Skip to content
According to the famous quote from Charles Caleb Colton, " imitation is the sincerest flattery. "However, you are not without knowing that in the business world, "copy" ideas from your competitors and "paste" in your business is a breach of copyright and may cause you problems legal. That said, it is nevertheless possible to be inspired your competition in order to improve the customer service of your company and your offer of service. How to watch the others to be more successful in his field? This is what we will explain to you in this article!
The importance of excellent customer service
Whether you're an engineer, architect, designer, plumber, electrician, or carpenter, you all have something in common : you all are in continuous competition with other professionals who work and provide services in the same domain as you, sometimes even with pricing similar to yours.
Let's take the example of an electrician. According to the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, the electricity sector in the construction industry is regulated by the Code de construction du Québec (chapter V, Electricity) as well as the security Code of Québec (chapter II, Electricity). In addition, the electrician must comply with the rules of the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec and the Régie du bâtiment du Québec.
In the case where 2 electricians comply with the table of hourly rates recommended by the Corporation of master electricians of Québec to establish their different rates, it will be a key differentiator beyond the submission to determine the resource selected. In such a context, the person looking for a trades professional will be able in turn to the Association des entrepreneurs en construction du Québec, the Régie du bâtiment du Québec and the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec, to ensure that the 2 electricians considered work in full compliance.
It is often that the various showcases of the company come into play, starting with the Web site, as well as the different social platforms. The person in search of a professional will be able to take the time to visit the website and social media to read reviews and references. If the references are good and positive, and this is often the time when it will come in direct contact with the company that the things that can spoil. Bad service, no return calls, staff unfriendly are all factors that will impact the final decision in choosing a trusted supplier to the construction or renovation. If the first impression is offered to the consumer is very poor, it's a safe bet that he reconsidéra the option to do business with you.
The approach Simco
For example, in Simcoin order to ensure the quality of our service to our customer, the offer that we submit reflects the complete process, including the choice of our partners specific to the project. Obviously, price is an element of selection; however, a number of other criteria are also taken into consideration by our customers, as our expertise, our client service, our availability, etc
It is always important to keep in mind that people do not buy only a service : they are also buying peace of mind, acquired by a feeling of confidence in the company with which they do business. In the event that the customer service and support customer would not be optimal, it is quite probable that the contract will not be granted to the company, and this, despite the technical skills of the team. Therefore, make sure that you offer an outstanding customer service (by phone, email, social media, etc) before, during, and after having offered the service. Then let the mouth-to-mouth do its work...
The importance of choosing its partners
As we mentioned, the customer service is a very important criterion to choose a professional rather than another. However, it is not only a question of the customer service offered by your business : it is also about the customer service offered by your sub-contractors.
Indeed, for some specific tasks to be governed, without limitation, by the Régie du bâtiment, by an order or an association, it is essential to use a sub-contractor. Although the sub-contractor is one who carries out the work at your client's, it represents you and if it has a bad service, it is your company that will be the pointing of the finger, since you have committed.
Home Simcowe understand the importance of having a network of sub-contractors who have the same values and the same visions as us in terms of customer service, regardless of whether a subcontractor regular or sporadic. As a general contractor, it is our responsibility to make a careful selection of our partners and we strive to ensure the presence of a healthy competition between them. For us, the phrase "this is not always the cheapest is best" takes on all its meaning, because we know that a service, both on and off the field to the customer, has a fair cost that is well worth it.
Be inspired to improve
For some companies, the competition is an evil from which they would like to get rid of. However, the competition can greatly help you improve your business, your services, your customer service, etc, We present to you some tips that you demonstrate that your competitors can become your best feature — obviously, be careful not to copy what is done! The aim of the exercise is to you inspire.
- Visit the website of your competitors and read the section on their services. You may be able to find a service that you hadn't thought of and that would be a great addition to your own offer. Then, take a moment to think of a way to bring this potential new service to a higher level than what's offered by your competitors. Maybe by reading the services offered by them, you'll have a genius idea that you will go through the spirit, and you will find THE service to which no one has ever thought of!
- While you are on the website, look for visit the social media your competitors, the majority of companies inserting these links on their Web site. What platforms do they use? How many subscribers do they have? What is their frequency of publication? What type of publication do they put online? It can guide you to see how you might increase your visibility on your own social media. Look also how they respond to their customers, both positive and negative comments.
Incidentally, it may be advantageous, if your customers from social media, to invest in a community manager experience that, among other things, analyze your statistics, and create publications on the image of your company, which will increase the engagement of your subscribers.
- If one of your competitors is a joint-stock company, please review its annual report. Just like the website, it could give you good food for thought for your business.
- Google (or your favorite search engine) can also be an excellent tool to learn more about your competitors. "Just come by or google your competitors and read the first few results offered by the search engine. Pay particular attention to the interviews, newsletters and press releases from your competitors.
Home Simcothese steps are part of our selection process of our sub-contractors. In fact, it is crucial that we know well in our sub-contractors to ensure that they are at the height of the services we wish to offer to our customers and, as previously mentioned, that they share our values. In addition, in order to ensure that everything take its course, an individual interview pre-screening of our sub-contractors is a common practice. Thus, we are able to confirm whether the information listed on the Internet about the subcontractor is accurate.
In short, as you can see, take inspiration from the competition, it is a little like playing chess : the more you can anticipate and know the next moves of your opponents (using various sources of information), the more you'll be one step ahead of them! Good research!
Source : 5 ways to cope with the competition in foreign markets : https://www.cqinternational.org/2019/08/5-facons-de-faire-face-a-la-concurrence-sur-les-marches-etrangers/
