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Category: Advertising

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For many years I used to wonder why the phone wasn't ringing more. After all, everybody has carpet that needs cleaning at some time don’t they? What could I do to get people to enquire about getting their carpets cleaned?

Of course, it’s all about getting the right type of person to call. Maybe you only want high-end residential customers. Or maybe you only want large commercial work.

However getting more customers doesn't have to be hard. In fact, it’s a very simple process. There are really only FIVE steps.

Here’s what you need to do…

  1. Identify WHO your ideal customers are – the ones that you’ll enjoy working with the most, the ones who are the most profitable or who will pay premium prices for high quality work and the customers who will not be a ‘pain in the backside’
  1. Find out WHERE they are - do they read certain magazines or newspapers? Do they attend specific events or seminars? Do they live together in a particular area? Are they gather-able together in ‘one place’ so to speak?
  1. Get in front of them - once you know who they are and where they are to be found, now you can get in front of them. That might mean setting up a meeting, writing an article, giving a talk, delivering a flyer or placing an ad. But you need to get in front of them.
  1. Create attention and interest - your positioning, value proposition and sales argument need to be relevant to your ideal customer. You must be able to get their attention and then get them interested and engaged so you can have a conversation with them.
  1. Make an offer - it could be a free trial offer or a free audit or inspection. Or some other ‘direct-response mechanism’ that causes them to respond to your offer.If you work through this process you will see significant results. Most carpet cleaners will not do this. Instead they have no idea of who they are trying to attract or where they can be found.

    Remember, we’re in the marketing business not the cleaning business.

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Should a small carpet cleaner focus on "building a brand"? Surely you say, well that's OK for the likes of Coca-Cola and Nike, but I just run a small business! And don't make the mistake of fondly imagining that all you need to have a brand is a new slogan or a redesigned website or brochure.

But what exactly is a brand? Too often even marketing professionals don't have an answer, and too many have their 'own' answer.

But it really all boils down to this: A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer. I like to think of branding as the likelihood of someone using our service again. (or for the very first time). Therefore it's something that is intangible!

This definition makes it clear how to build a brand. A brand is built not only through effective communications or appealing logos. A brand is built through the total experience that it offers.

According to Al Ries in the book The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, the power of a brand lies in its ability to influence purchasing behaviour. But a brand name on a package is not the same as a brand name in the mind of the consumer.

A few years ago on a Greek island I wanted to buy a cola drink. Now I don't particularly like cheap cola. All the labels were in a language I could not understand. But one had the clearly defined logo and corporate identity of Coca-Cola. And so I bought it. Now it wasn't just that the logo was the brand. It was the fact that it would deliver a promise, that I knew it would be the same as I could buy back home. In other words it would deliver the quality I wanted. The brand was all in my mind!

That's why it's so important for us to focus on giving our customer what she wants and to have systems in our business to make sure that happens.

Here's an example:

I've just come back from a two week holiday in Cuba. I stayed at the Melia Cayo Guillermo on the north of the island. I've never stayed at a Melia hotel before but what I experienced there made sure that it won't be the last.

From a welcome drink on arrival, very quick check-in time to problems being sorted quickly it was evident that we were going to have a good time. All the staff including the gardeners who kept the place immaculate said hello and were very friendly. When we left I saw something I have never seen before. Virtually the entire staff including the manger came to wave us goodbye. The manager even remembered the names of repeat guests. I found out over the course of the two weeks that several of the guests had been here multiple times. The staff genuinely cared about the satisfaction of their guests.

So using the test of ˜the likelihood of using you again" the Melia in my mind has created a strong brand. I would definitely stay there again. I have never felt so well-cared for on holiday. And I am more likely to try other Melia hotels.

Now how can we transfer this to our carpet cleaning business?

According to Al Ries, a brand is a singular idea or concept that you own in the mind of the prospect. In other words we must be unique in the customers mind. The worst thing that we can be is a commodity, interchangeable with any other carpet cleaner. So we need to give the perception that there is no service on the market like ours.

We also cannot appeal to everybody. We cannot be "all things to all people" We can't be the lowest priced and the highest quality service. So we need to choose our target customer, price accordingly and exclude everybody else.

