Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: tim handley on January 27, 2016, 09:24:50 pm
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one for the marketing experts... simple question, do you think displaying prices on your
web page is a good thing? or do you think it can put folks off???
cant make my mind up...........
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You have prices on yours, next guy doesn't. Who's going to get a phone call?
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enlighten us?
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I have guideline prices which doesn't mean its cast in stone.
I get lots of enquiries even though I have the guide lines.
Who knows? If they see my price at say £50 and then they call another Cc who quotes £100 who will they book?
You cant judge what the public think IMO
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Depends how its sold to the customer Wayne. If the customer phones the £100 guy and says "i'm needing my carpet cleaned" and the £100 guy says "that'll be £100". Then she might as well go with the £50 guy. Plus, a low price puts some people off.
Going back to the original question. If you are in the middle to higher price then its best not to mention prices as you want people to call so that you can sell to them. If you are happy at cleaning for £20 a room, £50 a suite etc then plaster it everywhere! Its your only selling point.
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Again we go back to the higher price is the better job.
Ive had a glut of carpets recently which to be honest have been relatively clean.I did one for a friend last week for whom I did a thorough job yet the carpet looked no different after cleaning.
A £20 a room man could have cleaned it and it wouldn't have looked any diffrerent.
This is an area of CC that I find confusing.We hear that we should target high end and charge top rates for quality work.All the high end clients I have.have clean carpets and to be honest a basic porty could do the same as a TM.
Does anyone really have high end clients with minging carpets that really show up that you are better than lower priced CCers
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One or two but not frequent.
It's all about perception imo, and the high end tend to be more loyal where as the low end seem to be price oriantated I.e you do a good job for a low price then next year they look for the same job but a lower fee so ring round.
I had someone ring me asking me to quote a suite clean over the phone a 3 + 2 I said I need to visit to give accurate price to determine fabric, staining etc. They wanted a guide so I said £100-150 there reply was someone quoted £80 can you do it for that? so I said use them because I know they will be ringing around again when they need something cleaning. If it's all about price I don't want them as a customer.
Don't shot me just my thoughts.
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A couple of years a go I put a price page for carpet cleaning on my website killed my calls dead, for upholstery cleaning I said there was so Much variation in fabrics, styles & size then I needed to be do in-home quote
I was putting a list of high prices almost double what some other local cleaners were charging, I put a lot of text that really sold why my service was better but still it cut the calls.
If you charge prices that are compatible with you local competition then you could put prices on your website you could even have slightly higher prices if you sell yourself well, but a high price company needs to talk to the potential customer to explain the difference
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Explain what difference Mike.
As Wayne has said.....I too have done carpets and upholstery that were so clean a RD could have done the job.
Have done some suites that just did not need doing and barely looked any different.....could have skipped the vac, pre spray and agitation and just gone straight in and extracted probably saving a good hour on the job.
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The thing that normally clinches the deal for me is that I let them know if there are any problems, stains coming back etc I will be straight round to sort it ( I add this doesnt happen often ! ) . its a bit of reasurance to them that you wont take the money and run and starts a good customer relationship.
They also like the honesty that sometimes there are problems but we're able to sort them out......
If you charge £20 a room you are not inclined to go back and rectify problems or there perceived problems, if you charge more like £80 then its no bother.......... you are happy to do so as they are a good paying customer.
Its not all about the clean but the extra mile you might go for them....
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To give a difference that is specific to me.
On the first page of Google for my area is a company that charges less than half my price, I know them well and often have a chat in our local Costa over a Latte, to compare them to me is like comparing Liverpool FC to a Sunday league team..... the skill level between us is that much.
this company uses a single vac machine, they use powerburst on everything even using it to bonnet clean carpets. I mentioned using blowers to dry suites and they did'nt know what a blower was.
They will just say "a suite cost £55" to any call they get for suite cleaning, they don't ask how big, how dirty, any stains? Nothing it's just........ "suite cleaning £55"
I quote £180 for suite cleaning unless I can explain the difference between us I would never get any suites to clean and even then if I quote £180 over the phone even after explaining the difference I would not get many. I need to get in the house to give them a quote.
I do lots of suite that look no difference when I've finished but the end result is not just what the customers get for their money, they get a full service....cleaned, usually dry, zero chemicals left on the fabric, advice on how to care for it, how to deal with any stains that might happen.
Not all carpet cleaners are equal and clean the same, but the customer doesn't know that unless we explain
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You say they so is there more than one
I have quit the business due to ill health but I was half thinking of staging yet another Comeback as I still get calls , looked in my local paper Suites £40 first Carpet £25 One of my rivals appears to be cleaning everything including Grave Stones ,
With High End Market you need high end vaN AND HIGH END NEW equipment as people are buying the status
Do I need the hazzle No
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We had prices on our website and had very, very little calls. Prices stayed on for around 5 months. Took them off, got loads of calls. Our website is very highly ranked for many key words in Leeds, so get a lot of calls, and work. Get lots of referrals too from existing customers...
My personal opinion, keep prices off, get the calls and sell yourself!
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I have prices on
www.dry-fresh.co.uk I get loads of calls, they are staying on , I am mid priced though.
