-by Rachael Pritz, RB Pool & Spa

As specialty retailers, you have a unique competitive advantage over big-box stores in that you sell and service products yourself and have personal relationships with your customers. Because of COVID-19 and social distancing, it’s become even more critical to maintain and deepen those relationships, so that your customers don’t turn to online providers to get the pool and spa essentials they need for this year’s summer “stay-cation.” The most effective way to do this is through targeted marketing communications. This blog post demonstrates why a pool service software system is an essential tool to help you deliver the right messages to the right audience.

This pandemic gives specialty retailers greater incentive to “mine” their invaluable customer relationship management database (CRM). Whether you sell something through your retail operation, your construction division, or your service department, a pool system software, such as RB Pool & Spa’s system, connects all aspects of the interaction that your company has with its customers. It automatically generates customer profiles that provide staff with immediate access to important information, such as:

• History of purchases
• Products owned
• Pool and spa size
• Stored images and schematics
• Previous water problems
• Equipment profiles
• Personal information
• Directions (and more!)

You can segment your audience into groups based on shared characteristics, and tailor your marketing messages (i.e. emails, promotions, offers and services, digital content, etc.) just for them! Research from the Data & Marketing Association shows that 77 percent of email ROI comes from segmented, targeted, and triggered campaigns. Another study found that 65 percent of customers agree receiving personalized offers and exclusive discounts has a major or moderate influence on their loyalty. Additionally, this information will provide inspiration for future content topics for your blog, which is an excellent way to stay connected to your customer base.

RB Pool & Spa provides an unlimited CRM customer database to support your growing business, allowing you to:

• Maintain a cleansed database
• Centralize your sales and service information in one place
• Combine duplicate customers
• Import and combine your list of customers and prospects with purchased customer lists
• Categorize customers through user-defined fields such as purchase or service history (you can track who hasn’t purchased chemicals lately, who hasn’t had a recent service call, or even those who have an older model pool or spa)

Ultimately, with these features, you can create targeted marketing campaigns and drive your audience segments to your online store or retail location.

Pro-tip: mailchimp email service integration – Sending promotions and keeping in contact with your customers via email is a low-cost advertising method. It is important to use an email service, such as Mailchimp, to send out e-blast promotions and newsletters. Mailchimp is free for up to 2,000 addresses and very low cost if you have over 2,000 email addresses. This program makes it easy to create the mailings, enables you to set timed mailings, organizes multiple types of customer lists, and keeps you in line with the rules for allowing all recipients to opt out. The RB Pool & Spa software automatically integrates with Mailchimp to get your email marketing going quickly.

RB Pool & Spa’s pool software generates valuable sales reports that enables you to make business decisions based on actual data, not speculation. With these reports, you can:

• Identify which products your customers are buying and which ones they aren’t (which will help you identify trends in buying behaviors among certain customers, as well as which products perform best and potential reasons why)
• Determine which customers are loyal and which are at risk
• Track how customers have learned about your company, which will help you determine which marketing programs are most effective

By reviewing this data, you can continue to improve your targeted messages to customers and make adjustments quickly and easily.

If you haven’t already done so, this is the year to launch a customer loyalty rewards program. A pool software system can automate a loyalty program for you, where it assigns loyalty cards to customers to easily track and build their purchase history. Use the loyalty card information to build additional lists for product, service, and installation promotions. Market an effective Loyalty Rewards Program that is easily tracked through the system to use the system to effectively retain customers. Personalized maintenance calendars and chemical tip sheets make the perfect handout for customers that will keep them coming back to your store for chemicals—don’t forget that your emails should include links to specific pages on your online store—for 1-click purchasing!

Separate current customers from sales leads and create follow-ups to track the sales process and strengthen relationships. Sales force activities, such as tracking leads, scheduling sales calls, mailings, and generating reports ensure proper and timely follow up. Keep a handle on your sales team with reports of employee sales performance and the ability to easily track spiffs and commissions.

Don’t spend money on advertising and coupons that aren’t working and not worth repeating! Track how new customers have heard of your company and which ads or coupons they’re using on each transaction—all within the RB Pool & Spa software. You can also see the effect that discounts have on your profit margin.

Some customers will still be reluctant to leave their homes, even when the stay-at-home mandates are lifted. Therefore, it’s best to connect with them where they feel most comfortable. Virtual sales events or online pool and spa schools have already proven to be highly successful for pool and spa professionals during this pandemic. Because your customers are home and you have an established relationship with them, they are more likely to sign up for a ‘how to’ open your pool or spa online course. Set up a virtual school, send out email invitations, and create an incentive to encourage people to join (i.e. special promotion, discount, etc.). Use the event to showcase your latest products, and leave time to answer their questions and concerns. This will help foster customer loyalty.

Even in these challenging times, the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship appears to be very strong among today’s pool and spa retailers! Drill down into your business software, identify and target different segments of your customer base, and keep them engaged! The more value you provide them, the more loyal they will be.