[mci services]

I know some guys have made a success of online networking but OK I have a pretty useless face book page that I don't bother to much about.

But for the last couple of weeks I have been following a local window cleaners twitter page and apart from telling me where he will be at any time if I wanted to mug him I don't see the point.

it just goes cleaning windows in ******** tomorrow
weathers bad so not looking good
weathers been bad so working this weekend
collecting tonight and wed and friday.

anyway he seems busy enough and it does not effect me so good luck to him

[barry mallett]

im like you think it is totally pointless. you may as well walk up to some stranger on the street , tap them on the shoulder and tell them what you had for breakfast. with a bit of luck he wont headbutt you.

[erithwc]

i have facebook and twitter and think they are a great tool i dont have many followers yet but the way i look at it is the yonger customers use facebook and twitter so if you have about 50% of your customers following you on facebook or twitter you can then use it as a advertising tool to tell people about special offers ect 

[Ian101]

Appareantly its good for SEO ??

[dazmond]

erith itll be mostly next to useless if your trying to attract younger custies!


younger custies = bad payers/dont wanna window cleaner at all!!

[erithwc]

think what you like i know different  as i have had work off of it 

plus i find younger customers 40 and under are better as they know how to use the internet to pay their invoice via paypal.

the older customers just want to talk and slow me down all the time

[gewindows]

i have facebook and twitter and think they are a great tool i dont have many followers yet but the way i look at it is the yonger customers use facebook and on twitter so if you have about 50% of your customers following you on facebook or twitter you can then use it as a advertising tool to tell people about special offers ect 

If my custards were sad enough to want to follow me Twitter Id have to have a serious rethink about the brand of custards I was working for. For starters theyd have too much time on their hands, would probably do their own window licking and I'd worry too much about being stalked.

I can just imagine it.....


Chatting to a custard, my number one fan on Facebook

Custard: 'Hey Matt I see on Facebook and Twitter you were in Acacia Avenue on the 13th September and you were rained off halfway through the day, but you had picked up a 2 bedroom bungalow and someone had parked on your little yellow hose and you'd got it caught in 5 rose-bushes, round a gate and dragged it through some dog poop!'


Me: 'Ummm, trying to think back........cant remember the exact date but yes I do work in Acacia Avenue, my hose is always getting dragged through dog-poop, some custards just dont think'.

Custard: 'LOL LOL LOL LOL!! Fantastic, Im so glad I know YOU just that little bit more Matt, I'll keep following you on ALL the social network sites Matt, gotta go, can I pay you next time!'


Me: 'Uh?, If you say so, in that case make sure you read tonights latest update'.

[erithwc]

i have facebook and twitter and think they are a great tool i dont have many followers yet but the way i look at it is the yonger customers use facebook and on twitter so if you have about 50% of your customers following you on facebook or twitter you can then use it as a advertising tool to tell people about special offers ect 

If my custards were sad enough to want to follow me Twitter Id have to have a serious rethink about the brand of custards I was working for. For starters theyd have too much time on their hands, would probably do their own window licking and I'd worry too much about being stalked.

I can just imagine it.....


Chatting to a custard, my number one fan on Facebook

Custard: 'Hey Matt I see on Facebook and Twitter you were in Acacia Avenue on the 13th September and you were rained off halfway through the day, but you had picked up a 2 bedroom bungalow and someone had parked on your little yellow hose and you'd got it caught in 5 rose-bushes, round a gate and dragged it through some dog poop!'


Me: 'Ummm, trying to think back........cant remember the exact date but yes I do work in Acacia Avenue, my hose is always getting dragged through dog-poop, some custards just dont think'.

Custard: 'LOL LOL LOL LOL!! Fantastic, Im so glad I know YOU just that little bit more Matt, I'll keep following you on ALL the social network sites Matt, gotta go, can I pay you next time!'


Me: 'Uh?, If you say so, in that case make sure you read tonights latest update'.

hi

maybe you should do a bit of research on facebook and have a look how many people use it everyday people that work on london offices earning thousands each year, are away from home all week work long hours but still want their houses looking good for when they have friends around at the weekend.

think what you want i dont chat to customers i just update my facbook/twitter page with offers and other stuff.

this is 2010 internet is becoming a huge marketing tool and is slowly replacing yellow pages and the thomson local

[james44]

away from home all week work long hours but still want their houses looking good for when they have friends around at the weekend.

