ServiceTitan Blog

March is Women's History Month and ServiceTitan is spending the coming weeks celebrating the Women In The Trades! This blog series will profile some of the most dynamic and inspired women who are currently working in the trades, defying barriers, and making singular contributions to the industry. In this blog, we speak with Susan Frew, President of  Sunshine Plumbing Heating & Air in Denver, Colorado.

Staffing and employee retention are emerging as a key issues in the home services industry — prompting many business owners to take a hard look at what their company offers employees besides a steady paycheck.

Your company is on the radar in your area. Your inflow of new business is steady, but marketing efforts seem scattered. How do you know you’re using everything you have in your toolbox to get the right customers interested in your services? How can you streamline your funnel of efforts and use your resources better to market for your company?

According to the company, Yelp receives an average of 188 million unique visitors to its site every month. Is your plumbing, HVAC or electrical company doing what it can to make sure your Yelp page is putting your best foot forward?

This isn't the first time you've spent the afternoon double checking customer invoices with the accounting team due to a lack of payment paperwork collected from techs in the field. Your technicians are top notch at the work they do, but their first priority is doing a good job for their customers and sometimes they might forget the importance of keeping up with collecting payment paperwork.

You know that feeling of being a 'regular' customer?

It’s the feeling you get when you walk into your favorite coffee shop, bar, or hardware store and it’s not a stranger behind the counter — it’s your friend. They get your favorite drink, know how you take your coffee, or ask about that project you’ve been working on. Maybe you chat about your day, or how the weekend was. You leave having had a positive experience in your day, and I’m sure you’ll be back soon.

Google, Yelp, Facebook and Angie's List have made customer service and feedback more important than ever in the home services industry. Is your company doing what it can to inspire five-star reviews and better word-of-mouth?

Did you know that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in the HVAC industry are expected to grow 15% from 2016 - 2026? That's much faster than average! Speedy growth like this means you may experience increased competition in the market — but market growth means more opportunities for your business. It also means you have to find ways to really stand out from your competitors. There are a few key actions that will help you do just that as you build a successful HVAC service business.

In a world where good technicians are hard to find, keeping them is critical.

Studies on the topic of turnover costs never turn up consistent numbers, but we can all agree that the costs exist. A review from the Center for American Progress shares that "for workers earning less than $50,000 annually—which covers three-quarters of all workers in the United States—the 22 case studies show a typical cost of turnover of 20 percent of salary, the same as across positions earning $75,000 a year or less, which includes 9 in 10 U.S. workers." But one thing is for sure: acquisition costs more than retention.

When you own a small business, it can be hard to know how to measure success and make sure you're primed to grow. There are, however, tried-and-true KPIs to help you monitor the trajectory of your company and correct the course as you face new challenges.