As your drain cleaning business begins to develop a loyal customer base, your attention will naturally turn toward sustainable scalability. How big do you want that customer list to be? How much do you desire your business to expand? And what’s the best way to grow without losing sight of everything that made your company successful in the first place?

Service businesses face some particular challenges when it comes to expansion, as so much of their success hinges on relationship-building and word-of-mouth buzz. With that said, there are a few scalability tips that any service company might take to heart.

Get the timing right

First and foremost, it’s smart to step back and ask whether now’s the time for scaling. If you choose the wrong moment, you may find only frustration, stress and disappointment.

Here are some good indicators that your company is well-positioned for scalability:

• You have a clear sense of your business identity, including your primary profit centers, the factors that distinguish you from your competitors and the value you bring to the customer.
• You can clearly articulate your ideal customer, perhaps even fleshing out full buyer personas.
• You are starting to see a steady influx of new customers, almost more than your current resources and infrastructure can handle.

Focus on customer experience

If you do decide that it’s time to scale and expand, it’s imperative to understand how that’s most likely to happen: Through continued reputation building, referrals from happy customers and positive buzz at online review sites.

As such, your scalability efforts should prioritize customer experience. Continue to invite the feedback of your most valuable clients and determine opportunities to build on the value you’re already offering them (including maintenance plans to help them safeguard their investment in your services).

Market your niche

When your company dabbles in a little bit of everything, taking an overly broad “jack of all trades” approach can make it difficult to grow and expand. By knowing your niche and the specific area of expertise where you outshine local competitors, you can better carve out an identity.

Make sure you know what that niche is and incorporate it heavily into your marketing. Make potential customers aware of the acute, measurable value you can provide.

Hire strategically

To expand your business while continuing to offer an exemplary customer experience, you’ll need to hire judiciously.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make is hiring too aggressively. Instead, focus on hiring a smaller number of personnel who offer a high bandwidth and a lot of flexibility.

Review your pricing

Finally, consider that now might be a good time to revisit your pricing strategy. You may be tempted to lowball everything as a way of enticing new customers, but, counterintuitively, this might actually hurt you. Your pricing should reflect your reputation, expertise and professionalism.

Review competitor pricing to determine the general ballpark, and then consider whether your current rate of growth dictates a slight upward adjustment to your prices.

Sustain your service-based growth

As service-based businesses start gaining traction, it’s only natural that they would consider scaling up. Be wise in your approach, always keeping customer satisfaction foremost in your goal setting and vision attainment. 

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About the author: Amanda Clark is the president and editor-in-chief of Grammar Chic, a full-service professional writing company. She is a published ghostwriter and editor, and she's currently under contract with literary agencies in Malibu, California, and Dublin. Since founding Grammar Chic in 2008, Clark, along with her team of skilled professional writers, has offered expertise to clients in the creative, business and academic fields. The company accepts a wide range of projects; often engages in content and social media marketing; and drafts resumes, press releases, web content, marketing materials and ghostwritten creative pieces. Contact Clark at www.grammarchic.net.