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Category: Marketing

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Imagine you're visiting your doctor.

You explain that you've had chest pains for a few days and are short of breath. Without looking at you he immediately starts to write out a prescription for antacid tablets. No examination. No questions. No interest.

How much confidence would you have in his diagnosis? Do you think you might be inclined to ask for a second opinion?

Now imagine that the second doctor asks a lot of questions about family history, current medication and general state of health. He then follows up with a thorough examination. Which doctor are you more inclined to want to use? If you were PAYING for a medical service, how much MORE would you pay doctor number two?

The first doctor's attitude is typical of many carpet cleaners. (maybe even MOST)

Instead of an inspection or home visit they prescribe the solution without knowing what the diagnosis is. Their view is that every carpet is the same and every cleaning process is more or less the same.

Here in the UK a doctor's service is free as part of the National Health Service but people always pay for carpet cleaning. And they will pay more, much more if they have confidence and trust in your service.

So rather than quoting a price over the phone or "winging it" upon arrival, act like a doctor if you want to get higher prices. Spend time asking many probing questions (even if you know the answers). Always diagnose the problem before giving a prescription for the solution.

I went to look at a job a few years ago. After asking several questions about the history of the carpet the lady impatiently said "Look... just give me a price will you?

She disqualified herself and I left immediately.

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Do you know a good carpet cleaner who is struggling?

Or a technically good carpet cleaner who has given up with their business because they can't find enough customers profitably?

Maybe it's YOU and you know other carpet cleaners who are not as good as you but seem to be getting work.

It's easy to think... "if only I can become even better, then I'll have all the customers I need"

Unfortunately, in business the best does not always win.

Think back to the VHS vs Betamax war when video recorders were popular. Everyone agreed that Betamax was a much better format, but VHS won the battle because...

they had better marketing!

In order to be better, you must first be different.

In fact, being different is better than being better!

So what can you do?

The first thing is to find out what the marketplace wants and be sure to give it to them. But do so in a way that cannot be compared to your competitors. The last thing you want to be is...

viewed as a commodity

Why not? Because people only buy commodities on PRICE.

An essential way to do this is to have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) or as I prefer to call it... a Unique Buying Proposition. Give the customer a compelling reason to choose YOU vs all your competitors.

Because being different is better than being better, a USP really sets you apart in a category of ONE. Now you're a monopoly instead of a commodity. And people pay a premium when you're a monopoly.

To find at least 6 ways to do this, see the course for carpet cleaners who want to command higher prices... "Make More Money by Attracting Premium Clients, Getting Higher Prices and Ending Price Shoppers Forever" at success4carpetcleaners.com

 

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Mistake 1. Marketing to the Wrong People

Most carpet cleaners target the wrong people. Actually, they typically target some ‘right’ people and most wrong ones by targeting EVERYONE in their geographical area. There are people there who will never use a carpet cleaner because they won’t pay for a service. There are people who only want to pay the cheapest price for carpet cleaning. There are tenants whose sole reason for cleaning carpets is to get their deposit back and they don’t care too much about how clean the carpets are. They just want them clean enough to satisfy (‘fool’?) the landlord. And there are others who want a high-quality service that they can trust and are prepared to pay a premium. Naturally these are NOT the same people. You need to target one specific type of customer (ie. budget, higher-end or premium) and exclude the rest. A price-focused budget cleaning message will not appeal to a premium customer at all. And vice-versa.

Mistake 2. Advertising Like Big Corporations

Big businesses typically do ‘image’ or ‘branding’ type advertising focusing on their company name or logo hoping that when the time comes the customer will remember them. But this is very expensive and cost prohibitive for a small carpet cleaning business. (Coca-Cola’s budget is around four billion dollars!). And sometimes large corporations advertise to impress shareholders or for some other purpose. And does it work? …who knows, is the simple answer!

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 in some way.
  1. Create attention and interest - your positioning, value proposition and sales argument need to be relevant to your ideal customer (whether that’s budget or premium). 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 to them - 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.