Erith, i find it is quite the opposite over the years i started to loose customers like that for the very simple reason that they where paying to have their windows cleaned and if it was windy and  rained sometime in the week after i had cleaned them, they would be dirty again so by the time the customer came home for the weekend they looked as though they had not been done!

Customers like that just cant see what they are paying for if they are coming home to dirty windows! for that reason i have a few who only have them done on the summer months when they are at home and expect visitors.
And i would have to agree with them, i know what we are looking for is regular custom but some times you have to listen to what the customer wants!

[erithwc]

hi

at the end of the day it works for me i use it as a tool to let people know of offers and other services i offer it takes about 4 minutes a week to maintain

i see it as just another hook in the ocean if you don't have any hooks in the ocean you won't catch any fish 

i think the internet is a great tool thats how i look at it, but im sure their are lots of you that just won't agree but to be honest its my business i will do and spend what i want on what i want to make it into the company that i want 

regards Erith window cleaning

[james44]

Erith i was not talking about twitter/facebook,

I was on about customers will soon suss that they are paying for a service they cant see and will act on it! slowly but surerly they will realise they are paying for a service that has no benefit to them.

Put yourself in the customers shoes would you pay to have your window cleaned and could not see the benefit!, i know i wouldn`t sometimes you will have to see it from their point of view!

[erithwc]

hi

my customers don't mind paying for a service they don't see because they still see the end result perfect clean frames & windows, i have some customers that i haven't see since the first clean all i do is send them a invoice via paypal with a note of when the next clean is and they pay it within 7 days no problems what so ever.

erith window cleaning

[gewindows]

They dont go on Facebook to find a window cleaner, Facebook is for retards, potential custards use google or some other search engine.


Ive just done a search for you on facebook and twitter, nought!

[weetot]

They dont go on Facebook to find a window cleaner, Facebook is for retards, potential custards use google or some other search engine.


Ive just done a search for you on facebook and twitter, nought!

 

[clearlyclean]

twitter is okay for networking i just put on stuff i find on internet local news and where to mug me.I have had customers that i have cleaned for never met them they ve emailed me wanting there windows cleaned gave them a price cleaned them and got a payment have a few regs on my books,good custies then cancel when they move on... I use Twitter,have a blog and advertise on Index listings get a fair amount of work this way. I want a service I think google it and and contact that provider Its no brainer the way business is going in the 21st century

[tom2009]

this may be useful to those that couldn't give a toss about what other people are doing.

http://www.twat.me.uk/

[tom2009]

won't let me post the link.       t w a t.me.uk

[mci services]

won't let me post the link.       t w a t.me.uk

thats a funny site twatter class

[james44]

the end result perfect clean frames & windows

Erith you just dont get it!

What i am saying is if you clean their windows on a mon and by wed the wind and rain batter the windows for the next few days,

By the weekend when they come home it will look as though they have not been cleaned, how long do you then expect them to still pay you to clean their windows?
As i said slowly but surerly they will realise they are paying for a service that has no benefit to them.

[cozy]

the end result perfect clean frames & windows

Erith you just dont get it!

What i am saying is if you clean their windows on a mon and by wed the wind and rain batter the windows for the next few days,

By the weekend when they come home it will look as though they have not been cleaned, how long do you then expect them to still pay you to clean their windows?
As i said slowly but surerly they will realise they are paying for a service that has no benefit to them.

James, I don't understand what you're trying to say. Are all the windows you clean this week totally filthy next week or what? Do they all live next door to a landfill site?

Anyway. I'm not a facebook type of person. A custy of ours suggested we open a page and advertise on local pages from clubs etc etc. So she created our page and we soon learned how to advertise and what to post and what NOT to post. We use it for the carpet cleaning side of our biz, and it pulls about 500 to 1000 quids worth of work for us a month.

We have 3 or 4 window custies who use it sometimes to ask when we are next there, but from more than 350 members so far. 95% are strangers looking for a carpet clean at some time. They post on the wall or use PM's (personal message) to ask for quotes etc. If you want a look, here's a link

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=217388302773

PLEASE DON'T JOIN!! It's for new custies, not you lot!!

