When it comes to change, no matter how small, there will always be people who use it as an opportunity to complain. Change can be problematic, scary, and sometimes confusing to navigate, but that doesn’t have to be the case when it comes to changing collection services.
Here at ReCollect, we’re not afraid of change; we embrace it. We have helped countless municipalities enact the changes they needed, and not only have they found success, they have received more positive feedback than ever before, too.
Let’s face it: The only constant in life is change. Our industry is not exempt from this. Whether you’re introducing a new stream, adjusting a route boundary, or reconfiguring collection days, change is inevitable.
As a Customer Success Manager, one of the best parts of my job is celebrating milestones with my customers. Reroutes tend to be one of the most daunting tasks recycling coordinators face. (In fact, some have even said they would do everything in their power to avoid one.)
I won’t discredit the amount of work that goes into a reroute. They are an undertaking, to be sure, but with the right combination of ReCollect tools, they also can be a positive experience that helps you reach your goals.
The Collection Calendar in particular can be especially helpful with reroutes because it may be used in a variety of ways to contact residents about upcoming changes.
At ReCollect, we’ve worked with many municipalities who have completed program changes and reroutes, especially in 2020, and through our experience, we have come up with a recipe for success.
If you are planning a reroute now or in the future, here are some things to consider as you go:
Step One: Prepare in Advance
It’s important to share the details of your reroute with your Customer Success Manager as far in advance as you can. As soon as you know which changes need to be made, we’ll be able to start working on it for you.
Collection Calendars are programmed months in advance, so learning about your changes early on in the process will allow us time to create an entirely new calendar to reflect your new schedule. We’ll also program the changes to appear only on a certain date so you can control what your customers or residents see and when they see it.
We recommend you release your new calendar at least one month before the changes go into effect so residents have time to anticipate the change and adjust their habits accordingly.
Step Two: Promote, Promote, Promote
Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to spread the word about it! Your Customer Success Manager will have plenty of creative ideas to help you promote your ReCollect tools and keep customers up to speed ahead of your reroute.
It’s important that as many residents as possible sign up to receive reminder notifications early on in the process to help them through the transition. To make this happen, ensure all of your communication materials have a clear call to action for sign ups. For instance, whether you’re creating a media release, mailer, social media campaign, or all of the above, be sure that each piece of communication explains that signing up for reminders offers the best way to stay up-to-date on the upcoming changes.
Many municipalities have engaged with potential subscribers and garnered reminder sign ups and app downloads by offering contests through social media. This simple but effective feature will add a trophy icon to your widget or your Mobile App, and help you increase the number of people who receive your messages.
Contest entry forms will then be collected by ReCollect until you’re ready to choose the winner.
Step Three: Set Up Your Messaging
Once you have a fair amount of folks receiving regular reminder notifications, it’s time to tell them about the reroute.
Campaigns can be a useful approach to adding educational content to your reminders. Because campaigns may be programmed months in advance, you may consider running one ahead of your changes to keep the reroute on your customers’ and residents’ minds. Here’s an example of how a campaign would look in a reminder email:
Another popular method for attention-grabbing messaging is adding a “banner” to your calendar. Choose an eye-catching color for your banner to highlight the message so customers and residents are sure to see it, whether they are reading it over carefully or giving it a quick scan.
Step Four: Celebrate!
While completing a reroute certainly can be a lot of work, the benefits nearly always outweigh the negatives. For instance, throughout the process, more folks will have subscribed to your notification reminders, allowing you to provide better access to information as well as connect with a larger group of people.
Users also will receive notices from your app long after your reroute, allowing you to communicate other changes and issues with them in the future, such as truck breakdowns or winter storm delays, which will continue to alleviate confusion and eliminate frustration.
Change is Hard. Let Us Make it Easier
With a venture as complex as a route change, there’s no such thing as too much communication. With ReCollect’s tools, you’ll not only be able to send as many messages as you need without the waste of direct mailers or the hefty costs of ads, you’ll be able to tangibly measure the impact you’re making, too.
We also can help you shoulder some of the weight during your reroute by diverting some incoming calls and emails to your Collection Calendar or Mobile App. With a little planning, and some tools from ReCollect, you can turn a dreaded reroute into a positive opportunity to provide your residents or customers with an ongoing source of information that helps answer all of their waste- and recycling-related questions.
If you’ve been putting off that inevitable reroute, or you have one planned for later this year, give us a call and let’s talk about your goals and how ReCollect can help.