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Author: David

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I’m always interested in seeing how successful businesses market themselves to see if there’s any lessons to be learned. I’ve usually found that the larger the organisation, the worse the marketing and customer experience. However, a while ago I found an exception.

I went to the Yucatan Peninsular in Mexico for two weeks, staying at a fairly large RIU hotel. I have to say, I was very impressed with this hotel chain and how even the little things that affect customer satisfaction are not left to chance.

So let me relate just four of the ‘lessons’ I learned.

Firstly, I was amazed at the All-Inclusive restaurant. No queues. No waiting for drinks. Everything running smoothly. How could this be, I wondered?

So I took the free ‘Kitchen Tour’ on Sunday at 12pm. Now this really should be called ‘The Free Marketing, Advertising and Branding Tour’ because that’s really what it was. It’s purpose was to show us exactly how RIU have the customers' experience in mind. The end result was to change or improve our perception of the RIU brand (which of course is all in OUR minds). Hopefully we’d choose RIU next time.

The tour was carefully choreographed. They saw exactly what they wanted us to see in the order in which they wanted us to see it. But a key word that was repeatedly used was “Organisation” (in FIVE different languages!). It couldn’t be stressed enough. They wanted us to see that customers were happy, not by chance but because they had systems in place that ensured it. I was really impressed. I had no idea. Everything done at a set time and in a set way.

It was explained that they cater for a possibility of 600 hungry guests at 1pm every day. And that one hour later a further few hundred could arrive. And all had to be seated, drinks ordered and delivered and food cooked, ready and waiting immediately. And this they did!

Later, I joined the tour of the next door RIU hotel. This time one that is referred to as a ‘Palace.’ The reality was that it was hoped the next time we would ‘upgrade’ to this hotel. What better way than showing it to us? Again, everything choreographed.

So…the lessons?

Lesson 1: Your customers don’t know what you do unless you tell them. I had no idea that everything behind the scenes was so organised. Nothing left to chance. Customer satisfaction an absolute priority. My view of this large hotel chain has been positively changed.

Now…do your customers know exactly what it is that you do that other cleaners don’t do? Do they know why you vacuum the carpet before you clean them, something that most of your competitors don’t do? Are they aware of how much training you’ve undertaken? Do they know that you are National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA in the UK) members and why it’s important?

Lesson 2: The importance of a set way of doing EVERY activity in your business. In other words, to quote Michael Gerber of ‘The E-Myth’ “this is how we do it here.” The customer gets the best experience possible because we’ve worked out what that is and then written it down in our Operations Manual. It’s done that way every time.

Lesson 3: Always up-sell. And demonstrate if possible. What better way to show how carpet protector works than to SHOW it? If you added protector to only 30 percent of jobs… well maybe you could go to the Yucatan Peninsula next year.

Lesson 4: Remember, everything you do affects your BRAND, an over-used buzz word today. But put simply, a brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer. So even being just systematic and organised can increase your ‘brand value’ in their minds. In real terms, they are more likely to use you again and refer you!

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I wrote recently about my visit to a local travel agent. It was a lesson in how NOT to sell a holiday. You may recall, amongst other things, the advisor assumed I wouldn’t pay the quoted price and so I was immediately offered a discounted price WITHOUT even asking.

If anyone’s been to Egypt, one thing you can say for sure is that although you may be hassled in the shops, they certainly know how to SELL.

I remember going on a Nile cruise a few years ago and amongst the ‘trips’ was a visit to a perfume factory. By the way, there was no choice about this. It was part of our visit to Karnak temple. There I witnessed a masterclass in selling. Again, there are some good lessons for us as carpet cleaners. Now, this was not just an education in perfume…it was a SALES meeting. Here are four lessons I learned.