[james44]

cozy what i was quoting to was this,

the end result perfect clean frames & windows

If the customer is a way all week and dont come home to weekend they will not allways be able to see clean windows and frames, due to the winter weather, and some will act on this and you end up with a can you come back in spring!

[cozy]

Sounds like you need to put your custies on weekly cleans mate. You'll make a fortune where you live. Takes about 4 to 5 weeks here to get dirty enough to make a custy want them cleaned. Wish I had custies near you.

[james44]

cozy its not me but erith,

[cozy]

Erith you just dont get it!

What i am saying is if you clean their windows on a mon and by wed the wind and rain batter the windows for the next few days,

By the weekend when they come home it will look as though they have not been cleaned, how long do you then expect them to still pay you to clean their windows?
As i said slowly but surerly they will realise they are paying for a service that has no benefit to them.

This is what I'm answering.

[mci services]

its like Chinese whispers on here : cozy, erith, james start another post

unless you are talking about social networking

[james44]

are away from home all week work long hours but still want their houses looking good for when they have friends around at the weekend.

You cant guarantee they will be looking good at the weekend is what i am saying not with the winters we have in britain,

[cozy]

Sorry Stu, James has given me an idea now. After a week, I'm going back to some custies and show them how dirty the windows have become. Then I'll suggest they go onto weekly cleans from now on.

Anyway, Facebook is great 

[erithwc]

stu mac give it ago and see i won't cost you anything

james44 - some of my customers work all week but they see their clean windows when they get home from work and i haven't had any problems yet

the end result perfect clean frames & windows

Erith you just dont get it!

What i am saying is if you clean their windows on a mon and by wed the wind and rain batter the windows for the next few days,

By the weekend when they come home it will look as though they have not been cleaned, how long do you then expect them to still pay you to clean their windows?
As i said slowly but surerly they will realise they are paying for a service that has no benefit to them.

Anyway. I'm not a facebook type of person. A custy of ours suggested we open a page and advertise on local pages from clubs etc etc. So she created our page and we soon learned how to advertise and what to post and what NOT to post. We use it for the carpet cleaning side of our biz, and it pulls about 500 to 1000 quids worth of work for us a month.

not bad £500 - £1000  per month for free can't be bad

[mci services]

Its ok cozy its funny reading I think face book is ideal for you in Germany doing the patches, It was the guy doing twitter that looked pointless.

But I suppose I should stick a facebook link on my website to get a bit interest


Erith I have a facebook page for my business but the only people that see it are my friends and I don't clean their windows as most of live miles away from me

[cozy]

Stu, Twitter is for carpenters and uphill gardeners mate. Facebook page is only good if you advertise it on other pages, like the local fishing club site. Or you could post an ad on local club pages etc. People don't look for us on FB, you have to post on other pages.

But like I said, Twitter is for shirtlifters.- Facebook rules.

[Window Washers]

i have facebook and twitter and think they are a great tool i dont have many followers yet but the way i look at it is the yonger customers use facebook and twitter so if you have about 50% of your customers following you on facebook or twitter you can then use it as a advertising tool to tell people about special offers ect 

good post this is.


I am shocked how small minded some are about new tools available for free, Twitter if used correctly can make any company money, did I mention its free 

Things are changing online, think back 5 years, only a small number of us had websites now most do, thats just one example.

someone put on here about everything google and not face book, this may have been the case a while ago but facebook is taking over a massive market share I have been looking into it, this is a lot to do with the google slap. I only used to work directly on google to get highest rankings, this is changing I would look into it.


Ian

[Mr Bungalow]

Hello All,

Obviously everyone on here is new to things like Twitter and Facebook.

The whole idea with it is to promote what you do in your business.  That is where I went wrong at first until a web designer friend of mine told me different.

Basically, what he was telling me is, no one, even your customers want to know what you are doing every minute of the day.  What you should be doing however is put pictures of quality jobs into your tweet like for example if you do a job like uPVC restoring or a good quality conservatory roof clean for instance.

Or what about some new qualification to do with window cleaning that shows you are more professional!  These are the sort of things you should be doing to promote your business.

