it works right here.

 STEP 6: Check your spelling!

Finally, once you’ve finished your response we we highly recommend reading it through carefully before you click ‘send’.

A message that contains typos implies you don’t pay attention to detail, and makes people feel you don’t really care about their custom. So it’s always worth checking each message carefully, just to be safe.

Put these steps together and you should be able to craft highly effective responses for your customers – like this example reply to someone with a serious pest problem:

Hi Hans,

Bark just emailed to say you’re in need of pest control, so I thought I’d get in touch to offer you my services.

I’m a BPCA-approved exterminator with 15 years of experience under my belt. In that time, I’ve dealt with everything from ant infestations to escaped Ocelots (don’t ask!), so there really is no job too big or small.

Take a look at my website – www.the-verminator.co.uk – for more info about my experience, qualifications and pricing. If you like what you see, I’ll happily visit your home to take a look at the problem and give you a free quote.

You can reach me any time on 07811 545548 or at theverminator@gmail.com.

Best wishes,
Vincent
07811 545548 | www.the-verminator.co.uk

As you can see, this response explains clearly what services Vincent provides in a way that’s both attention-grabbing and intriguing.

It makes it easy for customers to contact him by phone, email or in Bark Messenger – and it moves the conversation forwards by offering to visit the client’s home to take a closer look at the problem.

Employ these same techniques when responding Barks and we’re confident you’ll be securing even more business with us in no time.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about how we can help you secure more business with our service, we’d love to hear from you. Send your thoughts to team@bark.com or leave a comment in the space below.

How we give you better leads than Google AdWords – for a fraction of the cost

If you’ve tried growing your business online with Google’s AdWords service, you already know it’s not for everyone.

The costs are increasing year on year. You’re competing with giants like Amazon that will happily spend £34million-a-year on paid search advertising. Even small businesses routinely spend upwards of £6,500-a-month on PPC, according to online advertising experts WordStream. 

With some popular keywords costing as much as £38 per click, it’s easy to see why so many people struggle to make this kind of marketing strategy work for their business. It takes great deal of research and technical know-how to get up and running – and that’s where Bark comes in.

We provide an affordable service that sends you better quality leads than you typically get from paid search advertising, at a fraction of the price. That’s why we believe every small business can grow quickly and easily with Bark.com.

Yet some people seem to think we’re more expensive than Google.

So today we’ll show you how we beat AdWords on both quality and price – and why, if you aren’t already, you should start winning new customers with Bark right away.

The real problem with online advertising

The promise of “pay per click” (PPC) advertising is simple: if the people who click on your ads spend more than it costs you to provide your services and run your ads, you turn a profit.

Sounds easy, right?

The problem is, only a very small percentage the people who click your ads actually end up spending any money.

Imagine you’re a DJ looking to promote your services in Manchester. Let’s say you put an ad on Google which costs you 50p per click.

Being fairly tech savvy, your website is decent. But you know a high percentage of the people who click your ad will just be browsing. So, based on what you’ve read online, you expect around 12% of them to ask you for an estimate.

That means you can get 100 clicks for £50, and generate roughly 12 enquiries. That works out at £4.17 per enquiry.

Mind you, not all those enquiries will be useful. You might be busy on the day they need you, their budget might be too small, or they might be too far away for the trip to be worth your while.

But let’s assume 75% of the enquiries you get are for jobs you want to do. So from 100 clicks you receive nine valid enquiries, costing you £5.55 each.

Even though you respond promptly and politely to each of those nine people, only six of them get back to you. Perhaps the other three weren’t really serious in the first place. Maybe they simply forgot to respond. It’s annoying, sure, but these things happen.

You still have six potential customers who have read your quote – and each of which has cost you £8.33. But, of course, most people will shop around to make sure they get a good deal.

In our experience, people like to get 2-5 different quotes before they make a final decision. So let’s assume each of your leads has also contacted two other sellers – giving you a one in three chance of securing the business.

That should translate into two new customers, and an average cost per booking of £25.

Here’s what Bark does differently

Ask a marketer what’s different about Bark and the’ll say we’re “further along the buyer journey” than Bing or Google. What that means is, there are fewer opportunities for the buyer to drop off.

We handle all the PPC for you completely free of charge, and hunt down quality leads for your business using a variety of other techniques.

Then you can see exactly what your potential customers are looking for in advance, from their budget, to when and where they need your services – and everything else you might need to decide if they’re right for you.

Plus, you’ll never waste money on people who aren’t serious about hiring you, as we’ll refund every estimate you give that doesn’t get read.

Now, the average Bark gets just over two responses, and each potential customer may have tried somewhere else too.

You can respond to a DJ Bark for just five credits, which will usually cost you £5 + VAT. So if we assume they’ve contacted two other pros in total, your chance of winning the business is one in three again.

That means, in this example, each booking costs you just £18, and you save 28% compared to what Google would have charged you.

That’s why we believe Bark is a smarter, more effective way to find new customers online – but the story doesn’t end there:

You could save another 30% today

The bottom line here is that, in many cases, using Bark to grow your business can be much better value than other lead finding services.

Of course, every business is different, and it may be that PPC strategies work well for you – and if so, that’s great.

But if you’d prefer not to bother with the hassle and expense of managing an AdWords account, and don’t want to deal with the expense of hiring an agency to do it for you: we can help.

Not only can we often send you high quality leads at a fraction of the cost of Google AdWords, but you can also enjoy extra discounts on packs of Bark Credits – making our service even more profitable.

In fact, if you open a new Bark account today you’ll be able to claim an extra saving of 30% on your first credit pack.

It’s free to sign up, and we’ll start sending you quality leads right away.

So, if you’re not a Bark member already…

Click here and claim your FREE account today.