Cordless and hand-held cleaners
Keeping pools clean between service visits is another important cleaning conversation. Stairs always have junk that accumulates on their surfaces and homeowners need or want to be able to spot clean those steps and corners before parties and between weekly maintenance trips. This is where cordless, hand-held, battery-powered cleaners really help. In fact, because so many service technicians use hand-held, cordless vacuums, customers see them using these cleaners on the pool, realize how simple it is to operate, and want to have one as well. As a result, many service professional say a majority of their sales of hand-held, battery-operated cleaners come from their existing customer base. Making sure pool owners have both a robotic and a hand-held cleaner makes the cleaning conversation a non-issue.
Building client loyalty
Pool cleaners are also a great way to build customer loyalty. When companies build new pools, they routinely include the price of a robotic cleaner, as well as a self-contained, hand-held vacuum for spot cleaning, because they know it will help ensure their clients are happy with their new investment. Some builders and retailers even encourage their clients to give their robotic cleaners a name and send in a photo—the perfect way to start a relationship, and a fun thing to promote on social media. Homeowners name their robotic cleaner and post a photo of it working while they sit poolside and enjoy the sunshine. This goes a long way in building positive customer relationships and loyalty.
In addition, service technicians have many opportunities for selling these robotic cleaners to their customers. For example, one might go on a service call and find their customer’s pump is not operating and they are not able to immediately install a new pump. These savvy technicians leave a robotic cleaner with the client to keep in their pool for the weekend, to help circulate the water while also cleaning the pool. Nine times out of 10, the client loves the cleaner so much, they end up buying one.
Customer loyalty is one of the main reasons so many pool professionals promote robotic and hand-held cleaners. As mentioned, there is a trend among builders to include these machines in the price of every pool they install, and service technicians sell these cleaners to supplement weekly service during those long summer months—all of which leads to a satisfied, loyal pool owner.
Conclusion
Homeowners want their pools to look beautiful at any time, on any day. The cleanliness of the pool surface is key. Automatic cleaners offer a solution to customers with a finite amount of time to spend cleaning their pools. When a new pool owner is first introduced to the many steps of care necessary to properly maintain a pool, they are sometimes overwhelmed. Automatic cleaners make the process easier and less time consuming. By addressing and solving the cleaning issue early on, pool professionals are ensuring their clients are happy with their purchase and their company is inherently building customer loyalty. This also helps them sell more products and more services and provide a steady stream of additional profits.
Guy Erlich is the founder and president of Water Tech Corp., a manufacturer of pool and hot tub cleaners in East Brunswick, New Jersey. He can be reached via email at guy@watertechcorp.com.
