An HVAC business disaster can shut you down - or make your business stronger than ever. It's (mostly) up to you and truly depends on what kind of plans you have in place to avoid it and contingency plans to act appropriately.
Here are three common business disasters that affect small and large companies, and a sample plan to follow pre- and post-disaster:
- Disaster: A natural disaster damages your business while customers are demanding service. Plan: Just as you'd prepare for drastic weather changes seasonally, staff up and extend your hours. Also, establish a plan for a mobile office with practical methods to contact employees and equip everyone with the correct tools, such as tablets and phones.
- Disaster: A highly publicized customer service issue. Plan: An unhappy customer takes his or her issues online and among friends. Word spreads fast, too: He or she could tell up to 20 people unprompted. Social media makes that number endless. However, you can reverse the cycle. Don't ignore the complaints, address them and turn an angry customer into a referrer. A consistent social media marketing plan makes monitoring sentiment easier as well.
- Disaster: Sales aren't sufficient by fourth quarter.
Plan: Evaluate your HVAC sales team and their knowledge. Are they participating in regular training? Perhaps it's time to take a new approach and train to sell to the new customer.