We live in a fast changing technological era and customers are more demanding than ever. Electrical businesses and companies in the service industry in general have been forced to rethink their approach. If you are thinking about starting your own electrical business, there are a few things that you should know about that could drastically help you to kick-start your operations.
And while the first prerequisite is having a vast repository of knowledge about the electrical sector, starting an electrical business also requires a lot of business process know-how. This includes everything from maintaining a steady supply of spare parts and keeping track of your workforce, to ensuring your technicians are paid on time, and (perhaps most importantly) sending accurate and competitive quotations to your customers.
To help you in your efforts to start an electrical business, here are some things that you should keep in mind.
Maximise Your Asset Management Efficiency
For any start-up business, the task of managing assets is extremely crucial, as inefficient asset handling can lead to important losses. In an electrical business, in-field assets refer to your mobile workforce such as electricians and technicians, as well as any moving inventory like equipment and spare parts. While starting out, it may seem feasible to rely on basic spreadsheets to keep a track of all your assets. However, thanks to advancements in software tech, even bootstrapped field service start-ups companies now have access to software applications that make the task of asset management easy and automated. For example, apps can use location tracking to gauge which engineer or electrician is closest to a site, assess their skill and experience levels and accordingly assign a task assuming it does not create any scheduling clashes.
Choose the Right Suppliers
When you’re starting a business, providing your customers with an exceptional service is just as important as maintaining healthy profit margins. So while choosing a supplier who can offer lower prices might seem a tempting offer, low prices can be extremely deceptive and indicative of lower quality levels. To strike the right balance, choose a supplier who has a good track record and has ideally worked with multiple start-ups.
Set a High Standard for Customer Service
The best way to ensure you get repeat business is by keeping your customers happy. Especially for a young business, customer retention should be just as important as customer acquisition. Stay one step ahead of the competition by using smart strategies for customer service. For example, you can use software to record customer calls, whether it be enquires or grievances. The data gathered can be of great help for your customer care team, who will be better equipped to handle escalations. Also, make it a point to follow up with clients, in particular, those that have given you good feedback. This way you have a chance to get some repeat business and score brownie points with clients, who will appreciate the attention to detail.
Market Your Business Online
In today’s day and age, not having an online presence for your business is the biggest mistake you can make as a brand. The use of digital marketing has been proven to be an extremely effective strategy to help establish your brand. Focus on first creating a website that appeals to your target audience and explains in detail what your business can provide, along with forms that can help you get leads. By improving your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) ranking and spending money on paid digital ad campaigns, you can drive more traffic to your website and increase your brand’s standing from a digital and social media perspective.
Starting an electrical business is a challenging project like starting any other business. However, with the right tools and services at your disposal, you’ll be assured a spark-free experience.