And we need to be in the "relationship" business. Genuinely care about our clients. Give them exactly what they want. Regularly keep in touch with them through a newsletter and reminder cards. Thank them when they do business with us or refer us.

And most importantly, put all of this into a system so our clients get the same experience every time.

Ideally we'd like to get to the point with our business where people instead of asking for an expensive Swiss watch, ask for a Rolex.

That's why it's so important for us to focus on giving our customer what she wants and to have systems in our business to make sure that happens.

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If you were to seek advice on improving your business, you would likely be told that you need to “build your brand” or create “brand awareness”

Typically this means spending money on a fancy logo and generally telling the marketplace what a great business you are. If you do this, you are following the lead set by many, many corporate type companies.

But is this the best way for you as a small carpet cleaner to get more sales?

I was intrigued recently while watching Manchester United play Arsenal at football (soccer) to see that the travel firm Thomas Cook have changed their logo. It was on one of the electronic billboards.

A bit of research on the internet revealed more:

  • “This week the Thomas Cook Group unveiled the next stage in its journey back from the edge of a financial abyss: a new corporate identity known as the "Sunny Heart"
  • According to the firm, "The new, unified brand captures the essence of Thomas Cook: how it delivers inspiring personal journeys as the trusted pioneer in global travel." (The Independent)
  • “Thomas Cook says that the new visual identity and branding looks to reflect the ‘warmth and approachability’, ‘trust and personalisation’ and ‘message of High Tech, High Touch’ of the brand.”
  • “Tour operator Thomas Cook has ditched the globe logo it first used in 1880, replacing it with a 'Sunny Heart', as the tour operator continues its recovery from near collapse. The 172-year-old firm unveiled the design alongside a new slogan - 'Let's Go' - spelling the end for its famous motto 'Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it.' The rebranding is part of a root-and-branch overhaul by new boss Harriet Green, who was recruited last year to save the household name from collapse, after it was bailed out by its banks.” (Daily Mail)

You’ll notice that in response to near collapse, they have decided that the answer is…a new logo!

But surely the most important question of all is..will this lead to SALES?

Let’s ask one of its valued customers…ME!

I’ve travelled with Thomas Cook twice in the last 18 months. What has been my experience? On my recent trip to Mexico the transfer took two and a half hours arriving at my hotel at the equivalent of two in the morning. The problem? The advertised transfer was one hour. The previous year with a rival firm was 35 minutes. Apparently they had crammed in more drop-off points before ours!

On a previous holiday to Egypt, they cancelled an entire plane leaving passengers bound for Manchester to travel via Gatwick. An add-on of several hours. Incredibly they didn’t let the Manchester bound passengers know until they got to the airport in Egypt. It also meant that although I had pre-booked a window seat, I ended up sitting in the centre row.

I decided there and then that I would NOT travel with this company again unless I had very little choice.

Would the money spent on “re-branding” not be better spent on improving the experience for the customer? Frankly I don’t care about their logo or their “trust and personalisation” or their “warmth and approachability.” But I do care about getting what I’ve paid for. A re-brand (“new pretty logo”) does not fool me!

So what brand strategy should you follow?

  • Forget “brand awareness” You don’t know whether it’s successful or not as it can’t be measured.
  • Forget advertising to simply remind people of your existence. Killer advertising is simply salesmanship multiplied according to copywriter Gary Halbert
  • A good ad will work the first time. They don’t need to see it 7, 15 or 20 times
  • Don’t be fooled that a brand is the most important thing. The people who give you money are!
  • Forget ‘clever’ type advertising with just your ‘image’ displayed. If your salesman acted strange or did a silly dance and then mentioned the name of your company at the end you wouldn’t want it. Instead you want them to find out what the persons problem is, what their objections are and present your product as the best solution. That’s salesmanship!

I’ll give the last word to Claude Hopkins who wrote about silly logo’s and image type advertising this way: “Instead of sales, they seek applause”

I say…Let them have the applause - my bank doesn’t accept it!

 

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It’ was 4:30pm on Friday 9th January 2009 and I’d had several phone calls to book in work. Normally January and February are expected to be quiet months in the carpet cleaning industry. Yet, we were busier than ever…even more so than December.

What had caused these homeowners to phone my office on this day? Quite simply…a deadline!