1. Use Joint Ventures

Firstly, how did we just happen to end up at the perfume factory? Well, no doubt this was a ‘Joint Venture’. The tour guide would have made an arrangement to ‘deliver’ a coach load of prospective customers to the factory door. And no doubt taken a share of the profits. This is an excellent low cost, no-risk way of getting customers for the factory. There’s no expensive advertising, in fact no work at all other than divvying up the profits at the end. Even if the factory paid as much as 50% of the profit – it’s 50% for them that they wouldn’t have had. And a tremendous incentive for the tour guide! A win-win.

Now, who could give YOU access to their customers for a share of the profits (that they wouldn’t have had!). Ask yourself: Who services the same type of customers as you do? Could you give these customers a preferential offer that would induce them to use you for the first time? Even if you paid a high percentage of the sale to the other business, you would have gained a new customer and made a small profit on the first sale. When they use you again or refer you…there’s a much greater profit.

2. Use a Structured Approach

Nothing was left to chance…an initial ‘trust and rapport’ building cup of herbal tea, passing out order forms at the beginning to ‘assume’ the sale and demonstrations of the products were all clearly scripted.

Are your in-home quotes fully scripted? (I like to use the term ‘choreographed’ – like actors on a stage, nothing happens by chance). For example, are you demonstrating how protector works (tissue in a glass?) not just explaining it? Could you even clean a very small area to show just how soiled the carpet is?

3. Use Education Based Marketing

This is often a very under-used method of persuasion. I was thoroughly educated in the process of perfume making. By the time they had finished, I trusted that they knew what they were doing. I also knew about the ‘extravagant’ mark-up by the well known brands.

Do you educate your customers? You know, the ones who think that all carpet cleaning is the same? For example, do you tell them about the importance of vacuuming first because 79% of soil in a carpet is ‘dry’ and will vacuum out. Educate them as to why this and every other part of your process is so important.

4. Packaging

Yes, they offered three packages (4 bottles in a pack vs 6 vs 8 in a ‘fancy’ box), even throwing in a ‘bonus’ on the most expensive package.

Do you have different packages? If not, at least put together a high-priced top quality package and offer both. There are some customers who just want the BEST and are prepared to pay for it.

Many of my fellow travellers left the factory with boxes of perfume. A testament to a highly efficient, structured, educational, choreographed SALES meeting.

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What a great business we’re in!

Over the past few years, I’ve made my own business a ‘lifestyle’ business. I have no staff (whereas previously I’ve had up to five), work a maximum of three days and take at least four holidays abroad every year. And I don’t ‘phone home’ to check the answerphone every few hours!

All this has been possible by effective marketing. Selling to the ‘right’ customers at the ‘right’ PRICE. And giving them ‘best value’.

So just the other day I thought about booking my first holiday for next year. I checked online to see what sort of price I would have to pay. Then I went into a high street travel agent to see if they could perhaps do a better deal.

The education in ‘pricing’ was invaluable.

There are at least four lessons that easily translate to our business of carpet cleaning.

Here they are:

The lady I spoke to immediately informed me that she was not a sales advisor but in fact was ‘cabin crew’. She was pregnant and so the travel agent was simply making use of her as cheap labour in the shop. After taking note of all my requirements, a total price came up on the computer screen. The very first thing that she did was to immediately say that she could discount the price as it seemed a bit high. As it happens the price was in the region of another quote I had.

LESSON 1. Make sure that everyone involved in selling has some sort of sales training and understands the psychology of the buyer. Otherwise they will react to price exactly as the cabin crew lady did here. And what impression did it give? That I was being overcharged to begin with!

LESSON 2. Don’t capitulate on price. People are buying value NOT price. People don’t buy a Mercedes just to get from A to B. Yet, Mercedes dealers don’t discount to compete with Vauxhall or Ford. There’s always more involved that gives them greater value. I always recommend using a computer program to come up with the costs so that it’s very hard to change the price. Many times my computer has produced a price that I thought the customer would never pay, only to be surprised. Customers can sense if we’re uneasy about our price and will then try to negotiate. I’ve repeatedly found that customers take the view that “the laptop has spoken” when it comes to price and simply accept it as “the price”. Which of course, it is. And of course, if we provide a high quality service target Mercedes customers NOT Ford customers.

