Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: ianharper on October 18, 2005, 07:34:54 am
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Hi Guys
How many ways are there to advertise free? Or pay once but get repeat use out of idea?
Reconmendation, Van, Signs, Knocking on doors,
Having a good marketing mix will bring more prospects that just have one great idea, so I am looking for ways to expand my marketing. The ideas dont have to be carpet cleaning related. taking ideas from over service ideas and making them work is a good way to be fresh with your marketing.
How whould you become a big fish in your little pond? As we all know its getting your name in frount of a prospect when they have a need for your services, or tempting them with some kind of offer, money is always the limiting factor for any business big or small. so making every pound count matters.
I am a great believer in "return on marketing investment" making the marketing pay fot itself, And I have about eight systems working for me at the moment. But I would like many more so any ideas?
Respect
Ian Harper
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Ian,mine at present are:
1. van sign writing.
2.yell.com.
3.yellow pages.
4.thompson local.
5.leaflets
6.parish/church mags
7.local ad mags A5 size
8.Internet leads from places other than yell ie business link
9.NCCA referals
10.customer referals
11.leaflet through neighbours doors when working in street.
12.noise from truckmount generating interest/questions
But like you always would try new stuff!
Cheers
Paul
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MONTHLY MAIL OUT to old customers I find is by far the easiest and cheapest form of promotion, in addition to those listed above
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:o
Hi Ian
I think Pauls cracked it but 1 way I get good return is your local super stores tesco B&Q I take great pride in the apperance of my equipment so flaunt it. approach your superstores they will charge a small fee but sit there with your van while not working with the door open a few leeflets, cards and fridge magnets and chat too the locals. just dont park outside the carpet superstores i dont think they would like that he he
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Hi Ian,
I have found getting involved with your towns local business clubs to be of great benefit.
It takes time, but will open alot of doors.
Some, like the local FSB club costs a nominal fee once a month, others have breakfast meetings (which are nice, cause it's very rare I get a nice english breakfast before work), which you pay a nominal annual fee for....others like the BNI are somewhat more intense and meet weekly....and do cost some more.
Hope i'm not teaching you to suck eggs, but thats my 10 peneth.
Kind Rgds
Tony.
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Just thought of a few more,shop windows,and carpet stores for referal work,re upholsterers for the same,dry cleaners/launderettes.
Paul
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Thanks Guys
Keep them coming. I interested to how many I can keep running at one time.
I am doing some test at the moment for prospect list building for allergy sufferers and also renters, let you know how I get on when i have some more data.
Paul your 5 around works really well got a £150 job just last week from it. changed the offer from 50% off to buy one room and get second free much better for me.
How many of you do work for people moving? (not renter ) and how many use joe polish audits?
Respect
Ian Harper
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Hi Guys
I am Interested in how you find out information from your customers?
For example how do you find out if they rent the house, or if anyone sufferers from asthma, how they found you, who they used last time they had their carpets cleaned? etc
Each prospect and then custromer should lead onto more business or extra services.
Respect
Ian Harper
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hopefully you willsee my latest leaflet here
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or this
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Any comments?, I am putting the phone no on the front, and a few other minor changes before going to print
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Hi All
Flyers through letter box's seam to work the best. I have done a couple of rented houses where the owner insists that all carpets are cleaned prior to handing house over. Been putting flyers under windscreen wipers in supermarket car parks etc. People do not like to litter so they are kept in the car !
May all your problems be little ones :o
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How many of you do The Free Room promotion to new prospects.?
ie You have won a Free Room,
Nit buy one get one free etc,
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Try you'r local BNI. They meet once a week for a breakfast meeting. I've been a member for two years and get a thirty -one return on my investment and get a good breakfast thrown in
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Hi Ian
We tried free room, with no luck, changed it to buy two areas and get one free, much better.