Regards.

[dazmond]

i joined facebook,this forum and a few other forums and the help and advice have been good for business but im getting bored with the internet and this forum.ive spent far too many hours on ere the past year!!


its time to spend more time with family and friends and get in the REAL WORLD!i for one will NOT be joining twitter or any other online stuff.im closing down the facebook nonsense and limiting my time spent on here!!

best wishes to you all


dazmond

[Sir Squeaky]

Can't do any harm to use Twitter and FB. And as many others as you can.
The more the better. Flood the net, it can only help get you known!

[mci services]

ok I am asking the wrong questions, it is not should I use facebook/twitter but how to use it effectively? if that makes sense, cozy has gave a few examples that are helpful, as did mr bungalow, anyone else got ideas

[Mr Bungalow]

Hello All,

Obviously everyone on here is new to things like Twitter and Facebook.

The whole idea with it is to promote what you do in your business.  That is where I went wrong at first until a web designer friend of mine told me different.

Basically, what he was telling me is, no one, even your customers want to know what you are doing every minute of the day.  What you should be doing however is put pictures of quality jobs into your tweet like for example if you do a job like uPVC restoring or a good quality conservatory roof clean for instance.

Or what about some new qualification to do with window cleaning that shows you are more professional!  These are the sort of things you should be doing to promote your business.

Regards.

Does that include telling people you are off to bed,how you went body boarding and watching the last episode of csi....

For Dan,

You should read fully what I have said Dan.

Look at where I have underlined the sentence in the quote.

Regards.

[ronnie paton]

i would like to also know how to use it to my businesses advantage, iv created a business page on facebook but how do people become members?

[cozy]

The way to get people to join as members is to advertize your page on other Facebook pages. Short introduction, what you do, who you are etc etc. If you want any help Ronnie, e-mail me, and I'll help you get started.

[james44]

Here`s how to do it, i got this from another site and it works!

There are groups on Facebook called "buy and sell in...(insert town or city)"

Just "like" the page or group first and then post a short ad on the wall with a link to your website two or three times a week. Brings in a few jobs and costs nowt

type in your own town or other areas you want to look for work in, join the groups or hit the like button and post your ad and your web address i did this monday and have 4 jobs already keep updating on the sites and have pics of any work on your site you have done!

As the above says go on these site 2/3 time a week to keep your add up near the top of postings.

ps It really does work!

[cozy]

Hit the nail on the head there. The only thingto remember is, open a group, not a page. So when people land on there, they can become members .

[mci services]

Hit the nail on the head there. The only thingto remember is, open a group, not a page. So when people land on there, they can become members .

right heres where I have went wrong, I opened a page I think so when I click on a local group and join it is me and not my business that like it, So do I delete the page and redo a group or do I sign up a new account with the business name?

[james44]

Open up another in your business stu" and link every thing to there even your friends and get them to link to their friends, keep updating as much as you can even if it only pics of a recent conservatory clean keep feeding information as to what you do as well as windows!

Hope this helps!

[cozy]

On your page Stu, go to "Home" and click. You will see on the left "Create a group". Click on it and follow from there.

[mci services]

Ok lads got it now ta

[Mr Bungalow]

Hello All,

Obviously everyone on here is new to things like Twitter and Facebook.

The whole idea with it is to promote what you do in your business.  That is where I went wrong at first until a web designer friend of mine told me different.

Basically, what he was telling me is, no one, even your customers want to know what you are doing every minute of the day.  What you should be doing however is put pictures of quality jobs into your tweet like for example if you do a job like uPVC restoring or a good quality conservatory roof clean for instance.

Or what about some new qualification to do with window cleaning that shows you are more professional!  These are the sort of things you should be doing to promote your business.

Regards.

Does that include telling people you are off to bed,how you went body boarding and watching the last episode of csi....

For Dan,

You should read fully what I have said Dan.

Look at where I have underlined the sentence in the quote.

Regards.

Sorry i didn't mean to offend in any way,i was just trying to make a bit of fun.
Twitter,facebook and no doubt all top future social sites will have a place for any business large or small.
Anyway to promote your business has got to be good,anyone who cannot see that will stay where they are.

Dan

Thanks for the apology Dan.

Regards.