O-Care’s repeat business philosophy is paying off for retailers and their customers…
Hot tub retailers are being urged to think outside of the typical chlorine and bromine box by investing in profitable O-Care water treatment sales techniques. Retailers can earn ÂŁ100 a year per client from O-Care sales with a lifetime subscription sign-up value of some ÂŁ2,000. The after sales algorithms speak for themselves as the pro rata earnings to the O-Care plan forecast steeply rises to around ÂŁ7,000 per year based on 50 sign-ups. Launched in 2008 and now selling in 23 countries worldwide, O-Care is a win, win for both retailers and hot tub owners alike. O-Care steers customers away from rival, cheap on-line chemical competition. Typically, an O-Care customer will stay with their original retailer, through the O-Care plan, for eight years. O-Care builds loyalty through regular customer contact and keeps the customer coming back for other add-on after sales.
SAFE, SOFT AND SIMPLE
For customers, the O-Care system offers a key safe, soft and simple water treatment solution that is hassle-free. Typically opting for O-Care will reduce chlorine and bromine use by up to 73 per cent for a hot tub owner. It will protect the hot tub workings as a result with some dealers offering extended warranty based on its guaranteed use. Speaking at a recent on-line O-Care dealer seminar, Richard Hart, of the Aqua Warehouse Group wholeheartedly endorsed the product. “We notice a lot of dealers buy O-Care, put it on shelves and are happy to sell a few here and there,” says Richard. “That’s fine, but they are missing a rather important trick,” says Richard. “There is a whole new level to O-Care.” Richard speaks from experience, promoting O-Care to customers in the company’s own Essex retail store by presenting a bulk buy sales incentive for UK dealers. “As retailers ourselves, we have been selling O-Care for a number of years now, very successfully,” says Richard who said adopting the O-Care sales formula has simply revolutionised sales. “The vast majority of our retail customers are on an O-Care plan,” reveals Richard. “Every three months we receive their subscriptions on a Direct Debit plan. You can sell a lot of O-care but make a lot of money. “Subscription sales have absolutely revolutionised our sales of O-Care. So easy and profitable… sales went through the roof.” Dealing with the typical customer queries of green water, foaming and restarts, the co-founder and face of O-Care, Roel Fassbender, first tested the O-Care philosophy on his own retail customers, selling hot tubs from the company’s showroom in Holland. “As retailers, we knew that poor water quality is a bad hot tub sale and we set out to find truth about water chemistry as we developed the O-Care system,” Roel declares at a recent on-line forum. “We developed a water maintenance product that prevents sediment build up, reduces chlorine and bromine by only having to add the product once a week.
CUSTOMER LOYALTY
“What is more, the product enhances customer loyalty and increases retention and re-purchase,” Roel added. Rigidly sticking to industry guidelines on main sanitisers, the development of the O-Care sales system has never stood still with a professional and informative website supported by QR codes, on-line assistants, animations and APPS all available via Smart Phones and Tablets. All the marketing bells and whistles are linkable to individual dealer websites. Ultimately this has enabled the customer to self- help and solve water issues in a step- by-step format. “The customer can make purchases on-line, from a dealer they know and trust,” Roel points out. “It gives users more confidence, less hassle and makes their hot tub experience more enjoyable. Through the subscription sales techniques, Roel predicts dealers can triple turnover, year-on-year on the O-Care product. He says the best time to promote O-Care is at the time of the hot tub purchase. “Customers trust you with a £10k hot tub purchase and then go elsewhere for a £10 chemical sale,” he points out. “Seize the moment by offering an easy way into the O-Care water treatment programme,” he urges.
Best practice techniques, already borne out by key UK retailers like Cornish Hot Tubs and 1 Stop Spas include basic principles:
• A free O-Care box with any new hot tub
• £5 Product discounts – recommended from £79.90 to £74.90 per order
• Automatic roll-over delivery every three to four months
• Extended Warranty Plan as pumps and heaters have increased longevity
• Commission for staff members for selling O-care subscription…
Those retailers are reporting a 76 per cent customer retention on subscription compared with 51% without. System sign ups, they report, can quickly climb from a 48% success rate. “The more you automate systems, the easier life becomes,” advises Richard Hart. “You email customers a week before they get their spa delivered advising they are going to receive a free gift. “The O-Care starter kit lasts about a month, so we email them automatically a few weeks later. The subscription plan is working so well, we are way about 50% sign up,” he shares with 1 Stop’s Chris Brady revealing their figures are nearer 85%.
“SUBSCRIPTION SALES HAVE ABSOLUTELY REVOLUTIONISED OUR SALES OF O-CARE.” – Richard Hart, Aqua Warehouse Group
HOLISTIC APPROACH
There is a feel-good holistic feeling around O-Care; a company that donates $2 dollars per box of O-Care to the charity, water.org. Those donations cover two years of clean water for a needy individual. But profit is not a dirty word for O-Care and its worldwide trade following. “As we are constantly reminded as retailers, we are guilty of selling the hamburger and forgetting about the fries,” says Roel. “We can help you secure repeat business, maintain customer-company relationships while increasing your customer loyalty, retention and repurchases. “When you are in touch with your customer every three to four months through O-Care, you know, the first one your customer is going to call for a new product, is you.
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