Streamlining Customer Service

Responding quickly to homeowners about their pool service could be the difference between retaining customers or losing their business.

“If you know consumers, they like the quick reaction times,” says Chris Cavanaugh, owner of Cavanaugh Pool, Spa & Patio in Kentucky, “and if you get to them quick, typically you will land a sale or have them more interested.”

By using Broadly, which helps business owners create an online marketing strategy, Cavanaugh is one of many pool companies managing customer experiences through a mobile device and desktop computer. Instead of toggling between platforms — such as responding to Facebook messages then invoicing with QuickBooks — Broadly streamlines eight tools into one, including a website chat function and direct-to-consumer texting. Pool pros can communicate with customers through their inbox, web chats and team chats; issue invoices; and collect payments, all without leaving Broadly. Additionally, for companies without a website, the Broadly design team can help.

Courting prospective customers is important, but Chris Deianni, Broadly director of business development, says what’s most important is how companies interact with customers after initial contact. Broadly, he says, helps companies at all touchpoints with the customer throughout the entirety of the business relationship.

Christi Rocco of Pool Doctor in East Northport, New York — a Broadly user since 2018 — adds that the ability to attach images directly from her phone through Broadly helps address a problem with a customer’s pool even before a visit.

The same is true when Broadly helps pool companies get started. “My point of contact [at Broadly] helped me combine two different Google pages we had mistakenly set up into one, and checked in with me numerous times,” Rocco says.

For convenience, contacts in QuickBooks or any other accounting or point-of-sale software are automatically loaded into Broadly. Broadly is also compatible with RB Pool & Spa, a software designed for the pool industry.

Another benefit of using Broadly is lead generation of potential customers for pool professionals. “We capture leads and [qualify them through text messaging], but we have humans behind that to make sure we’re filtering out any noise, spam or incomplete records,” Deianni says. “We only pass qualified leads on [to our clients] who have told us what they’re looking for and who they are.”

Broadly reports a 73% increase in users over the last two years served across the thousands of home-service businesses who use the platform to engage with leads and customers. “There is a clear increase in demand for home service over the last 20 months,” says Deianni, “and the post shut-down surge for these types of services has remained steady. When using Broadly, many of our pool and spa customers see an increase in their local reputation through better and more frequent reviews.”

After each customer’s experience, Broadly’s system automatically sends a text encouraging the customer to publish an online review on Yelp, Google, Facebook or NextDoor, which helps boost pool professionals’ online reputations. “Roughly nine out of 10 customers are going to read reviews before choosing a local business,” Deianni says, “and eight out of 10 are going to book the [company] that responds the quickest. You want to make sure all those people don’t just tell their neighbor and their aunt. You need them to leave that [recommendation] online.”

Rocco likes that Broadly prompts for reviews. “Many of the clientele searching for us noted that they chose us because of our online reputation and what past customers have said,” she says. She also likes that when setting up Broadly, it allows for accommodating a customer who previously opted out of being texted or emailed. “It was as simple as un-clicking a box,” Rocco says.

This tool is also helpful for connecting with unhappy customers right away. “If they had a bad experience and they click on the ‘Do Not Recommend,’ it will immediately notify me on my phone and also email me,” Cavanaugh says. “This makes it very easy to follow up and see how we failed or how we need to correct the issue.” Cavanaugh says he’s received 350 Google reviews within the last two years as a result of using Broadly. Rocco notes similar results, saying the number of reviews on its social media pages and Google have grown at a rapid rate, “with overwhelmingly positive results in mostly five-star ratings from our customers.”