LESSON 3. If they want to change the price…you change the package. The price I was originally quoted for was All Inclusive and for a Water Villa over the sea. (Can you guess where I’m going yet?). So…could I drop down to Half Board or have a plain old bungalow by the waters edge instead of over water? If your customers want to change the price, get them to ‘empty the room of all furniture’ for example.

LESSON 4. Don’t discount…add value. Could she have added something to my holiday that costs them very little but has high perceived value to me? For example, how about pre-booked seats on the plane or late check out or something else that costs them very little?

Of course, if your clients are only concerned about price…it may be better to sack them and get clients that will pay more for a quality service. She asked me how much I was expecting to pay. I gave an artificially low price...about a thousand pounds less! (Don’t all buyers do this?) She then tried her best to see how low she could get the price. Instead she should have just ‘sacked’ me.

We mustn't be timid in explaining our prices to prospects. We must be able to confidently justify our charges compared to other cleaners. And do this in a way that our prospects perceive as ‘best value’ for them.

 

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Need a new van? How about some new equipment? With the banks unhelpful at the moment, have you thought about asking your customers to help out? Now, you’re probably thinking…why on earth would total strangers lend me money when they don’t know me?

Well, that’s an interesting question that I put to the test a while ago. I asked my customers for money and they simply sent it. Let me explain.

I had a large tax bill coming up in a month or two. I had the cash available in  the bank but I didn't want to use it for a particular reason that I won't mention here.

So I told this story to my customers and offered them ‘Cleaning Bonds’ at a preferential rate if they were going to have their carpets cleaned later this year. And they sent me hundreds of pounds! They included notes with their cheques…“Hope this helps”…and “Sorry to hear that you are in trouble.” This is the power of ‘Relationship Marketing.’

Some years ago I heard one of the bosses at Tesco’s announce about relationship marketing… “But our customers don’t want a relationship with us!” I beg to differ. I think they do. Not in the “lets have them round to dinner” sort of relationship. But in the matter of trust.

This is particularly important in our business. After all, the checkout girls at Tesco are not in their customers’ bedrooms like we are! Our customers have to have a relationship of trust with us.

So how do we build it?

First of all, it must be genuine. We must genuinely put their interests ahead of our own. Marketer Jay Abraham calls this a Strategy of Pre-Eminence. We would NEVER do anything to them that we wouldn’t want done to ourselves. Including sub-standard work, including ripping them off in any way. We must be their ‘trusted adviser’ in the matter of cleaning their carpets and upholstery.

How does this come about?  Send ‘Thank You’ cards and letters after each job for example. Many years ago when I bought my first mobile phone (you know, the sort that was the size of a small suitcase), as soon as I had signed the contract, the salesman said “Thank you very much” I was staggered. In fact I can still recall how I felt to this day.

Now, why was this so amazing?

Simply this: No-one had ever thanked me for giving them business before. Yet just that simple act had such a profound effect on me that I can still remember it! And I still feel good toward him to this day. This is ‘relationship marketing’. It’s not a sales gimmick but is built on genuine care.

And how about special client offers not available to anyone else? Or regular communication with a monthly newsletter. Not filled with ‘image building puffery’ but genuine information to help your customers that will cause them to bond to you.

All of this builds a genuine relationship with your customers…and who knows when you might need a short-term loan?

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In an earlier post I related my experience with a carpet cleaner who just wanted more people to phone him. But you may recall that he was giving prospects no good reason to call him rather than his competitors. In other words, he had no ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ as it’s called. Or as I sometimes prefer to call it a ‘Unique Buying Advantage.’

It’s very difficult for carpet cleaners to have an objective look at their own businesses and see what the customer sees. So I thought it would be helpful to consider myself as the prospect for a change.

Here’s my recent experience trying to find an optician for an eye test:

Now my perception of an eye test is very similar to my prospective clients’ view of carpet cleaning. ie: it’s all the same. So I wondered…why should I choose one optician over another?

