Can someone go over with me marketing/advertising 101??

[Rescue]

I need to get schooled. I have been cleaning carpets here in the Bay Area for about 2 months and all my business has been through mouth to mouth just because I have a big family here. I know it is getting to the cold season and have never been explained how to market my company. I have a 2003 Prochem legend and all the basic bells and whistles. I thought about paying yellowpages.com $135 a month to advertise on the internet. I have also found that Craigslist.com seems useless because you have a lot of these extremely lower ballers and the customers there seem to only want the low prices vs. quality work. I just ordered postcards and hangers. I learned from the this site about the
" 5 around rule" after you clean a house with your hangers. I guess I am running out of ideas and just need a little help from some of you experienced guys/girls. Oh yeas, I am also going to signed up for a tile/grout classes by IICRC at San Carlos, CA. CAN ANYONE HELP!!

 

[Ron Lippold]

keep going it will get easier sign up for a yp ad and talk to wayne miller

 

[White-Magic rebuilder]

I shell out over 4k a month on Ypages. Then on top of it I spend more on postcards,flyers and coupons...

 

[Dominick Cassano]

Get a website, like TOMORROW! Call Andrechelle Cermak, or Wayne Miller. Two of the best in the business, period.

 

[Royal Man]

I'll rescue you!

Rescue,

It's not about how much you spend. It's about your ROI (return on investment)

The best way to get the most ROI is to implement a referral advertising program.

The beauty of a referral advertising program is that once you get it up and running it costs nothing or almost nothing to have quality customers calling in to reserve appointments.

You won't have to spend thousands a month to market by referral. You'll find you are saving money each month.

With referral advertising you only have to plant a few seeds and then you'll get free advertising FOREVER.

That sure beats paying for yellow pages or coupons each and every month.

Also, Getting others to do the adverting for you is a smart way to go.

With referral advertising you'll get unbelievable opportunities to advertise to previously unreachable customers.

ROI = 1000/1 or better!


You'll kick yourself in your head wondering why you haven't added this to your marketing pie doing this sooner!


Dave-
Call me if you want more info.
402-423-7200

 

[duckster]

Cheap, Direct and Effective

Rescue,
I use coupons. They are 1/3 the size of a standard 8 1/2 x 11 sheet. Full colored, cut at home with a papercutter to turn the three-up sheet into 3 coupons. I tape one to a home that is in the neighborhood I am targeting directly on the door jam which keeps the competition from seeing them when driving down the street. I don't need them knowing what houses I was at today (especially since I do this where other carpet cleaners live). 300 coupons minimum per day. Schedule the jobs for Saturday, then Sunday, then Friday to leave the other days for canvassing. I hit the same neighborhoods every month and always get more customers. Staying in contact with a newsletter helps with repeat and referral business. No yellow page ads here. Also, every coupon has a special offer and an expiration date (call to action).
It is a cheap method, direct marketing and very effective. It is not soliciting as I am simply delivering a money saving coupon. Also, I have a rule. If the door is open or the person is outside, I just walk by and do not deliver to that house. To deliver to that person might be viewed as soliciting. Besides, they will probably get one the next month.

 

[Ron Werner]

Steve Marsh has an excellent marketing program and he happens to live in San Jose. 408-947-1400
excellent program for someone, owner/operator or looking to expand, looking at the upper middle and higher clients.

 

[duckster]

or ... you can save yourself some money and look around for some marketing ideas ... FREE

 

[Ron Werner]

You have a wealth of information right here on this board as a member. You can also ask unlimited questions and someone will know the answer or give advice.
If you have the time, you can search through everything and piece it all together, or look for the program that fits your busn the best, something that comes in a ready made package, plus coaching, and get it all as a unit.

Free is always good.
Somethings are worth paying for.
The decisions of the ownership

 

[breezer]

Stay away from Yellow pages......a rip off. NO ROI

Do a good job & your customers will reward you by referring your service to a friend or relative.

If you are doing flyers/postcards check with your county property appraisers website, alot of times you can print all your address labels from there site & guess what it is "Free". I can do this in most of the county websites here in Florida. I say free,but I still have to pay for those lil 8160 Avery Labels & Sams Club has 400 pack postcards for 5.88. Not to mention the ink cartridges. If I send out a 100 postcards I usually 2 calls

The best thing I did was join a fishing forum with over 5000 members. I posted a special for forum members & I have to say 70-80% of my business comes from these guys & gals.

 

[alazo1]

Do you work in Santa Clara county?. If not I can help you out with a web page..n/c. It's not going to give you instant business unless you get into a pay per click program though.

I disagree with yp not being effective. It is in this area at least. But how much money you have to gamble with is the question (very expensive here).

I like ducksters method best, very little money spent but requires a lot of work, if you got the time and motivation this may be the best way. He reminds me of Anthony.