I had sent out a number of reminder cards to existing clients telling them that if they want to take me up on an offer they must respond by Friday 9th January. And they did. In droves.

It’s amazing how a deadline focuses the mind of potential clients. Why a flurry of calls right at the end? I imagine my prospects mentally going through a fear of loss. That if they didn't phone by that day they would miss out. They simply cant just ‘put it off’.

I clearly remember about 11 years ago agonising over a buying decision. I had received a very good offer from a company saving me money on a particular product…but only if I responded by a certain date. And today was the date. I had to make a decision. I wanted the product but it was a lot of money. I was going on holiday the next day. If I wanted to buy I had to make the decision NOW. And I did. I bought. This was one of my first experiences with the power of a deadline.

It’s been said that the deadline is one of the best things ever invented. It forces people to make a decision. One they probably would have put off and put off until they forgot about it. It seems to be human nature to procrastinate. Now we never send out an offer without one. Often we will have prospects phoning us AFTER the deadline pleading with us to do business with them because they have just come back off holiday and found our postcard, flyer or letter. And of course that changes our positioning. All of a sudden they are just relieved that we will even consider doing business with them.

But you must be believed that the deadline is genuine. So make it genuine. After all, if you offer a discount (or as I prefer, to add value rather than discount) you must have a good reason for doing it. It could be that you are making an offer (perhaps 3 rooms cleaned for the price of 2) in a certain area until a certain date. Or you could be limiting the number of jobs you will do with the offer. Whatever the reason for the offer being limited in some way, it must be believed. It then stands a good chance of being acted upon.

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Knowing my ‘numbers’ means I’m never an advertising victim. Whenever an advertising rep phones me with a special offer in the newspaper or wherever, I’m able to look at my numbers and forecast whether the rep is telling the truth or not. (“you mean....advertising reps tell lies?”)

Especially when he tells me that other businesses are getting so many enquiries from advertising with them.

Since then, I’ve had a visit from an advertising rep for the local newspaper. I have a fairly good relationship with him and I’ll occasionally book late space in the paper.

I’d run a couple of advertorials (ie: adverts dressed up as editorial) in his paper and had only just been able to evaluate the response when he called. My ‘numbers’ showed that the ads weren’t working very well at all, even though my gut feeling was that they were.

Now, my philosophy is that if an advert breaks even, I’ll keep running it as long as it brings me a qualified client. That’s because I’ll make a profit on the back-end, when they use me again in a year or two. Plus they’ll refer me to other clients just like them so these new referred clients really cost me nothing to acquire.

I explained this to him, and not surprisingly he had some very persuasive arguments. Persuasive that is, unless you have tracked your numbers. After all, his job is to sell advertising space...not to get my business more sales.

He told me that other local businesses would not dream of not advertising with his paper because their response was so good. I asked him the all-important question...”How do they know?” There was no way of tracking the adverts.. no coupons or offers. So as usual it was a gut feeling by the business owner.

After about 30 minutes of the usual nonsense (“your logo needs to be bigger…you need to advertise 7, 15, 20 times before someone responds”), he could see that the situation was hopeless and left. I must admit that at times during his presentation, I did feel like I wanted to run a series of adverts in his paper again because I desperately wanted it to work. I also felt like simply giving into his persuasive arguments because I didn’t like the thought of disagreeing with him...but the all-important numbers simply did not add up. The response was clear in black and white. Did the advert produce a profit or did it not? And that’s really all I’m concerned with.

I had another experience recently that shows the value of having systems. My technician had booked a day off and two of my friends wanted carpets cleaned on the same day. I didn’t want to let them down so I had no choice but to go to work. Now, I’ve not cleaned carpets myself for quite some time. Instead I prefer to just ‘manage’ the business part-time.

After working hard from 9am to 3pm, I was absolutely shattered. I then had some phone calls to return as well as make sure the van, the paperwork and checklists were all in order for the next days work. I really don’t think I could go back to doing it all myself. I’m so glad I have systemised my business and have a technician to do all the work for me. Now, ‘parenting employees’ is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, but this experience proves to me that having a technician and having the business on ‘autopilot’ is the best way to be.

Next time, I’ll share with you the easiest way I’ve found to hire a suitable employee without spending hours filtering out all the non-starters. It really is quite ingenious!