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Think about the last time a business made you feel a connection. Maybe they remembered your name or sent you a personalized birthday card.   

The little things matter more than you might think. In fact, 88% of customers care just as much about how companies treat them as what they’re buying.  

Customer engagement is every interaction between a company and its customers. From quick social media chats to long phone calls, these moments build trust. Companies use these touchpoints to learn what customers really want.  

Here’s how to develop a winning customer engagement strategy for your contractor business. Learn practical ways to build relationships that last.  

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS — Why Home Services Providers Need to Create Customer Engagement  

What Is Customer Engagement?  

Customer engagement creates strong bonds between companies and their customers. It builds emotional connections through many small moments over time. When companies pay attention to people’s needs, the connections grow stronger.  

Think about a coffee shop that remembers your usual order. Or an online store that suggests products you might like. These small things help build lasting relationships and encourage you to come back.  

Companies connect with customers in different ways. Some use quick chats on social media. Others build deeper bonds through phone calls or in-person meetings. Understanding the best ways to interact helps companies build loyalty.  

A few different factors shape how customer engagement works:  

  • Length. Long-term relationships grow stronger over time. A loyal customer needs different interactions than someone making their first purchase.  
  • Proactiveness. Some people interact with companies on their own. Others need personalized messages to stay in touch and share feedback.  
  • Frequency. Interactions vary in timing. A plumber might engage with customers yearly for maintenance checks through social media. An electrician might check in every few months about safety upgrades.  
  • Context. The customer journey needs different approaches at each point. Someone asking for help needs different things than someone leaving a positive review.  
  • Volume. Smart companies track touchpoints at each step in the customer journey. This helps them understand when to reach out and how to build emotional connections.  

RELATED ARTICLE — How To Write a Price Increase Letter (With Templates)  

Why Is Customer Engagement Important for Contractors?  

When contractors focus on engagement, a one-time repair can grow into years of repeat business. That’s the key benefit. Customer engagement helps contractors win more jobs.  

Trust is key. 87% of customers won’t work with companies they don’t trust. And building trust starts with positive interactions.  

Engaged customers bring more work in other ways too. They often ask their contractors to do different types of jobs. A customer might start with basic electrical work. Then, they might hire the same contractor to install smart home devices. Loyal clients also share their positive customer experiences by word of mouth.  

Regular engagement helps contractors understand people’s needs better. They learn which services people want most. They pick the best times to reach out through social media. And they create better customer relationships by tracking what works.  

Best of all, when contractors focus on engagement, they improve customer retention. Personalized service keeps people coming back.  

Customer Engagement Versus Customer Experience  

Customer engagement and customer experience work together to help businesses grow. They’re both important parts of the journey, but they mean different things.  

Customer experience includes everything that happens when someone works with your business. For example, for a plumber, this could mean:  

  • How easy it is to book an appointment  
  • Whether the team shows up on time  
  • How well you fix the problem  
  • How the billing process works  
  • How clean you leave the workspace  

Customer engagement works differently. It focuses on how people choose to interact with a business. An engaged customer might:  

  • Leave a review about your plumbing service  
  • Follow your company’s social media posts about preventing frozen pipes  
  • Sign up for seasonal maintenance reminders  
  • Recommend your plumbing business to neighbors  
  • Ask questions about new services  

Think about it this way. Customer experience is what a business provides. Customer engagement is how people respond and participate.   

A great experience makes it easier for customers to engage. And engaged customers often report better experiences. When both work well together, businesses create stronger relationships with customers.  

Customer Engagement Versus Customer Satisfaction  

Customer satisfaction measures whether people are happy with their service. Some of the things that make customers satisfied with a contractor include:  

  • Quick problem solving  
  • Fair pricing  
  • Clean workspace  
  • On-time arrival  

In short, engagement strategies are about building lasting relationships through contact and personalization. Customer satisfaction is also vital, but it focuses more on making sure each job is a job well done.  

14 Benefits of a Successful Customer Engagement Strategy  

Why is customer engagement important? Because the right strategy can transform how contractors run their business, creating:  

Better Customer Relationships  

  1. Regular check-ins build trust.  
  2. Social media updates keep customers informed.  
  3. Feedback improves customer service.  
  4. Personalized reminders show you care.  
  5. Understanding customer needs becomes easier.  

Increased Brand Loyalty  

  1. Customers stay with you longer.  
  2. Loyal customers recommend you to friends.  
  3. More repeat business comes naturally.  
  4. Customer retention rates improve.  

More Business Opportunities  

  1. More chances to suggest personalized services.  
  2. Easier to notice when customers might need upgrades.  

Smoother Service Experience  

  1. Automated appointment reminders.  
  2. Personalized maintenance schedules.  
  3. Quicker responses to customer needs.  

