Focusing on emerging Customer segments

Posted by Sharon under Business News, Homeowner

Sex and the City: Season 2, Episode 5. Single, financially-secure, intentionally-childless Miranda purchases a large apartment unit in New York City. Very few services are tailored to her profile as a homebuyer; in fact, through the entire buying process, she faces unfettered curiosity and judgment on her decision (and ability) to purchase a home without a male partner. The show aired in 1999, when…

• The definition of discrimination had included sex for over a DECADE (Fair Housing Amendment Act). As recently as in 1989, a woman’s paycheck was not considered when a married couple applied for a mortgage).
• 54% of single women (never married, divorced, or widowed) owned homes (vs. 47% of single men).
• Over 18% of home purchases were made by single women.

Fast forward a decade. As a single, first-time home buyer, I purchased a condo in Chicago. My financial independence reflects a trend among single women caused by demographics (delayed/no marriages, rising salaries, increasing divorce rates); greater credit access (loan programs for women, inclusion of child support payments in single parent incomes, first-time buyer programs); and macroeconomics (low interest rates/down payments, novel financing products, general housing bubble).

• Of home buyers, single women make up 14% (1995) to 22% (2007); single men stay roughly at 9%.  In fact, from 2000 to 2003, 3.7million single women purchased over $550B in real estate – 1.5million purchasing for the first time.
• Of homeowners, women buyers make up 46% (2007), vs. 36% of all buyers.
• By 2010, 28% of households are expected to be headed by women – that’s 31 million homes.

This established market is an opportunity for Service Providers – take notice!

From 2002 to 2003, single women spent $9.3M on remodeling. Home builders are beginning to include security enhancements, energy efficiency, and increased storage – features often sought by single women homeowners. According to surveys conducted (2003, 2004):

• Home improvement support: 69% of women homeowners consider themselves “at least somewhat handy”; over 70% report enjoying home repair projects.
• Seasonal care: 75% of minority homeowners are significantly concerned about home maintenance.
• Renovation jobs: 13% of second/vacation homebuyers are single women, some of whom buy older homes to fix up for resale.

Women were more likely to recommend their agents to friends and family, according to another study. This word-of-mouth marketing may translate into increased buyer ratings for Service Providers.

Sources: National Association of Realtors, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Businessweek, Fannie Mae, MarketWatch, Mortgage Bankers Association, Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, Sears, Roebuck and Co.

http://www.searsmedia.com/tools/press/content.jsp?id=2003-11-21-0002063356
http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/n06-3_drew.pdf
http://www.hud.gov/
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_42/b3854001_mz001.htm
http://www.realtor.org/library/library/fg212

Other resources I found interesting:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20060706a1.asp
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/singlewomenhomebuyer

Tags: Business News, Economics, Finance, people, Women

The Road Ahead!

Posted by Val under Business News, Tips

By now customers are aware of the difficult times that our economy is facing and the need to cut expenses. Many companies are now focused on better understanding their customers and transferring that information to the people at the frontlines of their businesses.

The online service industry is heavily dependent on that frontline, which includes contractors, providers, sales associates, etc.

To be competitive in many industries, and to be able to create revenue, many online service companies are reducing their prices. At the same time, some companies are hiring online service providers who do not have a license, insurance, background checks, or additional skill requirements, to make up for those reduced prices.

So how are online service companies growing in the market place? Their front-line representation is made through partnerships with providers and contractors!

Here are a few tips:

• Hire licensed providers and contractors
• Perform background checks and screening services
• Engage qualified and experienced prospects
• Provide training to cover company business model and how to treat your customers
• Charge no enrollment fees
• Promote and market the service provider’s business
• Introduce the service provider to your customers prior to the service call
• Provide online forums for providers to learn while sharing their experiences

Here at ServiceLive we look forward to continuing to build the road ahead. In order to continue to succeed, we are focused on recruiting qualified providers, while assuring that our customers receive the best experiences.

Tags: Business News, Contractors, Jobs, servicelive, services

When The Going Gets Tough The Tough Get Going

Posted by Frank under Service Providers

I am sure you have seen this happen every year, your business seems to be slower during predictable times, like the summertime months or year-end. For the self-employed who rely upon steady cash flow, this can be a disconcerting time. Should you take a vacation or time off until things naturally pick up again? Or should you try to branch out and expand your business by offering other services?

Failing to invest the time and money to incorporate new technologies or added services into your business plan (and learning how to use them!) can be the barrier between the current state of your business and the success your biggest competitors have found. Your customers expect you to be a leader, and if they see that you’ve fallen behind, they are likely to find one of your competitors who have the technologies they seek. This has become all too apparent when you look at the success of your ‘big box’ competition. They take a great deal of business away from small to medium size businesses.

What can you do to be more competitive?

If you currently operate a computer repair business, why not learn about Home Theater Installation and Repair? This service is a popular segment with many consumers. Did I mention football season is around the corner and the perfect time to expand your offering?

There are many service categories that can cross pollinate into other services rapidly. We talked about “Your business seems to be slower during predictable times, like the summertime months or year-end”. If you offered more services you may not see big slumps during the so-called predictable times.

Shake off the dust and see what you can do to expand your business into other service categories.

All the best to you!

Tags: Business News, Home Theater, make money, Repair, services

Word of Mouth

Posted by Frank under Service Providers, Tips

Word-of-Mouth marketing may be the oldest form of advertising but it’s still a strong method for people to recommend your product or service.

This is probably the best and by far the cheapest way of marketing your business. It’s important to build reputation locally for your business, but there are a few key ingredients to follow.

The key ingredients of any word-of-mouth marketing campaign are:

1. Giving people a reason to talk about you
2. Making it easy for people to share information about you
3. Engaging and energizing those people to spread the good word

A happy customer is a potential advocate and an influencer. An unhappy customer is even more powerful – one survey of “customer rage” found that 85% of unhappy customers share their experiences with others. If you don’t have a good story to tell, there’s nothing pleasant to buzz about.

Recommendations:

Measure your customer satisfaction by asking your clients whether they would recommend you. This “customer loyalty” metric can be the most important number you can track.

More Facts: (From bzzagent.com)

1. 80% of consumers trust WOM more than any other source of information
2. A study done by Harvard and McKinsey & Company found that 2/3 of the
   U.S. economy is influenced by word of mouth
3. According to a recent New York Times poll, a “recommendation from a
   friend” is the most credible source of information; while “corporate
   advertising” is the least
4. The Keller Fay Group has found that the average American mentions
   specific brands 56 times a week, with positive mentions outnumbering
   negative six to one

Tags: Business News, customer service, loyalty, marketing, word of mouth