I think that prospects think that there is a catch? with the free room
Respect
Ian Harper
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Hi all,
Whilst driving around swansea today ,in about a mile i saw 14 ads attached to lamposts for "hobnumptys" oven cleaners i assume they have them all over swansea. has anyone tried this or does anyone know how to get permission etc? I think its a good idea. any comments?
ollie
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It is strickly against the law. Local Councils now have more power to prosecute and fine Fly Posters They couls also get an Anti Social Behaviour Order.
Obviously it all depends on your local council and indeed the local Councillor for your ward and if they care about the apearance of their patch.
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I have noticed that the bulletin boards in the local supermarkets seems to work quite well. Everytime I am there someone is reading all of the ads. Personally I think the pole posting is quite tacky and cluttering.
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Jason ads look very professional, looks like you are going to dual income and got kids family! perhaps go for 'natural cleaning' it works well with that style of family.
Shaun
PS in your ad you say that carpets are dry within 1 hour with your low moisture system, why are you after a TM?
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Hi Shaun , want truckmount for upholstery, and for commercial where pad method just wont do, also for flood extraction work
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Hi Jasonl
Great layout.
I would have put much more about safe to kids and drying times, we move everthing etc on the benfit list, as you are going for mums so you must think like one. if she has a small child how is she going to move things? she will be worried if your process is safe for kids, and how quickly she can use the area again. its no fun stuck in the kitchen with the kids.
Plus I would have given added value in extra service for free and not talked about price as this might give the impression that you have high prices say Spend over £100 and get £10 off better to say if you go this way 10% off all prices until X date
Please dont take my coments the wrong way. Respect to you
Respect
Iasn Harper
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My lealfet is not as professional as Jason's, however, I get a great response from it. This may be because I am giving more away.. but not a bogof!
Spend between £15 & £30 - get £2 off
Spend between £30 & £50 - get £5 off
Spend between £50 & £100 - get £10 off
Spend over £100 - get £25 off
Works for me!
Chris
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Hi Guys
Its not what you pay for your leaflets its what they give you back in return on your investment.
Respect
ian Harper
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the above leaflet cost £1252 for 40000 inc design , photography, delivery and printing on 150 gram paper then 650 for delivery, most months there will be a £ 6000 return on this , is that ok?
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Hi Guys
Do you live in a town where some other carpet cleaner has all the estate agent and letting as clients? Well I have just come up with a way around this. I call it dive by marketing -)
Most houses that are let in any town are always having new tenants and waht happens when it changes hands? they have their carpets cleaned. As I drive up and down streets each day and I see a sign that the house it for let I get the address and put in a datbase that will have sales letters sent out addressed to the tenant. send them out each and every month and the month that that house changes hands you will be the one cleaning the carpets not the other guy.
This method can be used for many other cases, like builders, kitchen fitters, new bathrooms. if you see a van parked outside a house then send a sales letter. as most people that have an event like these will want to show off to their friends, no good if they have a nice new kitchen and dirty smelly carpets everywhere in the house.
Thes events are no differant that xmas etc, they are events. and if you talk to your customers you will find out that ther is allways a reason that they have their carperts cleaned, and it not just because they are dirty.
Plus the bonus is that they will have the money to spend on our services as they would have saved or lent the money to have the work done.
Respect
Ian Harper
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Ian
That is a good one I was reading about a similiar idea the other day, but yours is much more elaborate and a way to build a data base.
Hope you do not mind me asking but do you just do the marketing and get your staff to clean the carpets.
Regards
Ian
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Hi Ian
Bit of both at the moment, I have a maid service with about twenty staff and I am train some up on the carpet side. As I hace said I think taht females are the way forwards. I have had loads of experance with men and because they are the bread winners they after time start to think of ways to con and nick the work. I am saying that females dont its that they are less of a risk, and when its your money that matters.
Its one other reason that I all for these new portables taht can used from the van. it makes it easier for females. plus you can have them on part time somthing that does not go down with men very well.
Its a catch twent two, that to build your business you must focus on marketing but this is hard when you have to earn money to pay the bills. Plus you need extra money at the start of a business to build that datbase. so by splitting it you make it posable to expand and still pay you bills.
