Your Guarentee.....

[controlfreak]

So with a market that is highly competitive with businesses offering the same old great service, highly reliable and qualified spiel I am wondering how I can run a marketing campaign that separates my business from the rest and gives me some sort of competitive advantage. It seems logical to use some sort of Guarantee but it seems the "Fix it or it's free" is being used by everyone therefore lowering it's effectiveness

I was thinking more along the lines of "I am so confident of a solution to your problem that if I don't fix it you owe me nothing and i'll pay my competitors to fix it"

It still might bite me in the arse for that one never satisfied customer but it will also might help me gain more customers and eliminate bad customers.

What do you think?

What is your Guarantee and has it worked????

 

[NYJimbo]

"I am so confident of a solution to your problem that if I don't fix it you owe me nothing and i'll pay my competitors to fix it"

You got to be kidding me. This is a financial disaster waiting to happen (and very soon).

1) Guy brings in his computer for some issue to be fixed.
2) You spend a couple of days and a small amount of money to try to fix it.
3) After a couple more days you throw in the towel and now your "i'll pay my competitors to fix it" claus kicks in.
4) It costs you $299 to fix the issue using your competitors.

How many of these can you deal with before you are out of business ?

 

[activeits]

How to go out of business

I can see customers coming to you just to take make sure they get a free repair.

What if you pronounce something Beyond Economical Repair? But then they tell your competitor to do it whatever the costs and bill you.

I thought about putting the "no fix no fee", but I found out what this meant to my competitors, i.e. if a hard drive failed, they would say it needs replacing, therefore it was in the customers hands to say yes to install a new hard drive.

If the customer said no, there was still a fee, because the competitor would say it was the customers choice not to have the fix.

Therefore I just thought the "no fix no fee" is useless statement.



Thanks

 

[controlfreak]

very true and thanks for your input but in that case my solution (not fix of that machine I said I would give satisfactory solution) might be he needs a new computer (giving the customer a reason for this diagnosis). Not saying he will or I am using this method to save myself but in the same situation you presented with a no fix it no fee you would be out of your labour and overhead in my situation it would be labour, overhead and cost to get it repaired from someone else but my guarantee might bring in more customers then the over used "fix it or no fee" therefore helping to recoup my loss. As for how many I could take on as a small buiness it might not be a good idea because of capital i've put forth in the business but if it gets me more loyal customers in a competitive market it might be worthwhile risk.

In a nutshell if I lose money due to not being able to provide a satisfactory solution to a customer I have no right to be a diagnostic technician in the first place.

Bad side - I gain no new customers from it and immediately lose money from it therefore I remove the idea and go towards something more safe

Good side - It brings in more loyal customers in a competitive market because I seem more confident and trustworthy based on the guarantee. If I do get unruly customers then I bite the bullet but weigh up if the earned customers are outweighing my loss at the time.

This is all just brainstorming right now basically right now just putting ideas out there see what else I can generate. Thinking from a standpoint of how for example Dominos (at the time had the worst pizza ever) created a crazy buzz with "30minutes or it's free". I understand you need capital to take on a stance but I just am thinking of ways to stand out more in a competitive environment where anyone can pretend to be the best.

Thanks for the input it's definatly a high risk guarentee that could backfire do you have any other ideas or something that has worked for you?
Maybe something more along the lines of 30 day satisfaction guarantee?

 

[iisjman07]

I can see customers coming to you just to take make sure they get a free repair.

+1. I think this is a really, really bad idea

 

[NYJimbo]

I offer the "no fix, no fee" to clients but it's not written down anywhere and I am very selective to whom I offer it to.

When I am 90% sure I can do the fix, but the customer is sitting on the fence, I will toss in the "NFNF" promise to make the sale. Sometimes I will even offer a discount when I know the job is easy but the customer is kinda "iffy" on the whole deal. It's like sometimes a customer comes in with a broken DC jack and I tell them its $99, but it's an old machine and they don't want to spend a hundred bucks to keep it alive. If it's an easy model to work on I will say something like "Well, if money is kinda tight I supposed I can knock $20 off the price, but don't tell anyone I did this for you". It makes the sale EVERY TIME.

While I think these kinds of "specials" need to be used very selectively, they should really be part of your offers to some people or you might lose customers that need that little extra "deal" to get them onboard.

 

[controlfreak]

I think the incentive is great Jimbo and I think everyone is right it does look like a bad idea but I'm just wondering from a customer stand point who is say looking up "Computer repair <your town/city>" on Google. What beyond the average technician website of boasting about themselves can we use in this industry to gain the customers over our competitors site in terms of a guarantee or if you don't think a guarantee is a good idea something else that stands out.

 

[NYJimbo]

I think the incentive is great Jimbo and I think everyone is right it does look like a bad idea but I'm just wondering from a customer stand point who is say looking up "Computer repair <your town/city>" on Google. What beyond the average technician website of boasting about themselves can we use in this industry to gain the customers over our competitors site in terms of a guarantee or if you don't think a guarantee is a good idea something else that stands out.