I thought the best thing to do is to ask them. So I visited three of my local opticians, asked about their charges and then the all-important question….”Why should I come to you rather than a competitor?

The answers I received were nothing short of amazing!. Here’s the gist of them. While reading this, think of what’s going through the mind of someone calling YOU to ask about your service. Here are the three questions I asked each of them. YOUR prospects are also thinking these questions even if they don’t ask them.

Are all eye tests (carpet cleaners) the same?

Why should I use you?

Do you do anything that others don’t do?

 

Optician 1. Cost £27.50. 

Why should I use you… “because we’re great” (yes that really was their answer!). They went on to explain that other optician’s eye tests lasted “five minutes” and that “we are more thorough blah blah blah”

Optician 2. £20

In answer to the question: Why should I use you…I was told “I don’t know what the opticians do” and unbelievably…”some of our opticians are better and more thorough”

The young lady then asked me what glasses I might be interested in before even knowing if I needed them. Prescription BFORE the diagnosis!  I was finally given the helpful advice that I'm sure would have her employer cringing... “It’s your choice where you go”. Hardly a Selling Proposition let alone 'Unique'.

Optician 3. Cost £25 plus £20 for a Retinal Scan

Why should I choose you?…”We’re like independent grocer compared to Tesco”  (I didn’t think it appropriate to tell her I happen to like Tesco but still NO compelling reason to choose her). But at last…a difference…“we charge £20 for a retinal scan but it’s larger than our competitors so you can see more detail”. She handed me a leaflet about it from the reception desk but then realised it was out of date. So she continued…“Our test is more extensive…we spend longer on the eye test...”

Now which of these would you have chosen? Maybe the lowest price? After all, they’re all the SAME aren’t they? Or should I choose the one who gave a retinal scan that others didn’t? But is it really important? Remember a confused mind always says NO! And that’s what I’ve said up till today…“NO!”. I’ve done nothing about my eye test even though I’m what a salesman would call a “hot prospect.” No-one can give me a good reason to choose them. And remember…fear of making a mistake is also very powerful at putting off a decision.

Lesson for us: Make sure you are able to give prospects a compelling reason to discriminate in your favour. Most of the opticians simply said that they are “more thorough” but weren’t able to ‘dimensionalize’ this. There must be a specific reason to choose YOU, not just “good service” or “we’re more thorough.” It must also be different from all your competitors.

So list everything you do that’s different to your competitors. Make sure it’s important to the marketplace (in other words customers really do want it). And then put it into your sales pitch, on your web-site, business card and everything that your prospective customer sees.

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So here are the three reasons why every carpet cleaner should be sending a monthly newsletter to their customers:

1: Newsletters help you retain your clients.

2: Newsletters help with referrals.

3: Newsletters help build your brand.

Now, what should we put in the newsletter that’s going to achieve these goals?

The first thing we want to do is to actually get our newsletter read or at least welcomed by our customers.

That means write it with your customers in mind. In other words, write what they will enjoy reading, not what you want to write. The best content I’ve found over the past 15 years is a balance of content that informs, educates, and entertains! If your customers feel entertained and enjoy reading your newsletter, they'll look forward to it, issue after issue. And what happens if your customers read your newsletter issue after issue? You'll build credibility, increase your reputation as an expert in your industry and increase brand awareness.

Your customers will remember you, will do business with you again, and will refer others to you as well. Newsletters should be written in a conversational tone and you should avoid the use of technical jargon. Customers have no interest in psi or water temperature at the cleaning wand. In addition, make your newsletter fun to read by including trivia, maybe some humour (being careful not to include anything offensive), and general interest articles about health, home, and life issues and some leadership or management tips.

So what specifically can you put in your newsletter? Here are some of the things I’ve used:

Information About Your Other Services

Many of your customers will not know that as well as carpet cleaning you also clean upholstery…or hard floors…or curtains. How many times have you heard a client say “I didn't know you did that" These are all missed opportunities to increase your revenue without the heavy cost of acquiring a new customer.

