Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: FRESHER on February 10, 2015, 05:31:20 pm
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I have this marketing idea, that I would like some feedback on. If your well established then this probably won't be for you however if your not, this may work.
Say your customer pays £10 per month WFP for there property to get windows cleaned. (keeping the numbers at a nice round level)
For every recommendation your customer gives you they get 25p off there monthly clean every month the new customer remains a customer.
So if your customer recommends 6 people who become your customer, they now only pay £8.50 per month, however you know have 6 new customers that are all trying to find you new customers.
It is a sort "pyramid scheme" in the way that it operates, however no one is ever paying over the odds or left with some useless product in the end.
You would obviously set a discount that you are comfortable with and limit each customer with a maximum amount of customers they can recommend. You could also remove the promotion at any time or reduce the discount.
Good points - hopefully quick growth, not every customer will be discounted, customers will be far more likely to recommend you to friends and family and people in the street
Bad points - reduced rates for some customers, admin work (although there could be some ways to make it easier)
Any thoughts on this?
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easier and far far less complicated to give em a free clean per recommendation ... done it in the past works well and will be doing it again ...... good customers tend to know other good customers
someone will be along to say along lines of you may give a £25 clean away for a £10 clean ... think long term ;)
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We give a half price clean for every customer they rec'd - no limit. Works well for us.
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do you really wanna mess around with 50p and 25ps
all my jobs are rounded off to pounds no pennies involved
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In theory a good idea, in practice a bad idea - in my opinion. Unless Sean 'everyone else is talking rubbish' K pipes up and proves otherwise.
The time you spend on all the admin side of things and forever reducing prices you would be better off getting higher priced new work. Plus people don't really take up incentives like that to be honest. Remember we are thinking about our jobs a lot - because its our business and income. If you explained that to the customer they would probably just say 'oh ok thanks' and not give it another thought. Saving a fraction on their window cleaning cost is so far down on their list of priorities.
Someone I know used to give his customers a £25 M&S voucher for a recommendation who lasted at least 3 cleans, thats a better way to do it. But it didn't make all his customers rush out and recommend him - they just don't think about window cleaning.
Having said that don't let one person put you off it - if you reckon it will work go for it and prove me wrong!
:)
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Agree with all the advice here - in a nutshell you're probably over thinking the strategy.
As Tom-01 says, your customers do not think about window cleaning in the same light as you do so much easier to go for a straightforward money off discount for each new customer.
I don't know about you guys but I have found that offering a referral discount did very little to affect recommendations - do a good job and your customers will be happy to recommend you anyway ;)
£25 M&S voucher per referral....sod that :P
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I dont give them anything apart from a thanks with recomendations.
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Free clean after the new custy has paid three cleans. Custy passed me to her daughter who hasn't paid three cleans so she is getting he-haw. I have now stopped her daughters as they don't answer and thinking of stopping hers as well for the inconvenience.
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Thanks for all the comments, Perhaps I am over thinking it? Will give it more thought. Although I think people are always looking to save a bit of money where they can. Some may go for it in a big way, some won't bother in it in the slightest.
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Perhaps I am over thinking it?
Yes you are. Canvass/leaflets/sign written van. The rest is fluff.
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+1 Do a better job than your competition! Simples...
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+1 Do a better job than your competition! Simples...
Spot on, most customers will recommend you to family, friends and neighbours if they like your work they
don't need an incentive.
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+1 Do a better job than your competition! Simples...
Spot on, most customers will recommend you to family, friends and neighbours if they like your work they
don't need an incentive.
You don't need to do a better job than the competition. Just keep looking for new customers with leaflets and / or canvassing.
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+1 Do a better job than your competition! Simples...
Spot on, most customers will recommend you to family, friends and neighbours if they like your work they
don't need an incentive.
Yup, that's what I find. When we start up, we can only recommend ourselves, but as we build up a good reputation, satisfied customers do it for us.
John
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25p you would be lucky to buy a mix up of sweets for that :P
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1. a quid or two is no incentive for a customer to go out of the way to recommend you.
2. It would be easier to canvass rather than f*** about
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no free cleans, no stupid marketing gimmicks
just the 3 c's canvass clean cull are all that is needed
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25p wow .
