How Technology Helps Contracting Companies
Since 2000, technology has become ever more important for all types of businesses. Local stores, service-based businesses, and contracting companies are some of the slowest adopters, however, because they’re not clear on how they can benefit. There are many ways modern technology can help local small businesses grow and thrive. Here we’ll look at some of the best.
Have A Company Website
Websites don’t have to be complicated. Most people are used to being able to find basic information online, so they’ll look for a company website before making a phone call. In some cases, simply having your business information online is enough to legitimize it for prospective customers. In some cases, all that’s needed on a company website is your phone number, business address, and working hours.
Some customers want more information, however. If a customer needs to hire a landscape contractor, they may want to see a list of services provided or areas served. Customers looking for a plumber may want to ensure the company is licensed and bonded properly, or they may want to see testimonials from previous customers.
Have A Social Media Presence
Small, local companies can benefit from modern technology by keeping one or more social media accounts. You don’t necessarily have to post new content to social media frequently. Sometimes simply having basic content there acts like having a company website. It’s an effortless way for customers to verify that you’re a real, legitimate business.
Social media is also an excellent way to share customer satisfaction stories, pictures of current work, profiles of employees, and more. Social media is a very interactive form of technology that can be fast paced. This pace is an excellent form of word-of-mouth advertising that can help contracting companies to grow very quickly.
Have An Online Contact Method
There are many people who would rather use a webpage contact form or send an email instead of making a phone call. This is a modern trend that is only growing, so making it easy to contact your company in these ways will only enhance business over time.
You can ask your web designer to add a simple contact form to your company website. This form will send you a text message or email each time someone fills it out. If there are too many inquiries for you to keep up with, you can simply have the form send these to a receptionist or scheduling person.
Share Questions and Answers
If your company routinely gets asked the same questions by multiple customers and prospects, technology can help reduce the repetitiveness. Instead of answering those questions directly each time they’re asked, simply produce a frequently asked questions page. This can be a page on your company website or on your social media profile. Having this available publicly makes it easier for people to find the answers they’re looking for, instead of you or an employee having to answer them anew each time.
Creating a Record
Technology helps contracting companies get more business because it helps spread the word about the company. It also makes it easier to share job progress and success and use those successes as advertisements to generate future business.
It’s also a time saver. Not everyone likes making phone calls anymore and calls often interrupt work in progress. This is easily resolved by using email or website contact forms.
There is another valuable hidden benefit from using this technology, too. It creates a paper trail that you can refer to, a record, if ever needed, for insurance purposes. Let’s say a roofing company needs to use their roofer liability insurance to cover a claim against services not as described. Using the existing technology from their contact form and email accounts, they can refer to documentation about what services were requested and negotiated. This is helpful for advertising injury claims and other potential liability issues as well. So, let your contracting company use technology more frequently and effectively, and see your business thrive as a result.
