How today’s pool cleaners help ease the maintenance conversation

by arslan_ahmed | July 20, 2023 11:22 am

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By Guy Erlich

Pools should be sparkling, clean, inviting, and fun. Builders, retailers, and service professionals work tirelessly to ensure their clients have an enjoyable pool ownership experience. Thus, it is important to address cleaning practices early in the conversation, to set expectations, offer guidance, and provide solutions. The goal is to ensure the customer finds their pool easy to maintain, without any stress or hassle. To help ease the “cleaning conversation,” pool professionals find it helpful to introduce robotic and hand-held cleaners that automate the process and make it easy for clients to keep their water sparkling and its surfaces free of debris.

Cleaning technology

All consumers love and are comfortable with technology that helps with daily chores, as it allows more time for leisure. Therefore, these pool cleaning conversations can begin with examples of technology they already use and trust. For instance, some professionals like to compare pool cleaners to dishwashers. You can wash the dishes manually, but you do not want to, so you run the dishwasher every day to keep the dishes clean. Similarly, one should keep a robotic cleaner in their pool or a battery-operated cleaner near their pool, so it is always easy to have clean water. It is also important to explain the benefits of advanced robotic or self-contained, hand-held pool cleaners. Many customers may not even be aware these products exist. The emergence of cordless cleaning with premium hand-held and robotic options offers technology benefits consumers will love. When it comes to pool cleaners, especially automated ones, the technology built into these products makes maintenance and cleaning easier for homeowners.

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More than just cleaning

Once pool professionals start the conversation about cleaning, the next step is to explain all the other benefits of a robotic cleaner. For example, they improve water circulation and help distribute chemicals and heat more evenly throughout the pool. Essentially, a robotic cleaner works similar to a moving pump and filter at the bottom of the pool. As a result, homeowners who use a robotic cleaner actually reduce the load on their pump and filter, which extends the life of other equipment. More importantly, robotic cleaners allow the pump and filter to perform their jobs better, because they are just filtering the water, rather than also filtering the dirt from the pool floor. It is important to explain to clients if their filter only has to remove particles from the water, as opposed to loading it up with all the debris from the bottom of the pool, the filter works more effectively in keeping their water clean and clear. An automatic/robotic cleaner also easily pays for itself because it helps reduce chemical usage and extends the life of cartridge filters.

If a professional has the time to educate the client, it is important to explain robotic pool cleaners continuously scrub the surface of the pool and, in doing so, break up any biofilm and algae, allowing the chemicals and filter to work more effectively in keeping the water clean.

However, beyond the facts and benefits of robotic cleaners, once customers see them in action and realize it is as simple as throwing them into the water, it becomes very appealing to purchase one of these cleaners, to keep their pools as clean as possible between maintenance visits.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/expert-advice/how-todays-pool-cleaners-help-ease-the-maintenance-conversation/

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