RELATED ARTICLE — Email Marketing for Contractors: Best Practices and Tips 

Customer Engagement Examples  

An effective customer engagement strategy might encourage customers to:  

Digital Connections  

  • Follow and comment on social media updates  
  • Sign up for personalized maintenance reminders  
  • Use online booking tools  
  • Chat through messaging systems  
  • Write reviews on trusted websites  

Direct Communication  

  • Share feedback after service calls  
  • Participate in customer surveys  
  • Ask questions between appointments  
  • Send photos of potential problems  

Building Relationships  

  • Join customer loyalty programs  
  • Attend maintenance workshops  
  • Engage with other customers   
  • Recommend services to neighbors  

Long-Term Engagement  

  • Use personalized service packages  
  • Participate in referral programs  
  • Contribute improvement suggestions  

RELATED ARTICLE — The Business Owner’s Guide to Getting More Google Reviews   

Creating a Customer Engagement Strategy for Contractors  

Here’s how you can create a strategy that works for your business:  

Define Your Target Audience  

Start with who needs your services most. Look at your current customers to spot patterns. Which ones call you back often? Which services do they request? Pay attention to where your best customers come from and what makes them choose your business.  

Create Helpful Content  

Provide value to your customers. You can:  

  • Share maintenance tips on social media  
  • Make videos about common repairs  
  • Send personalized seasonal reminders, with the help of a marketing solution like Customer Lobby 
  • Create how-to guides for simple fixes  

Focus on Customer Needs  

Build your customer journey around what customers actually want. That means you need to:  

  • Listen to common questions  
  • Track common service requests  
  • Make services easy to understand  
  • Offer personalized maintenance plans  
  • Respond quickly to concerns  

Gather Customer Feedback  

Learn what works best through:  

  • Quick surveys after jobs  
  • Social media comments  
  • Direct customer conversations  
  • Service request patterns  
  • Online reviews 

Keep Improving  

Stay on top of your customer engagement strategy. You should:  

  • Measure what gets the best results  
  • Test new customer engagement ideas  
  • Update services based on feedback  
  • Follow industry trends  
  • Measure customer satisfaction (more on that in the following section!) 

FROM ONE OF OUR PARTNERS — How to Choose a Customer Engagement Platform  

7 Customer Engagement Metrics  

Here are the important numbers that show how well your customer engagement strategy works:  

1. Net Promoter Score  

Net promoter score (NPS) score gives you insights into how much customers want to recommend your business. You send a simple survey asking “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?” Higher scores mean better customer loyalty and trust.  

2. Customer Satisfaction Score   

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT) shows how happy customers are with their experience. It’s key to building loyalty. Send a quick survey right after each job asking “How satisfied were you with our service?” This helps track your customer experience quality.  

3. Churn Rate  

This counts how many customers stop using your services. You keep track of which customers don’t call back or choose different contractors. Understanding why customers leave can improve retention later.  

4. Customer Effort Score (CES)  

This tracks how easy it was for customers to work with you. This makes a big impact on customer experience. You ask: “How easy was it to get your problem solved?” The easier, the better.  

5. Behavioral Analytics  

These analytics track how customers interact with your business on social media, your website, and other places online. Monitor things like how long people spend on your website, how often they return, and how many click through your emails.  

6. Qualitative Feedback  

This includes all the detailed feedback customers share. You collect this through comment boxes on surveys, online reviews, and social media responses. Looking for patterns in this feedback helps you spot what’s working and what needs fixing.  

7. Email Subscriber Count  

This shows how many customers want ongoing updates from you. A growing subscriber list means customers want to build a relationship with your business.  

RELATED ARTICLE — How To Get Clients for a Cleaning Business: A Comprehensive Guide   

4 Tips for a Successful Customer Engagement Strategy  

These proven tips will improve your strategy:  

1. Personalize It  

Make every customer feel special. Keep track of their maintenance history and when they like their appointments scheduled. Send them personalized reminders when they’re due for a service.  

2. Listen and Respond  

Keep your ears open for feedback. Jump on reviews and comments right away. When problems come up, fix them fast. This tells customers their voice matters.  

3. Reward Loyalty  

Say thanks to people who stick with you. Give them perks they’ll actually use. This could be first dibs on appointments or discounts. Make it easy for them to keep coming back.  

4. Integrate Technology  

Put modern tools to work for your business. For example, AI-powered tools can grow your customer base 33% faster.  

Engage Your Clients With Joist 

Customer engagement matters before, during, and after the job. Make a great first impression with Joist estimates. Keep the customer engaged by attaching progress photos. Then, confidently send your invoice and collect payment, all through Joist.  

Don’t forget to ask your customer to leave an honest review. The next time they have a job, they’ll think of you, and maybe even tell their friends how great it was to work with you.