Albert

 

[duckster]

I have a customer who owns a nail salon. He is asian and refers lots of people to me that are also in the asian community. I have special coupons that are for his customers only. Since most people who actually make the buying decision for carpet cleaning are women and women concerned with how they are perceived get their nails done, match made in heaven for me.

Does that plant a seed? What customer of yours sells to professional women and do you think they would appreciate receiving special coupons from you that are exclusively for customers of their stores only? How about a drawing for a free carpet cleaning? You get names, numbers etc. Those who did not win get some special savings from you maybe.

A field of customers can be more beautiful than a field of flowers sometimes. Just my two cents.

 

[Guest]

There are any number if things you can do. It ain't rocket science and there's no silver bullet. You want to get your message in front of people who have a need for your services. Don't be afraid to use your own imagination.

The single biggest thing is to keep at it every day. Repetition and consistency are key.

Test different headlines, offers, colors, pictures, whatever, and keep track of what works. Push the benefits of what you do. Take any risk out the equation by guaranteeing your work. If you don't have one, get a uniform. A professional image speaks volumes. This is a people business, you want to win their confidence. Target women because that's who you're usually dealing with. I like warm fuzzies, pics of kids and pets, big similes, happy faces, homey kinds of stuff, humor.

The biggest thing, though, is keep at it.

 

[Rescue]

AL-

What do you mean pay per click? I am currently working on a website designing it with a friend on dream weaver. I work North of Santa Clara county. I have been currently walking the pavement in my local area and taping postcards that I made.

You guys all have great ideas, and I think I will use the internet for "Free stuff," and some of the ideas all of you have mentioned.

thanks for everything!

 

[War Monger]

Anytime you write an ad of any type try to get out of your own ego and think the way a prospective customer would. They don't really care about who you are or how great you say you are. They want to know what the BENEFITS are of doing business with you.

Carpet cleaners are a dime a dozen...what makes you different from anybody else? What is your main selling point? Price? Quality? Service? Value? You have to deliver this message as clearly and concise as possible. Do some market research....you can probably do something as simple as Google searches to find out what carpet cleaning customers want. Give them what they want, not necessarily what you think they want and they will come out of the woodwork.

Read, Read, Read books on marketing....there are a lot of good ones out there.

Start with "Hypnotic Marketing"....sounds crazy, but it works.

Any of the books in the Guerilla Marketing series are good too.

Come up with a short but powerful slogan that tells prospects something they want to hear.

The name of your business says a lot. It is difficult to come up with a catchy unique name, but the best business names are names that are short and deliver an idea....plant a seed or thought in the prospect's mind; something that is difficult to forget.

 

[duckster]

Wayne Miller is correct. Obviously experienced in marketing his business. After all, we are in the business of MARKETING a carpet cleaning service. People to clean -- those are cheap to hire and train. Anyone who can't do marketing is just spinning their wheels.

Want to see a coupon that works for me? Booked 4 appointments today from 276 coupons distributed yesterday and half of those are for more than the coupon services. Coupons do one very important thing -- get the phone to ring and without that we are dead as a business.

Check out [url="http://www.babysafecc.com/specials"]www.babysafecc.com/specials

I emphasize GREEN cleaning. Mommas love babies, right? This coupon plays on that love.

There are any number if things you can do. It ain't rocket science and there's no silver bullet. You want to get your message in front of people who have a need for your services. Don't be afraid to use your own imagination.

The single biggest thing is to keep at it every day. Repetition and consistency are key.

Test different headlines, offers, colors, pictures, whatever, and keep track of what works. Push the benefits of what you do. Take any risk out the equation by guaranteeing your work. If you don't have one, get a uniform. A professional image speaks volumes. This is a people business, you want to win their confidence. Target women because that's who you're usually dealing with. I like warm fuzzies, pics of kids and pets, big similes, happy faces, homey kinds of stuff, humor.

The biggest thing, though, is keep at it.

 

[Scott]

Did I misread or did I just see entire house cc (no limitations?) for $89?

Brother, I'd say you could scrawl your coupon on a napkin in crayon and have the phone ring off the hook with that offer. Do you come to Michigan? My carpets need it!

Scott

 

[duckster]

Scott, I finish the job in under 90 minutes so I do make money at it. No truckmount payments either so outside of the standard costs it is pure profit. Yes, you are right about my staying busy with a price like that. I love to see the competitors with their vehicles parked at home while they go to a job so they can pay for a dream.

 

[Scott]

Scott, I finish the job in under 90 minutes so I do make money at it. No truckmount payments either so outside of the standard costs it is pure profit. Yes, you are right about my staying busy with a price like that. I love to see the competitors with their vehicles parked at home while they go to a job so they can pay for a dream.

Can you come to Michigan?

