Let technology build customer loyalty
To have successful sales, retailers know they need to make sure the customer finds their pool easy to maintain, without any stress or hassles. When it comes to robotic cleaners, the technology built into these products is designed to make things easier for the homeowner—not just in terms of ease of use, but also pool maintenance.
“As a company, we are very pro robotic pool cleaners because we know the customer is going to find their pool easy to maintain when using one of these products,” says Belcourt, whose company includes a robotic cleaner in the price of every pool project they install.
“When we sell these products, we help the client get acquainted with their pool cleaner by telling them to give it a name,” says Belcourt. “We then ask them to send us a ‘selfie’ with their newly named robotic cleaner in their pool, while they sit poolside enjoying the day rather than cleaning—it’s a sales technique that has yielded an immeasurable amount of customer loyalty and ensures repeat business.”
Dan Lenz of All Seasons Pools in Illinois says it is important for a retailer to start the conversation about pool cleaning and, in doing so, provides real-life personal experiences to help validate the benefits of a robotic cleaner—especially when it can help with customer loyalty.
“I always start by comparing a robotic cleaner to the client having a dishwasher in their kitchen,” says Lenz. “You can wash the dishes manually, but you don’t want to, so you run the dishwasher every day to keep the dishes clean. Similarly, one should keep a robotic cleaner in their pool, so it is always clean.”
As a pool owner himself, Lenz understands the desire to ensure the pool is always ready for impromptu guests and the burden of having to rush to clean the pool to be able to use it.
“Battery-operated pool cleaners are also a convenient option for spot cleaning steps and corners in a hurry,” says Lenz, who has two display pools at his store—one equipped with a robotic cleaner and the other with a battery-operated cleaner so customers can test them out and learn more about the benefits of each.
Customer loyalty is one of the main reasons why Lenz promotes robotic cleaners. For this reason, he, too, builds the cost of these products into every one of the projects his company builds.
“We do this because we know our customers will love their cleaner which, in turn, keeps them happy with their pool,” says Lenz.
Service technicians have also started selling robotic cleaners to their customers so they can use them between service calls. In fact, Belcourt’s service techs will sometimes loan robotic cleaners to a client which, in many cases, turns into a sale.
“If I go on a service call and find the customer’s pump is not operating and we’re not able to immediately install a new one, I leave a robotic cleaner with the client to keep in their pool for the weekend. We often find the pool owner loves the cleaner so much they end up buying one,” says Belcourt.
