How to Get Repeat Customers When You Think Your Business Is One-and-Done
Owners in repair trades think their work is one-and-done, so they have invoices instead of a list. That belief is the leak. Repeat means the next thing that breaks in the same building. Here's the cheap first step: export the list, one message a season, and the second-job question.
Pull up every customer you invoiced last year. Now count how many of them have heard from you since the day they paid.
If that number is zero, you're spending money on strangers while the people who already trust you forget your name. Repeat doesn't mean the same job twice. It means the next thing that breaks in the same building, and who they call when it does. Owners in the trades who think they're one-and-done have invoices instead of a list, and that belief is the leak.
I run a door company in Dallas-Fort Worth, and I run Hivelead, where I help owners of $1M to $5M businesses figure out why they stopped growing. This is the last of the five numbers behind your marketing revenue in a series on why marketing got more expensive: leads, contact, close, ticket, and this one, repeat. The customer who bought once and never heard from you again.
What the advice says, and what it assumes
Do great work. Start a loyalty program. Send a quarterly newsletter.
All of that assumes something most owners in the trades don't believe, which is that they have repeat business at all. If you fix doors, or roofs, or foundations, you think of your work as one-and-done. They had a problem, you solved it, they don't need you again for ten years.
Why you have invoices instead of a list
So you don't have a list. You have invoices. And the invoices are where those customers go to die.
That belief is the leak. Here's why it's wrong.
Repeat is the next thing that breaks in the same building
Repeat doesn't mean the same job twice. It means the next thing that goes wrong in the same building, and who they call when it does.
I fix a sticking front door. That house has a back door, a garage door, a patio slider, and a bedroom door that doesn't latch, and the owner has been ignoring all four because the front door was the one that bothered him. When any of those gets bad enough, he's going to search Google again and pay somebody's ad cost, or he's going to call the guy who already fixed one door in his house.
Which one happens depends entirely on whether he remembers my name. Six months later, he doesn't.
On commercial, it's a route
It's bigger on commercial. A property manager who used you once has a dozen more buildings and a maintenance problem every week. That's not a repeat customer. That's a route. How to Get Higher-Paying Clients covers how to catch that customer in the first place.
A lead with zero acquisition cost
Run the numbers on what this costs. Every customer you've already served is a lead with no acquisition cost. Zero.
You paid the auction once, you did the work, you earned the trust. Now that customer's next job, and the referral to the neighbor, and the review, are all sitting there free. Meanwhile you're out buying leads at $150 each from people who've never heard of you.
The cheapest lead in your business is the one you already closed, and you've got no way to reach him. It's the last of the four free numbers from Why More Leads Won't Fix Your Business, and for most owners it's the one sitting at zero.
Put a dollar figure on your repeat leak with the Revenue Leak Calculator. It's free and there's nothing to sign up for.
The cheap first step: three things
Not a loyalty program. Not a newsletter. Three things.
1. Get the list out of the invoices
Your invoicing software has every customer with a phone number and an email. Export it.
Most owners have never done this. You'll be surprised how many names are in there. Hundreds, probably. That's your list, and it existed the whole time.
2. One message a season
Four a year. Not a sales pitch, a reason to remember you.
Before summer: "Heat's coming. If your garage door's been sticking, it gets worse in August. We're around." That's it. You're not selling. You're being the guy they already know, showing up right before they need somebody. A share of them will reply, because you just reminded them of the thing they've been ignoring.
3. The second-job question at the first job
When you're standing in the house, ask. "While I'm here, is there another door giving you trouble?"
You're already there. The truck is parked. Half the time there is, and you just doubled the ticket and became the door guy for that house. That's the cheapest version of the fix in Your Cost Per Lead Isn't the Problem. Your Average Job Is.
Repeat pulls the other four numbers with it
Do those three and your repeat number stops being zero. And here's what that does to the other four.
Repeat customers reach you directly, so contact rate goes up. They already trust you, so close rate goes up. They give you the bigger job because they know you, so ticket goes up. It's the only one of the five numbers that pulls the other four with it.
You have a list you've never looked at
You don't have a one-and-done business. You have a list you've never looked at. Go export it.
FAQ
How do I get repeat customers in a home service business?
Start by getting the list out of your invoicing software; most owners have hundreds of past customers with phone numbers and emails they've never contacted. Then send one message a season with a reason to remember you, not a pitch, and ask the second-job question while you're already on site. Repeat in the trades means the next thing that breaks in the same building, not the same job twice.
Does a door, roofing, or foundation business really have repeat customers?
Yes. The job may be one-and-done, but the building isn't. Every house has more doors, more roof, more things that will fail, and every commercial property has a dozen more buildings. The customer who calls you back instead of searching Google again is a repeat customer, and he costs you nothing to acquire.
What should I send past customers?
One short message a season, four a year, tied to something they're likely already ignoring. Before summer, a note that a sticking garage door gets worse in August. Before winter, a note about drafts. It's a reminder that you exist right before they need someone, not a sales pitch.
Why are repeat customers the cheapest revenue in a service business?
Because their acquisition cost is zero. You already paid for the lead, did the work, and earned the trust. Their next job, their referral, and their review are all free, while a new lead from the ad auction costs $150 or more before you've spoken to anyone. Repeat is also the only one of the five marketing numbers that improves contact, close, and ticket at the same time.
Related reading
See what your repeat leak is costing you
The Revenue Leak Calculator puts a dollar figure on what your repeat leak is costing you, next to the other four. Two minutes, and it's free and there's nothing to sign up for.
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