Scott

 

[duckster]

Too busy Scott. But who would you really rather trust your carpet to -me or you since you can't get into my head and know for a fact that I really care deeply about your carpet (my canvas)? And I heard you are free to immediate family members only. Guess that includes you. :wink:

 

[Scott]

Too busy Scott. But who would you really rather trust your carpet to -me or you since you can't get into my head and know for a fact that I really care deeply about your carpet (my canvas)? And I heard you are free to immediate family members only. Guess that includes you. :wink:

Lol! Funny you should mention that. I've been vanquished to running the business years ago by my awesome techs who say I'm too old, too slow, and resistant to change. I wouldn't trade 'em for the world, but we could always use good help.

Scott

 

[breezer]

I need my carpets cleaned for $89.00 bucks all 17 rooms .Three of them are 3x3. Did I mention the house is hurricane proof & 3 stories up!!

I get paid for what I am worth!

Let's do the math example 5 jobs this week average 250.00 =1250.00

Dude does 1250.00 divided by 89 = 14.04... 14 jobs in 5 -7 days

Dude works A@#s#s off for 89.00 bucks & I go do my job in 1-2 hours a day. Back at the house with a beer in my hand the rest of the day. Heck I might put the boat in the water & go fishing. humm!!!!

 

[duckster]

I'm 55 myself Scott and have finally given up on keeping up with the kids here. Whereas we do things slow and deliberately with a plan they have the energy of youth and spend it wandering aimlessly around the barnyard like chickens with their heads cut off. Sure they move faster but to what end?

The younger ones can be trained to do things but don't have the experience to understand why they need to do it the way they need to do it. Personally, here in Oregon I have found failing work ethics among the job applicants and techs. Down in the L.A. area it was eat or be eaten. People up here just do not get it and never will.

When I do my carpet you would think it was the Taj Mahal. Bet you see your service the same way when your name is on the line which is of course always.

 

[duckster]

I need my carpets cleaned for $89.00 bucks all 17 rooms .Three of them are 3x3. Did I mention the house is hurricane proof & 3 stories up!!

I get paid for what I am worth!

Let's do the math example 5 jobs this week average 250.00 =1250.00

Dude does 1250.00 divided by 89 = 14.04... 14 jobs in 5 -7 days

Dude works A@#s#s off for 89.00 bucks & I go do my job in 1-2 hours a day. Back at the house with a beer in my hand the rest of the day. Heck I might put the boat in the water & go fishing. humm!!!!

Impressive. I would guess you do not own your home (making rent or mortgage payments) and all of your equipment (leased or financed). I might suggest your lifestyle has a few more expenses than others. Maybe not. I think you charge too much which is why you spend so much time wasting your life away instead of applying yourself. It is rare to find people who like to throw around hundreds for a simple carpet cleaning. The people who are really making money in this business take the McDonalds concept seriously. A penny a burger (not $20) profit built a multi-Billion dollar enterprise. Oh, and they don't care what the Ruth Chris' of the world think of them. But my vision of you is just a guess based on years of seeing other blow hards like you. I would not brag about wasting away your life on getting lit and smelling of fish all day.

But that is just me. With age comes wisdom, but not for all of us. Some find their wisdom at the bottom of their beer bottles.

$89 is a coupon price for new customers and some old customers based on certain criteria. It gives them a chance to see what I can do and if they like it the next time it is full price and the same for their referrals. Nearly half of my jobs are at full price and I have customers who want me back every 3 months.

I know how to market a service, been doing it for years. I am working for the goal of retirement, not the next can of beer and time wasted fishing. When you age enough, you might understand priorities if you don't drink yourself to death first.

Attempting to insult me was your first mistake. Don't appear a fool by trying it again.

 

[-JB-]

 

[danpauselius]

Go to youtube.com and search "Seth Godin" "Dan Kennedy" That should keep you busy for a while.

 

[duckster]

29 years of marriage makes your filthy softer. See Alice - she's $500/hr

 

[Scott]

Duckster

I'm not sour with your pricing structure. If it works for you - that's all that matters. My post was a little smart-alecky, I admit.. It's just that with most low priced coupons there's some sort of limitation attached. I was surprised not to see one on yours.

Anyway, I am sour your team beat my Wolverines...again.

Scott

 

[alazo1]

Duckster, do you have a sft limit? What's the average time it takes to do a whole house?

McDonalds concept

Coffee shop mentality, nothing wrong with that. First restaurant my old man owned"
2 Eggs, Fresh Hashbrowns, toast and jelly and a 6oz glass of oj = .99
He made a lot of money from repetition so whatever works for you.

I remember mom watering down the oj when we weren't looking.
Excuse me mam but the oj seems a little watery?, Humm, I don't know about that!!

Albert

 

[duckster]

Re: Duckster

I'm not sour with your pricing structure. If it works for you - that's all that matters. My post was a little smart-alecky, I admit.. It's just that with most low priced coupons there's some sort of limitation attached. I was surprised not to see one on yours.

Anyway, I am sour your team beat my Wolverines...again.

Scott

I am shocked to see them move up in the national standings. The last time they got this high was 2001 when my son was a freshman there. My two favorite teams though are UCLA and whoever is playing USC