Looking at getting a website for your skip bin or waste management company? Already have a website but not sure it's doing it's job as your most important digital asset?
The good news is I've run and built websites for various skip bin companies and am going to share my insights into what makes a good website and digital strategy and why aiming a bit higher than a cookie cutter website is important.
Why websites and digital strategy are important
Having a good website and digital strategy is how you acquire new customers. Full stop.
The better your website / mobile apps / other channels perform the more customers you get.
The better you manage relationships with your customers through email, sms, push notifications etc, the more customers you keep long term.
What should my website have on it
Think about the sales conversations you have on the phone with customers all the time. This is the information that needs to be on your website.
Customers used to be happy to call you and ask questions and then make a purchasing decision on the spot.
Now your customers want to get all that information online and then make a purchasing decision right there without having to call you.
This means that not only do you need to have answers to all the questions that your customers would normally ask but you also need to have a way for them to book that skip bin or dumpster in right there and then.
If you don't offer this, someone else will and then you won't get the calls anymore.
Is an enquiry form enough
In my opinion enquiry forms are annoying and are really only necessary when your website lacks the information that your customers actually want to find on your website.
A full booking experience is the best way to get all the info you need to deliver a service and provide your customer with all the information they need to feel confident about their purchase.
What if I get too many bookings?
This is kind of dependant on the situation, if you are an established company with a website that already has loads of traffic but does not offer a booking capability then this is probably a concern that can be solved by using a skip hire software like Hiary to manage your inventory.
If it is a new website with no existing traffic then the chances are low that you'll be bombarded with loads of automatic bookings. There are however plenty of advantages to having an integrated website such as price management and automatic capture of customer information.
Photography and marketing materials
You know your business better than anyone else but chances are you are not also a professional copywriter or photographer. My suggestions is that as part of your website project you invest in having professional photography done for your team, trucks, bins and facilities. If you want to super charge your efforts here think about who your customers are and what their desires are and show how your skip bins or dumpsters will assist them in achieving those desires.