For me it is about low hanging fruit , £300 a day home by 3 kind of work.
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As said the higher your price compared to others in your area the more you have to sell your services on 'not price alone' Some cleaners sell by price which means they have a booking telephone line where usually no sales lingo is needed.
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£300 a day you'll never get it ;D
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Personally I would never publish prices on a website.
Why?
Well it removes the need for the customer to ring you for a price because you've already told them it and thereby denies you the opportunity to sell both you and your services.
It encourages price shoppers (don't forget they think we are all the same and regardless of how much, or little they pay, they think they are getting the same thing)
That said, there is nothing wrong in stating, prices from £xxx, which has the effect of putting the price shoppers off. Depending on what end of the market you are aiming for, the people looking for a proper professional job will expect to pay a reasonable sum to get that.
Simon
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I used to get the dregs when I had prices on my site. Although I have found the response rate to be pretty much the same now as it was before. However, I now enjoy going round to quote, I'm not into pressure sales but I enjoy the hunt and like to push myself to see how much I can earn. So now, I get better quality customers and earn better money.
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A couple of years a go I put a price page for carpet cleaning on my website killed my calls dead, for upholstery cleaning I said there was so Much variation in fabrics, styles & size then I needed to be do in-home quote
I was putting a list of high prices almost double what some other local cleaners were charging, I put a lot of text that really sold why my service was better but still it cut the calls.
If you charge prices that are compatible with you local competition then you could put prices on your website you could even have slightly higher prices if you sell yourself well, but a high price company needs to talk to the potential customer to explain the difference
Expensive to you may not be expensive to your clients you say £180 is expensive but if you customer owns a successfully business and earns 3 to 4 thousand a week he will loose sight of the value of money and if is suite cost a few thousand pounds he wouldn't want a cowboy to clean it for £50.00.
High end customers are willing to pay more for quality
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But you have to cater for your average client not the ones who earn £200k a year, which for most of us will be in the very minority.
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I' m not expensive compared to a lot but I generally quote £50 to do a lounge 3 + 2 seater sofa around £100 so not ott but got a shock when quoted lounge carpet before Christmas at £50 and the guy said quote " the polish lad will do it for £25" so why is he still ringing round - does he want it done for less than that?
John
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Yes
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I' m not expensive compared to a lot but I generally quote £50 to do a lounge 3 + 2 seater sofa around £100 so not ott but got a shock when quoted lounge carpet before Christmas at £50 and the guy said quote " the polish lad will do it for £25" so why is he still ringing round - does he want it done for less than that?
John
hes still phoning round because he knows how cheap he can get it, he just doesnt want to use the polish lad, we get it occasionally where they only want us to do it but at someone elses price, makes us chuckle.
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Hi Guys
If you have prices on your website you are competing on just price, potential customers are unlikely to ring for more info.
I can get a pretty good idea , say within 5 seconds the likely-hood of the caller being the sort of customer who I want and who wants me.
Some customers are receptive to new arguments but the vast majority have already made up their minds the price which hey are prepared to pay.
Cheers
Doug
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some good stuff here, ive read it all and mulled it over... prices are coming off my site......................
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Derek has it sussed I think Dave Ingram once said it was Champagne at Lemonade prices which describes it nicely, however you cast your marketing net you will always get those who want professionalism on the cheap.
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Tim
yes you can and it works, but you must show what value you are giving as price is judged on all services being the same. by having your message show and tell prospects that price is not the thing they should use to choose a carpet cleaner you will stand out.
USP is about how you are different and why. most prospects dont know any other ways to judge a carpet cleaner thats why JP wrote the consumers guide. educating prospects. price without a message will not work and thats what most that put prices on marketing dont understand
Also selling by packages will sow a seed that all services are not the same. you will be surprised how different each carpet cleaners service is. thats why prices differ as well as high overheads.
why should a customer pay with light soil and no stains pay the same as one with high soil and loads of stains. or empty rooms compared with ones filler with stuff they want moved? This is what you need to get over in your message.
BTW there is nothing wrong with a basic service (just cleaning carpets) after all when they phone this is what they are asking for. furniture moving, etc should be extra cost. time is money.
So when prospects and other carpet cleaners judge you on price without details then it like comparing apples with oranges.
BTW the view that low price equals poor service is bad. and high price equals good, is rubbish. this goes to the heart of what I am saying that value is key. saying someone that is low price is uneducated in cleaning is wrong. Prospects will take it as said that anyone that is in business is a professional. thats why scammers get away with what they do.
its basic economics that market forces drive price. dont take my word for it. do a split test. which you should always be doing. once you get a bench mark you can try and better it. drive two different message to two different pages. this way the market will tell you which is best. One reason adwords is so great.
below is a very old example of how to show value, your welcome to use
(http://www.southend.cleaning-carpet.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/clean-team-v-the-others.jpg)
Respects
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I always think its bad marketing to downgrade the competition, you can't possibly know what every other carpet cleaner is doing.
By all means emphasize what YOU do and why you are value for money, but I find when a trade rubbishes others I'm not interested...... its sloppy marketing.........
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Yes....a lot of the "others" could probably answer yes to your questions so.....in fact it's almost libellous.