One reason that I am intersted in low cost marketing is that its low cost and you can do lots more. I want to get as many marketing systems going as i posably can. I am testing all the time. We have just testing at the moment a leaflet with ten differant offers on it and it is at the moment not doing as good as the another one that only has one offer on it. I am going to change the headline to see if that make any differance.
Setting out knowing that you want to build a business and not just be selfemployed is so important. It is the hard way of making money as so often it just easier to do it yourself and get it right the first time. but learning to deal with problems are all part of it. something that you dont expect when you set out.
Respect
Ian Harper
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Hi Guys
Thats about 16 so far, lets see how many we can come up with? I post list later.
Respect
Ian Harper
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Ian,
The internet.
Cheers
Doug
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Doug
How do you promote your site?
Respect
Ian Harper
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Van Sign
Yell.com
Yellow Pages
Church Mags
Local Mags
Business Link
NCCA Referrals
Customer Referrals
B&Q
Local Business Clubs
Shop Windows
Thompson Local
5 Around
Mail Old Customers
Mail Newsletters
Leaflets
The Internet
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Paul
How good are the church mags with regrads return on investment? I have just had a look at my Yellow pages and ther are about three hundred in my local area. What type of responce have you had?
Its an interestning media as I should think that people look forwards to getting their copy each month and will read it. might be a good place for an additorial? Or a offer to only the worshipers at so and so church.
Might leave out the kingdom halls -) Dont have the time to stop and chat -)
Respect
Ian Harper
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Get to know your local carpet retailer and carpet fitters. Leave him your business card. I've have loads of calls to STAINGUARD newley laid carpets from these guys. A nice little earner.
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The only 2 problems I can see with the free or low cost advertising list is they aren't free and most aren't low cost.
Booyakasha,
Gary
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Ian
Why have you got so much information on your website .
I find it quite overwhelming and give up reading.
Or do you find that if customers want their carpets cleaning they will read it all.
this is not a criticism just wondered
Neil
ps Thanks for giving out so much information as I find a lot say a lot but don’t explain a lot. ??? ???
PPS I find this a well set out site
http://www.cleaningdoctor.net/services.html
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Ian,
church mags willbring in the odd job but i have only started using them recently so dont have figures.
One mag got me a job in first issue which paid for the add for the year(comes out monthly) so should do ok.
a lot of local ad mags cropping up in my area at the mo so i am giving them a go
Cheers
Paul
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I ad in several local community mags ie Church and village. They are about £25-35 per year and mostly pay for themselve over and over.
A lady from another village visited a cust and got my ad, I now have half a dozen regulars in that village. ( I am envious of those ccs who do not travel more than 3 miles. Living in the sticks has its advantages but increases the milage, 13000 last year, none private.) Also country lanes are accident prone, Two bumps in 3 months, waiting for the third!
Trevor
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Hi Guys
Gary, costs are depndant on in you get a return on your investment. for example if you spend out say, £200 on some leaflet and del, and you get one or two jobs from it and you made it back includeing your time and costs. , then you are braek evan on this investment. now later that year you get repeat or reconmendation from these leads then you are starting to get a return on your investment.
so the first visit its cost you nothing and the second you start to make on them. this is called frount end and back end. it if make money on the frount then well done, but the profit should be made on the back end.
Its no differant than a phone company giving you a phone for free. they know that they will make money out you over the contact. We give away loads to get people on our list. you can evan work out how much you can give away on the front end if you keep all your numbers on retern on the investment.
so if you spnt out £10k on some marketing if you get it back on the front end then its been free at this point. then you can go on and make money from these prospect on the back end with addons. referals, reconmandations, and second cleans.
Neil, The more you tell the more you sell. We all have differant things that will make us spend our money. so by identifying as many of these you hit the spot of as many prospects as you can.
What we have to remember is that if we take money from a customer that some of it has to go back into the business to replace the money spent getting this new customer. its not all wages. by doing this your business and marketing become easier as time goes by. because you are not chasing new customers all the time.
You would think that peole would remember you after a year? think again they will not. thats why you have to keep your name in front of them each month. using newsletters.
Respect
ian harper