How do I build a steady and professional computer repair service business?
Posted on September 25th, 2009 by admin
I am a professional pc technician and I love this job and want to be very good at it.
I have started a computer repair service in a little town of 10000 people
and I have got some customers
and I get calls every week
It is not yet what I expected but I showed me what is it like.
Now I wanna go one step ahead in order to gain more customers and yet it is risky but I do not have much to loose so I am going to open a store in a bigger town and do more ads and marketing.
so things can be better ?
Now what Do I need to do in order to get the new store and how to make it look like and what to try to get things up and running
than you in advance
Read Ken’s reply and heed the warning. What you are missing is the advantage you already have - paying customers. Do you have any of them on a service contract?
My tech guy offered one and yes, I took him up on it. Every month I can take my computer in to be ‘dusted’, bench checked for any potential problems and it keeps me from having to worry about it.
Maybe you can offer something similar to your customers. They know you and your work, allow them to promote you. With a service agreement you are maintaining their systems, and giving them something to talk about.
I know this seems simple but how many of your customers use email? Do you have their email addresses to let them know about the latest virus scams, how to get better use of their systems or send notices when they need to upgrade some old software?
Let’s do some basic, simple math:
You have 10 customers. They each pay you maybe $5 a month for a service agreement that includes system cleaning, driver testing and something else that costs you nothing except time.
That’s $50 a month, not a big deal right? Now what if only 2 of them require bench time, hardware upgrades or complete system restore a month….get the picture?
Check what others in your town are doing, or not doing. You build loyalty to you, increase your business revenue and work to build from 10 regular customers to 20, 30, 100?
You get calls every week?! Turn them into customers with your maintenance program and get those emails telling them helpful things they can do themselves.
My tech guy does and even though I’ve been using computers since the 1980’s, the tips he sends mean a lot because I use my computer for my business.
Just my two cents.
September 25th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
While doing this part time, you have very little to no expenses so everything you do is currently profit. When you decide to make the next step up to having a store, you enter a whole different world of issues: Store Expenses (Rent, Taxes, Electricity, Security, Insurance, Salary if there are other employees to name a few… Also if this is for Computer repairs and you are considering opening a store, you would probably want to care computer parts and pieces. This would equally incur inventory expenses (you have to order the items in advance).
Please do not take this message as trying to discourage you from opening your business, as I think that should be your ultimate objective. What I would recommend based on what you had said, is build a bit more momentum in advance.
Make sure you have a solid base of local customers that come back to you on a regular basis. Why? Because is ten (10) times harder to get a new customer than it is to serve (and meet the expectations) of an existing and previously satisfied client. One those regular customers, feel free to ask them if they know of anyone else who is looking for help. Another angle you could consider is advertising in that larger city before you open up a store. You could do the repairs from your current location, until you start getting a more steady stream of clients in this town. Advertising in local papers and on Google Ad Words isn’t very expensive and hopefully could get things moving for you.
I’ve spent most of my career in sales and have seen a ton of people who are VERY good at what they do, and hope/think that customers are going to come to them because of this. Working on your marketing strategy, competitive positioning and finding the ultimate locations could really help you out when you decide to rent your store out. Good luck.
Ken
References :
September 25th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Read Ken’s reply and heed the warning. What you are missing is the advantage you already have - paying customers. Do you have any of them on a service contract?
My tech guy offered one and yes, I took him up on it. Every month I can take my computer in to be ‘dusted’, bench checked for any potential problems and it keeps me from having to worry about it.
Maybe you can offer something similar to your customers. They know you and your work, allow them to promote you. With a service agreement you are maintaining their systems, and giving them something to talk about.
I know this seems simple but how many of your customers use email? Do you have their email addresses to let them know about the latest virus scams, how to get better use of their systems or send notices when they need to upgrade some old software?
Let’s do some basic, simple math:
You have 10 customers. They each pay you maybe $5 a month for a service agreement that includes system cleaning, driver testing and something else that costs you nothing except time.
That’s $50 a month, not a big deal right? Now what if only 2 of them require bench time, hardware upgrades or complete system restore a month….get the picture?
Check what others in your town are doing, or not doing. You build loyalty to you, increase your business revenue and work to build from 10 regular customers to 20, 30, 100?
You get calls every week?! Turn them into customers with your maintenance program and get those emails telling them helpful things they can do themselves.
My tech guy does and even though I’ve been using computers since the 1980’s, the tips he sends mean a lot because I use my computer for my business.
Just my two cents.
References :