I know what you mean, in the end every repair tech out there offers the same things, roughly the same prices, same guarantees. So how do you make yourself appear above the rest ?

Well that is not an easy answer. That's it, nothing clever to add to it. You have to either find a niche for yourself, build up a customer base that loves you and spreads the word or build up a visibility "somehow" in your area that makes people want to come to you. But you wont do it with guarantees like the one you mentioned.

Most customer look at your general services and pricing. Other than that, it's like throwing darts. I get calls every day from people who just didnt know who to pick on craigslist or google or from passing by my store for the 1,000th time or they found me in the yellow pages (I didnt know I was in there). But after a time those people bring on new people and some kind of pattern for them coming to me emerges and I know what they want from me and what to advertise.

Just dont expect to get clients by offering unrealistic guarantees, that's not what they are looking for. Sure, there are some that will come to you and say "I saw your blah blah blah ad" and you will think "WOW, that worked!" but you will get a couple people for almost any kind of ad or promise you make. What you want is to figure out a real reason for them to come to you. It takes time, probably a year for most techs and then you will get an idea where to go from there.

 

[controlfreak]

Thanks Jimbo quality response and I think you are right by finding a niche but it is hard when you are passionate about diagnostics computer repairs to niche down to something like data recovery only. I agree patience is a virtue when it comes to this business and it is a very slow climb due to the competitive nature and at best we have word of mouth from satisfied clients.

I will put more thought into attempts to gain more customers and appreciate anyone else input into ways they have increased customers through a realistic guarentee.

 

[itmgr]

finding a niche but it is hard when you are passionate about diagnostics computer repairs to niche down to something like data recovery only.

Sometimes finding a niche can be finding niche customers. By marketing to special groups of customers, and still keep doing all the things you are doing now. I will work for most anyone that calls, but my marketing is aimed at a few groups like Auto Repair Shops, Real Estate, etc.

 

[hardtoremember]

I have to say that I couldn't agree with NYJimbo more. You would be inviting disaster. There are many people out there that will use it to their advantage and it will only take a few of them to put you under or in really bad shape.

How do you stand out from your competition? Service. How do you make yourself the number one Tech in your area? Service. Just because there is plenty of competition doesn't mean they are any better than you and doesn't mean they offer the same top shelf service that you do.

If you treat your customers like family [the family you like] and teach them how to use their computers more safely they will not go anywhere else. I will use a company that gives great service over a cheaper closer alternative every single time.

Think of it like mechanics. There are tons and tons of them out there. The guy I like is all the way across town [half hour drive] and he is about the same cost as everyone else but I KNOW he has my best interest in mind. I know he won't lie to me and I know he won't waste my time or rip me off.

 

[Tristan]

If you treat your customers like family [the family you like] and teach them how to use their computers more safely they will not go anywhere else. I will use a company that gives great service over a cheaper closer alternative every single time.

Think of it like mechanics. There are tons and tons of them out there. The guy I like is all the way across town [half hour drive] and he is about the same cost as everyone else but I KNOW he has my best interest in mind. I know he won't lie to me and I know he won't waste my time or rip me off.

You are absolutely right. Everyone offers pretty the same services....but it's YOUR SERVICE that counts. When it comes down to it, you are really selling yourself. People will keep coming back to someone that they like and get along with.

Some customers just 'click' with you...they are easy to get along with. Others are impossible to please and you always seem at odds with them no matter what. Focus on becoming a "my great tech guy" to your best customers and less on being "that cheap tech guy with great deals" to everybody. (Not to deals are bad...everybody loves a discount )

 

[donnakamla]

I do not like the no fix no fee guarantee because I am in the IT Support business not just the hardware repair business. I also offer advice, not just a fix, I offer solutions, and solutions are not always about the hardware.
That no fix no fee has got to be a uniquely male attitude, the idea that I'm a male and I can fix anything. Ha, it'll come back to bite alright.

 

[Appleby]

I offer a no fix, no fee but I do have a $25 diagnostic fee. I think that is fair and reasonable. If I go to a mechanic and they can't fix the problem I wouldn't expect to pay them. If they wanted to charge a reasonable diagnostic fee, I wouldn't be upset at all.

There is NO WAY I'd offer a no fix guarantee like the original poster mentioned though. All the reasons mentioned have been spot on.

 

[hardtoremember]

I do have a $25 fee too. My time is money but at the same time I want to be fair to myself and my customers. There really isn't anything that can't be fixed so I can't understand how you could have a no fix guarantee.
I had a customer yesterday with a dead mobo on a 4 year old laptop that didn't have very good specs.
What was in his best interest was for me to suggest a new laptop rather than pay $200 or so to replace a mobo on a computer that only cost him $450. I wouldn't pay 40% of the cost of my car to fix it, I'd buy a new one. He was happy that he gets to get a new laptop and I have someone that knows I am not out to take him.