Best is like someone already said . If someone gets you a customer then knock them 50% off .
Awesome
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Thanks for all the replies, Ill take all the comments on board, to confirm, that's 25p x 12 months so£3.00 a year every year the scheme is in place, £15 a year on 5 recommends each year. But accept the fact nobody says it would work. Could easily try a larger discount like 50p as 25p just an example. I'm trying to look to see if there are any alternate methods than the traditional method to grow quickly, it wouldn't have to be a permanent fiscount. Nothing ventured nothing gained I my opinion.
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ive never offered any discount or incentive at all in 22 years of window cleaning.they either want a window cleaning service or not.
you need to canvass,canvass and canvass some more,drop leaflets and upsell your services if you need the work(offer f/s/g cleaning and conny roofs,solar panels etc as well as window cleaning)
once you get a few customers.always do a good job and be reliable.over the years you will get a lot of recommendations by word of mouth,people seeing you working when your out and about and seeing your van if its signwritten.
no quick fixes im afraid to building a solid core of reliable window cleaning customers IMO.it takes a few years.
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Sounds like a concept from a silly American "How to succeed in business" type book. ???
Forget the 25p discounts etc. before it gets overcomplicated.
Just clean windows and get paid, if you do a good enough regular job and are trustworthy then people will recommend you.
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ive never offered any discount or incentive at all in 22 years of window cleaning.they either want a window cleaning service or not.
you need to canvass,canvass and canvass some more,drop leaflets and upsell your services if you need the work(offer f/s/g cleaning and conny roofs,solar panels etc as well as window cleaning)
once you get a few customers.always do a good job and be reliable.over the years you will get a lot of recommendations by word of mouth,people seeing you working when your out and about and seeing your van if its signwritten.
no quick fixes im afraid to building a solid core of reliable window cleaning customers IMO.it takes a few years.
Spot on. It seems to me that the reason there are so may start ups that fail is because of the misconception that it is quick, easy money. Once you are established, it is, but it takes a lot of determination and effort to get there, and many are discouraged when faced with bad weather, non-payers, the not today brigade, etc. I am nearly 4 years in from building my second run, and it is taking a lot longer than when I originally started 18 years ago.
John
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I am with you above.
It always amazes me how much time and focus going into cleaning and more so the collecting cash. Its all the rest that is the work we do. And if I had time to list all the none seen crap we must do to clean glass, then one soon realizes cash is a small but vital part. It would make a interesting list of all the know how and skill you need to be a window cleaner. And don`t say its easy for if it was this forum would not be so busy answering questions about the easy it was to be a windy.
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Almost anybody can clean a window.
Most people couldn't run a successful window cleaning business though.
IMO
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Almost anybody can clean a window.
Most people couldn't run a successful window cleaning business though.
IMO
You would be surprised at how many who cant especially when using WFP, most newbie WFP cleaners in my area
fail simply because they cant use the equipment properly or understand what type of frame is going to cause problems
and how to stop these problems from happening.
They think its just a matter of scrubbing and rinsing everything between the bricks.
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Almost anybody can clean a window.
Most people couldn't run a successful window cleaning business though.
IMO
You would be surprised at how many who cant especially when using WFP, most newbie WFP cleaners in my area
fail simply because they cant use the equipment properly or understand what type of frame is going to cause problems
and how to stop these problems from happening.
They think its just a matter of scrubbing and rinsing everything between the bricks.
it is really bar the odd dodgy rubber seal sean!works for me! ;D
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Almost anybody can clean a window.
Most people couldn't run a successful window cleaning business though.
IMO
Bang on mate , People dont realise what is involved and once they realise that its crap not getting holiday pay etc and not getting paid they drift back to been an employee .
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Almost anybody can clean a window.
Most people couldn't run a successful window cleaning business though.
IMO
You would be surprised at how many who cant especially when using WFP, most newbie WFP cleaners in my area
fail simply because they cant use the equipment properly or understand what type of frame is going to cause problems
and how to stop these problems from happening.
They think its just a matter of scrubbing and rinsing everything between the bricks.
Very true, This week I've just taken three customers from a WFP user who cant clean properly, his loss, my gain. Even had two ex customers phone me up asking if I'd take them back from a trad cleaner who undercut me (scumbags imo) ;D