For Charleston Contractor,

Customer Retention Is Key to Survival 

Juan Cardona is president of JC Heating and Cooling in Charleston, West Virginia, and he is believer in customer retention.  “I have been in business for a very long time,” Juan said.  “I cannot see how we could have survived without customer retention.” 

 Equating it to the other option – constant turnover of customers – he said, “I don’t consider that to be healthy to a company.”

 Juan’s sales numbers support his belief.  Between 70 and 85 percent of his sales come from either existing customers and word of mouth, both of which are attributable to customer retention.  After all, customers who leave don’t tend to refer their friends to the company they no longer use. 

 In addition to his regular marketing program, Juan’s customer retention program includes regular mailings to customers.  “I like to do four mailings a year to the existing base,” he said.  While two of those have been newsletters, this is the first year he’s done a card, which he sent out at the end of summer. 

 “My purpose with the card was to really stay in front of the customers, to keep the company in front of the customer’s face,” he said.  Juan received comments from customers about the card, and he’s hopeful the reminder will turn into calls for fall.  

 Juan also has a service agreement in place, which has grown from 120 customers two years ago to about 350 currently.  He attributes the improved numbers to a shift in marketing focus.  Previously, he advertised Maintenance Agreements, without strong response, but found success when he began to advertise for tune-ups, which were then upgraded to Maintenance Agreements on the call. 

 Juan’s future plans include improvements to the website.  “I’m in the process of revamping that,” he said.  Making the site more consumer-oriented and using it to interact with customers will be one more way he can continue his customer-focused efforts.