Mistake 3. Marketing by Price

Trying to sell carpet cleaning based on cheap price is quite simple a ‘race to the bottom’. The problem is that there can only be ONE lowest price. If you’ve got deep pockets and don’t care if you lose money short term you can put your competitors out of business…until someone cheaper comes along. (and they will!). There’s no value in a marketing message that says “we’re second cheapest”

 

So, if you can’t be the cheapest, why not build your business to be the most expensive? Everyone is trying to be cheaper but hardly anyone is trying to charge higher prices by giving greater value. At least you’ll have a message to promote.

But once you know who you’re trying to reach and what message they will respond to, it’s so much easier.

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Why should you as a carpet cleaner strive to be a monopoly?

Well, I wonder if you're like me when it comes to buying petrol. I buy wherever is the cheapest. And why not? Petrol is petrol wherever its sold right? Well it is to me, even if some of my friends say that some brands get more miles per gallon.

However when it comes to my car, I don't drive the cheapest car I can buy.

Why the difference in buying behaviour? It's because I view petrol as a COMMODITY but my car totally differently. The car I drive is only made by one manufacturer. They have a MONOPOLY. If I want their car, I have to pay the price they are asking.

All businesses are somewhere between a commodity and a monopoly. When people think of a monopoly, it conjures up visions of illegal activity or of using power improperly. Yet for a carpet cleaner there are tremendous advantages in trying to be a monopoly.

First, consider the disadvantage of a commodity business. Price is the main factor in buying and the lowest cost cleaner will win. In order to stay competitive, the cleaner has to maintain their profit margin and can only increase profits by reducing costs...  until they are forced to lower their prices because their competitors have reduced their costs too! This is how many carpet cleaners operate and why we have such large turnover in this industry.

But a monopoly is different. It cannot be compared directly to something else so the buyer makes a decision based on value not price. To generate carpet cleaning sales you must offer customers EITHER a meaningful difference OR a great price. In other words be a commodity or a monopoly.

So your mission if you want to stay in business is to create as near as a monopoly as you can. When you have a "dramatic difference" vs all other competitors, you hold a monopoly-like position in the marketplace.

For example, suppose you could wave a magic wand and in five minutes carpets really are looking clean and "like-new". No-one else can do this. Do you really think you would be matching prices? No... you're doing something no-one else can do. You would have a monopoly and can charge accordingly because it has a tremendous advantage to your customer. And they are prepared to pay more for it.

What you don't want is for your prospective customers to think... "It's only carpet cleaning and all carpet cleaning is the same isn't it?" That makes you a commodity which gets sold on price alone.

So how do you create a monopoly? You probably can't wave a magic wand a create "like-new" carpets in five minutes, but there are other things you can create so that you cannot be directly compared to others and therefore hold a monopoly-like position. Perhaps a unique guarantee or maybe even something as simple as advertising that your customers don't need to move any furniture whatsoever. Whatever it is must matter to your customers.

There are real benefits to being a monopoly. Firstly, it creates buzz - gets you talked about because there is now something to say. It also gives you a true story to tell via advertising and can generate free publicity

Above all you can charge higher prices for a unique service... which means higher profit margins.

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I've recently started eating at a new Indian restaurant on a regular basis. And I've been telling all my friends how much I like it there.

Just this past weekend I took some friends there to a buffet evening along with my wife and had another very good time. Afterwards they told me that although they enjoyed it, the food could've been better. It wasn't until they said that, that I realised it was true. I mean, it wasn't bad but it wasn't exceptional. Why then did I enjoy it there so much?

It's because people will ultimately choose to do business with people they LIKE.

It's been said that "People will forget what you say. People will forget what you do. But people will never forget how you make them feel."

And that's what it was. The service was so friendly and the staff so nice that I loved it there! They really appreciated us as customers. It was a great EXPERIENCE. I liked them because of how they made me feel. And because I liked them, I wanted to do business with them again.