Education About What's New In The Industry

Have you recently upgraded to a truck-mount that can mean a quicker job or faster drying times? Have you bought turbo-dryers that can leave their carpets dryer? Or a new, better stain remover? Don’t forget, your customers are not interested in your machinery or chemicals…only what these new things can do for THEM. Newsletters are a great way to educate customers and also position you as the expert who is abreast of industry innovations. People like to do business with a ‘leader in the field’.

General Interest Articles About Health, Home and Life Issues

The majority of my customers are women who are interested in health and beauty matters. I often include humorous pet stories that will appeal to them and have been very surprised that these are the type of articles most passed along to friends. Other topics include gardening, cooking, trivia and things to do with the home.

Carpet Cleaning Matters?

A little. Occasionally I’ve put articles about cleaning that will directly benefit my customers and position me as the expert. Like “Should You Replace Your Carpets With Hard Floors”, “How to Remove a Heavy Spillage From Your Carpet” or What Should You Look For When Replacing Your Vacuum Cleaner”. But these are few and far between.

Don’t forget…it's not about you. Customers are only interested in ‘what’s in it for them’. Inform, educate and entertain them, and they will look forward to your newsletter.

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I was recently consulting with a carpet cleaner and looking at every aspect of his business. After discussing what was different about his service from his competitors, his sales systems to convert a prospect to a paying customer, his systems for referrals and his advertising and marketing amongst other things, he said “Yes, yes, but all I want is for the phone to ring more!” It’s the view of many carpet cleaners.

All very good. But if you don’t have everything else in place to provide exactly what your customers want, the marketplace will just find out that you can’t deliver what they want. And if you advertise to get the phone to ring and it does…they’ll find out even quicker! Presumably there was a reason why this cleaners’ phone wasn’t ringing more.

Just getting the phone to ring may well get you an initial customer. But if the experience was not as expected they will not use you again or refer you. And repeat customers and referrals are the lifeblood of any business. Especially carpet cleaning.

So before you want the phone to ring, take a look at your carpet cleaning service from the viewpoint of your customer.

Is there a good reason for them to phone you in the first place as opposed to phoning your competitors? This is the first thing that should be addressed. It’s often been called a Unique Selling Proposition. I sometimes prefer to call it a Unique Buying Advantage. It’s the unique clear reason why your prospect has to call YOU. There’s two mistakes often made here.

  1. Selling by Price. If you can run profitably at the lowest price (and want to) then by all means just tell your marketplace that. You’ll have an instant competitive advantage. You probably don’t need much of a sales system either. Just tell them you’re the lowest price. However most customers aren’t looking for lowest price. They know there’s usually a reason for it. And often it’s poor quality. And don’t forget, there will be someone cheaper sooner or later.
  2. Selling by Method. “We use a truck-mount” is not a differentiator if your competitors use one too. But pre-vacuuming with a water filtration vacuum cleaner that improves indoor air quality might be!

It’s much better to design your business for the kind of service your prospects actually want and then charge a premium price for it. So if you can get carpets dry quicker…design your business around this benefit and then promote it to those that want it. If your customers don’t have to move any furniture at all…design your business around this benefit and then promote it to those that want it. Everything comes back to your Unique Buying Advantage. And make sure everything delivers on this promise.

So first give your prospects a good reason to phone and then deliver what you say you will. Suddenly you have a good (and unique) reason to communicate with prospective customers.

Once you have this clarity and are delivering exactly what your marketplace wants…and you can communicate this clearly…suddenly your phone will ring more.

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If I had to use only one marketing strategy in my business, which one would I choose?

Without doubt it would be to send a monthly newsletter to my client base. Why? Because newsletters, pound for pound, dollar for dollar are one of the most effective marketing tools available.

Let's just consider the reasons why every carpet cleaner should be sending a monthly newsletter to their customers.

