Category: Marketing

 

 

 

 

Have you ever wondered how McDonalds has come to be the one of the largest restaurant chains in the world with approximately 32,000 outlets worldwide?

And yet their food is not the best quality in the world. Far from it. But then it doesn't claim or aspire to be. So what is responsible for this massive success?

In a word... trust.

People the world over know exactly what they are going to get. They also know they probably won't get food poisoning. McDonalds is notoriously clean.

And that is the number one question all your prospective customers are asking...

Who can I trust?

McDonalds may be able to "buy" trust by image-type advertising. The more familiar prospects are with the "brand" the more likely they are to trust it. This however costs millions of marketing dollars and I'm guessing as a small business owner that you don't have that...otherwise why would you be cleaning carpets?

So how can you as a carpet cleaner answer this question?

Here's at least five ways:

1. Educate in advance. Don't just say... "here we are, this is what we do."  Publish educational material that helps the prospect make an informed decision. This needn't be anything fancy, maybe just a tri-fold leaflet that you can print at home. It could educate the prospect about all the different methods of cleaning as well as warn about common carpet cleaning scams like "bait and switch". Otherwise they will default to asking... "How much do you charge?"
2. Always do in-home quotes. PwM ("People with Money") always want to know who will be working in their home. And they need to know that they can trust them. Generally, the only prospects who don't are those who just want the cheapest price.
3. Always wear overshoes. Even if they say you don't need to. Make a song and dance about putting them on. That way they can see that you really care about their home and possessions. If there are others in the home, they will always comment on the fact that you have them on. In many ways, this is better than simply removing your shoes. It's a visual demonstration that they can trust you.
4. Listen to their concerns. Let them know that you really understand their problem. After all, selling is just having a solution to their problem. Once you have heard their concerns, then prescribe the solution, not before. People don't so much need to understand what you do...they need to be understood.
5. Dress appropriately. Shirt and tie or smart uniform? This is something that will need testing to see how your target market responds. It could be that a shirt and tie portrays you as a "salesman" and that's the last thing people want in their homes. People like to buy but fear that they're going to be pressured if a "salesman" turns up. They like to feel that they are in control of the buying situation and are not being manipulated. If you're perceived as a skilled craftsman rather than a salesman it may be better.

You may think you're selling carpet cleaning but in reality you're selling trust. If you concentrate on building trust in advance you can get more jobs, better customers, cleaner carpets to clean and less price resistance.

 

 

 

So how do you grow a sustainable carpet cleaning business? The key word is SUSTAINABLE. One that will continue and GROW year after year.

There are three mistakes that most cleaners make.

1. Most carpet cleaners are not businessmen and so start off on the wrong foot. What do I mean by that? Quite simply they don't realise the costs of running a business and therefore price their carpet cleaning too cheap. (Usually by asking other cleaners what they charge)

In fact, most carpet cleaners are slowly going broke... they just don't realise it yet!

So how can you work out the cost of running your business?

You need to work out your annual costs and then divide them by the number of hours that the floor wand is moving over the carpet which is typically going to be just a handful each day (maybe four or five at most).

The figure that you'll be left with can be surprising. When I did this many years ago I found that it was costing me £26 per hour to run my business. And that's when the wand is moving! Now what sense would it make to clean carpets less than this?

2. They try to compete on price alone.

Competing solely on price is a race to the bottom... and bankruptcy!

There will always be someone cheaper cleaning carpets. In most cases they are slowly going broke but don't know it. And it doesn't matter how cheaply you price, there will ALWAYS be someone cheaper.

And whenever there is an economic downturn, customers at the bottom end of the market will either not have their carpets cleaned because they can't afford it or will look for someone cheaper. You can be sure that the one thing missing for you will be PROFIT.

3. Failing to see that the money is in the relationship.

To build a long-lasting business you must have regular customers. One of the most expensive costs in a carpet cleaning business is the cost of getting customers. Yet a repeat customer can cost virtually nothing to acquire.

The best way to build a relationship with your customers is to keep in contact with a regular customer newsletter that they will want to read... one that educates, informs AND positions you as the expert. These can be supplemented with regular reminder cards.