Isn't it interesting that how I felt more than made up for any shortfall in the quality of the food?

So the key to success it would seem is to be likeable by making your customers feel good.

And everybody likes someone who appreciates them. It makes relationships stronger. So how can you make that happen?

Two of most powerful words in the English language are "Thank You". Saying thank you shows that you appreciate the other person and has the influence to create loyalty. It makes them feel good and it makes them like you. That in turn makes them want to do business with you again.

I clearly remember buying my first mobile phone over twenty-five years ago. The salesman who came to my house concluded by genuinely thanking me for the business. I still remember it. I remember exactly where I was and how I felt.

So what is the formula for carpet cleaning success?

Well, it's the exact opposite of what is the norm in the carpet cleaning industry. Most cleaners focus on cleaning methods or psi or inches of mercury.

But to be successful... you're really in the business of ethically manipulating feelings. So charge more so that you can afford to give exceptional service. Make sure that you really serve your customers' needs and make them feel good. Then use that extra profit to increase your customers experience by sending Thank You cards and by keeping in regular contact with newsletters and the like. Show them that you really value and appreciate their custom. They will reciprocate by liking you and giving you their business.

In other words, concentrate not so much on the cleaning but on how you make your customers FEEL.

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Those of us in the carpet and upholstery cleaning business are not in that business at all of course. We're in the same business as every other small business owner... the MONEY business.

If income does not exceed expenses... well, we don't have a business! At least not in the long term.

I find that many carpet cleaners simply do not know the cost of being in business and as a result are slowly going broke.

Let me explain...

If it costs you 40,000 per year (pounds, dollars euro's, whatever...) to run your business and the wand is only going over the carpet for twenty hours per week (4 hours a day) then you have 960 billable hours. (20x48 working weeks = 960). Dividing the 40,000 by 960 gives you a breakeven figure of over 40 per billable hour. This is an "on the job" figure.

In fact, if you want to pay yourself just 20k each year... then the billable hour cost to just pay your wages is over 20 an hour alone assuming again that the wand is only moving across the carpet for four hours a day. (measure it... it might surprise you!)

Why then do so many carpet cleaners insist on being a hero by taking on work that they perhaps would be better off giving a miss? Like spending hours cleaning filthy carpets that really should be replaced or trying to remove stains that the homeowner would be quite happy to live with or cleaning cheap rugs that would be more cost effective to replace? Of course, it's great when a customer tells you that you've removed a stain or cleaned an item that a previous cleaner couldn't.

I've read recently about a number of carpet cleaners who will attempt any job whatsoever regardless of whether it proves profitable. They say that they love a challenge! I'm guessing that they hope the customer will appreciate them for the professional that they are even more and imagine that they will be the talk of all their friends and neighbours. And I realize that there are times when it CAN be good business to please a customer in this way. However, for much of the time all it's doing is eating into profit.

I clearly remember in the 1980's getting a call about removing fake blood on a carpet (used by actors apparently). I responded that I would do the job at the end of the working day. The distance to travel was over thirty miles... but I wanted to be the hero by removing the red stain. It was the early days of red stain removal and I had just been trained in a new product virtually guaranteed to remove the American drink "Kool-Aid" which was a problem across the pond.

I worked on the stains (plural) for well over an hour and could not remove them at all. As such, I felt I couldn't charge for what I had done. The homeowner clearly felt sorry for me and gave me five pounds.

But even if I had been able to remove the stain, what reasonably could I have charged? Well the travel time was over two hours plus nearly an hour attempting stain removal. That's over three hours plus fuel!

I've never forgotten this. Nowadays I'm not interested in small stain removal (alone) or problem cheap rugs. Or even problem carpets. There's more than enough well paying "normal" carpet cleaning out there. I don't care whether a homeowner will think that as a professional carpet cleaner I should be able to clean anything and will think less of me (more than likely they're not thinking of me at all!)

I realise that I'm in the MONEY business and it's a lot cheaper to be rich than famous.