Reason 1: Newsletters help you retain your clients.

How often have you heard people say that they've had their carpets cleaned before and were "very satisfied" but just can't remember the name of the person or company they used. This is a tragedy. One of the most costly expenses in a business is the cost of getting a new customer. And now when it's time for the carpets to be cleaned again, the customer can't remember who cleaned them! Newsletters help keep you ;top-of-mind' with customers. When your newsletter arrives they are immediately reminded to think about whether their carpets need cleaning again. Newsletters also get in 'under the radar'. They are not perceived as a sales pitch and can therefore be used to educate and inform about other services without the usual resistance to a sales message.

Reason 2: Newsletters help with referrals.

If your newsletter is interesting and of value to your customers, they may pass it along to friends or relatives. In fact, just seeing your newsletter can prompt friends to ask what it's all about, perhaps leading to a conversation about the need for cleaning carpets. And of course, your name will be on hand to pass on.

Reason 3: Newsletter help build your brand. 

Brand-building is normally too expensive for a small business to use as a standalone strategy. This is because the usual way for a business to build a brand is by means of image type advertising which is very costly and the results uncertain. However, sending a regular newsletter automatically builds your brand name. I like to think of my ˜brand" as the likelihood of my clients using me again and of referring me to others. I know that technically a brand is the sum total of every experience with my business and how my clients and prospects perceive it. Or something like that! Branding of course is all in their mind. Therefore a regular newsletter has the potential to affect how clients and prospects think about my business. And that's very powerful!

Here's an example of the cost-effectiveness of sending a regular newsletter:

A lady who had not used our services for a few years recently responded to an offer in my newsletter. I estimate that she has received about 75 newsletters in that time. If the cost of sending a newsletter including printing, paper, envelope and stamp is say 50p (here in the UK) that means I've spend less than £40 to re-gain her. (Work out YOUR cost of acquiring a customer and you'll be very surprised!). The PROFIT on the job will be in excess of £200. That's a return on investment of over 5 to 1. Even sending a newsletter for many years without response can pay off eventually. Most of our clients respond long before seven years, making it even more profitable.

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There's a statement that many carpet cleaners dread...

"I've had other quotes and they're much cheaper than you."

I had it myself recently when upon arrival at a job the elderly lady asked me to confirm the price and then said that her son had obtained cheaper quotes. She then told me that he would soon be arriving to question my price.

He arrived just as we were pre-vacuuming and asked us immediately to stop work. Although the lady was a repeat client, her son was very concerned about how much she was spending on having her carpets cleaned (which by the way was only £144). To say he was very agitated is an understatement. He had obtained three other quotes that morning, all of them around half of our price.

Now how would you have handled this? The tendency for many carpet cleaners is to agree on a price reduction immediately. However, what message does this send to the client? Surely that we were overcharging to begin with! And don't forget: business is all about profits and margins. No margin = no profit. It's then only a matter of time before the business folds.

So what can we do when a prospective client questions our prices? The first thing to remember is that people buy value and not price in most cases. That's why the Ritz-Carlton can charge £35 for a fillet steak and why BMW can get people to part with over £30k for a 3-series when a cheap and cheerful Ford would easily get them from A to B. People will pay more for what they perceive to be better value

Of course, if your clients are only concerned about price it may be better to sack them and get clients that will pay more for a quality service.

So what did we do on the job? The lady's son thought she was buying a commodity, that all carpet cleaning is the same. Now that's the last thing we want to be as then price is the only consideration. The only time that people buy on price is when they think that everything else is the same. It's critical that you differentiate your service. And you must be perceived as being different in your prospects mind.

So we calmly explained to him what is different about our service and built up the value in his mind. Once we had done this, he was happy for us to continue. It appears that she had been the victim of some unscrupulous salesmen recently and the son was simply trying to protect his mother.

We mustn't be timid in explaining our prices to prospects. We must be able to confidently justify our charges compared to other cleaners. And do this in a way that prospects can perceive as "better value" for them.