One-click Response – Bark.com Blog

It’s now even easier to “Bark” on the move

We know our best pros are often out on jobs when new Barks come in, and that’s why we’re working to make using our service as easy as possible when you’re on the move.

Following on from the success of our new one-click response feature, we decided to see if we could make the Bark Messenger itself even more user friendly on smartphone and tablet devices.

So we asked our Customer Services team what feedback we’ve been getting about it, and discovered that many of our pros felt the text box where you compose your messages was too small on mobile devices.

Bark Messenger is now faster and easier to use! — *Our latest update makes Bark Messenger faster and easier to use*

In the old Bark Messenger, this box only fitted a couple of lines of text, making longer messages tricky to edit and check for mistakes.

That’s obviously no good, especially when you’re composing your first message to a potential client and need to make a good first impression.

(As we’ve noted in the past, the best opening messages are usually around 500-600 characters long.)

So we re-wrote the code for that part of the Bark Messenger so the text box will now dynamically expand (and shrink) as you type in your messages.

In the process, we were also able to make everything run faster, by chucking out a lot of the cumbersome Javascript the messenger used to depend on.

In short, Bark Messenger is now faster, more responsive and mobile friendly – meaning it’s now even easier to respond to clients using it when you’re out on a job.

If you’d like to send us any feedback about how you’re finding this new feature, send us an email at team@bark.com. Or if you’d like to suggest any further improvements we could make to the Bark Messenger in future, let us know in the comments below!

Writing the perfect customer response – secure more business with Bark in 6 easy steps

The first response you send to a customer is far and away the most important. Many people will decide whether or not they’d like to hire you based on this message alone, so it’s essential you get it right.

Making sure your pitch is the best one a client receives is a key part of pitching for new business with Bark, and we want to do everything in our power to help you stand out from the crowd.

So, in this week’s blog post we’re looking at how to write the perfect customer response in six easy steps.

STEP 1: Promote your company

The best sales pitches all have the same basic structure. You start by getting the customer’s attention. Then, you explain what’s unique about your pitch. Finally, once the customer has decided you’re the pro for them, you give them an offer they simply can’t refuse.

That’s why your opening message should stress exactly what experience and qualifications you have that make you perfect for the job. Include links to your website, your online portfolio, customer reviews – and anything else you think might improve your chances of securing the business.

STEP 2: Explain what’s included

Next, make sure the customer knows exactly what they’ll be getting for their money, and explain why your service is great value.

In many industries there are ‘extras’ which sometimes aren’t included as standard. If you’re a photographer, are prints included in your estimate? If you’re a cleaner, will you provide your own products?

If your service costs more than some other providers, explain that’s because you offer a superior service – if you’re cheaper than your competitors, be sure to stress what a good deal you are offering.

STEP 3: Move the conversation forwards

Unless you’re really lucky, the chances are you won’t secure the business from your opening message alone.

Your customer will usually have a few questions they need answering before they’re satisfied that you’re the right pro for the job, so ask them to call you whenever is convenient to discuss things further.

Encouraging the customer to take a look at your previous work and offering to meet them in person to provide them with a bespoke estimate are also good ways to move the conversation forwards.

STEP 4: Give your contact details

Customers you contact through Bark will always be able to reach you via the Bark messenger, and they can get your phone number and email address by clicking the “view contact details” button under your display name.

But to make sure it’s as easy as possible for them to get in touch with you, we also recommend including your contact details in the body of your message, so they’re impossible to miss.

STEP 5: Respond quickly

It’s important to respond to new Barks quickly. Our analysis shows that pros who get back to the customers we alert you to right away are twice as likely to secure the business as those who don’t.

So when we alert you to a potential customer you like the look of, it’s best to send them a message right away to register your interest in their business. To help with this, we created our ‘one-click response’ feature – you can find out how it works right here.

STEP 6: Check your spelling!

Finally, once you’ve finished your response we we highly recommend reading it through carefully before you click ‘send’.

A message that contains typos implies you don’t pay attention to detail, and makes people feel you don’t really care about their custom. So it’s always worth checking each message carefully, just to be safe.

Put these steps together and you should be able to craft highly effective responses for your customers – like this example reply to someone with a serious pest problem:

Hi Hans,

Bark just emailed to say you’re in need of pest control, so I thought I’d get in touch to offer you my services.

I’m a BPCA-approved exterminator with 15 years of experience under my belt. In that time, I’ve dealt with everything from ant infestations to escaped Ocelots (don’t ask!), so there really is no job too big or small.

Take a look at my website – www.the-verminator.co.uk – for more info about my experience, qualifications and pricing. If you like what you see, I’ll happily visit your home to take a look at the problem and give you a free quote.

You can reach me any time on 07811 545548 or at theverminator@gmail.com.

Best wishes,
Vincent
07811 545548 | www.the-verminator.co.uk

As you can see, this response explains clearly what services Vincent provides in a way that’s both attention-grabbing and intriguing.

It makes it easy for customers to contact him by phone, email or in Bark Messenger – and it moves the conversation forwards by offering to visit the client’s home to take a closer look at the problem.

Employ these same techniques when responding Barks and we’re confident you’ll be securing even more business with us in no time.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about how we can help you secure more business with our service, we’d love to hear from you. Send your thoughts to team@bark.com or leave a comment in the space below.

With ‘one-click response’ you’ll never need to pass on a promising Bark again

Speed is important when pitching for business on Bark.

Customers are highly likely to hire one of the first pros they hear from. But we know our best pros are busy, and often out working on jobs when new Barks come in.

So we decided to create a tool you can use to respond to Barks instantly, even if you’re busy with other things when you receive them. It’s called ‘one-click response’ and it lets you save a standard reply you can send when you’re short on time.

An easy way to get more business with Bark

People who place Barks on our site are generally looking to hire a pro as quickly as possible. Looking at the last 100,000 Barks placed on our site, we discovered users are twice as likely to hire pros that respond quickly over those who take longer to respond.

This stands to reason. Once you’ve taken the time to research something and make a decision about it, you’re going to be reluctant to change your mind.

So when you receive an email about a new Bark, it’s a good idea to make sure you respond quickly – and that’s where one-click response comes in. It’s a simple tool that lets you save a standard response you can send to new customers instantly, with the click of a button.

*You can set up your one-click response in your Bark pro dashboard*

You’ll find it in the new ‘one-click response’ tab in your Bark dashboard, and setting it up couldn’t be easier.

The first step is to enter your one-click response into the text box provided. The idea here is to create a generic message you could send to any of your customers. Take your time to get it right and, when you’re happy, enable your response by clicking the ‘save’ button.

Respond instantly, with a single click

Once you’ve enabled one-click response, the rest is easy. You’ll see a new button that says ‘send one-click response’ when we next email to alert you to a potential new customer.

If you’re too busy to respond with a tailored message, click that button and we’ll send your one-click response instantly instead. That way, you can get in and register your interest before the customer picks someone else.

Then later, when you have more time, you can follow-up with a personalised response and estimate.

We hope this new feature useful will mean you never need to pass on a promising job because you’re busy with other things again.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about it, we’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at team@bark.com or leave a comment below.