How do homeowners choose a tradesman? What impresses them? And what really puts them off?

Powered Now, an admin app for tradespeople, carried out a survey of over 1,000 homeowners and the results make interesting reading for small businesses. Here are the headline points:

• Choosing a tradesman – 50% of respondents saw reputation as paramount when choosing a tradesman. The next two factors were availability to start a job and the price.

• What method of marketing – following on from the previous question, 70% of homeowners appointed people on personal recommendations or from previous experience of the workman.

• Causes for complaints – there are three major areas, headed by 83% disappointed by people not turning up at the time agreed. 75% of those surveyed were unhappy at how difficult it was to get an estimate. When a price was agreed, 76% complained that the final bill came to more than the quote.

• Methods of payment – cash is still king, with 54% using this method of payment. It is significantly down from the previous year’s survey which showed 65% paying cash. Bank transfer and card payments rose from 13% to 25%, however. 23% of those surveyed said they had been offered a discount for a cash payment while 59% said they would prefer to pay by card.

• Poor paperwork – finally, many tradespeople are losing out because of poor paperwork. A whopping 71% of people said they would choose a company whose quotation had been produced on professional looking stationery.

Plenty of food for thought there for all independent tradespeople.