Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: ianharper on June 27, 2007, 08:18:12 pm
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Hi Guys
Just sitting down to write a new A3 flier and putting together some ideas. as you might now I am using the Bio-Eco USP and have come up with 10 benefits.
So What’s Bio-Eco Carpet Cleaning?
Its Plant Based Cleaning Products With Carbon Neutral Cleaning methods.
What Are The Benefits To Me?
1. It safe to you, your family, your pets and the environment.
2. It does not cost you any extra
3. When the environments benefits you and your family will.
3. NO ammonia. NO animal products. NO Bacteria or Enzymes. NO artificial ingredients. NO isopropyl alcohol. NO phosphates. NO solvents (apart from water). NO synthetic chemicals. NO harmful ingredients. 4. NO Soap or detergents .
5. Derived from renewable/sustainable sources. Fully Biodegradable.
6. No residue left, that means no rapped resoling like traditional products
7. No water pollution.
8. Reduce Endocrine disruption in wildlife, which reduces the ability to reproduce.
9. Reduce Bioaccumulation In fish. (Which we eat.)
10. Lastly your carpets are the lungs of your home trapping harmful particles stopping you and your family breathing them in.
The above can be use as the basis of any marketing. its give prospect the 10 benefits for using a Eco cleaner. It also puts you in a position of knowledge. prospects don't want to think about this stuff but do care, so its much easier to use professionals that take care of it for them.
I will post the new A3 on my blog when i have had it checked some time in the next week.
How are you all finding this new approach? I am finding lots of interest. but as I said people need it sorted for them.
Respect
Ian Harper
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I,ve tryed the eco friendly approach on leaflets and Im finding that customers arnt arsed they just want there carpets cleaned, and dry as soon as possible
John
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Hi John
With respect that's a bit of a general sweeping statement. to say that all your customers don't care. I was thinking about how it would be possible to get answers to questions like this today, no one has ever bothered to ask people what they think about carpet cleaning and what value it has to them.
I might look into a questionnaire survey like they do with consumer products. I heard one today that was done on the public view on Gorden brown, it was done by Essex university and they asked 1,000 people. the guy that did it predicts voting trends.
We all have our view and i respect yours, but don't you think that it would be better to base them on more wide sweeping data?
Respect
ian harper
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For what its worth I think John has hit the nail on the head. Sweeping statement maybe but I would say very accurate. On the whole we could use a thermic lance and if it does as John has suggested, cleaned and dried the carpet then job done.
If they were concerned about "eco" then they wouldnt have a carpet in the first place.
Best, Dave.
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Ian , you are right it was sweeping statement But im affraid to say its true , when a customer phones me they want there carpets/ upholstery cleaning. I try to educate them regarding eco friendly products and that maintaining there carpets will save them money and the enviroment in the long run but they dont seem interested.
Example , Went to a house today customer a teacher on maternaty leave she paid £2000 on her lounge HSL carpet 8 months ago , the carpet looked like it had nt been vacked since it was fitted I started off using formula 321 with a ph of 10.5 it still looked bad ended up using champion from craftex just to get something that resembled a result
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some random thoughts
'if it can't be sold in 30 seconds, then it won't be bought' explain eco-cleaning in 30 seconds or it will outlast the attention span of the average reader
forget the planet, customers are thinking what's in it for me and give them what they want, not what you think they need.
stop trying to re-invent the wheel,
MIKE
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Ian
Are you the same bloke who does the Powergen adverts on TV.
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guys
think about the word "marketing" it has a big difference to selling
selling is trying to sell something to someone that does not need it, but marketing is sell to a need or demand. big difference.
and yes you are both right, because what you are talking about is selling
respect
ian harper
prodry: Yes I am the love child between him and mother earth
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Why People Buy
by Jay Conrad Levinson
Print Printer Friendly Version
Perhaps you already know why people buy, but do you know all 51 reasons? The more of those reasons you know, the better you'll be able to market.
Geoff Ayling, in his superb book, "Rapid Response Advertising," provides
wannabe guerrillas with a full fifty reasons why people buy. There are
really far more than fifty, but I have a feeling that these fifty will get
your creative juices flowing. People make purchases for these, among many reasons:
1. To make more money – even though it can’t buy happiness
2. To become more comfortable, even a bit more
3. To attract praise – because almost everybody loves it
4. To increase enjoyment – of life, of business, of virtually anything
5. To possess things of beauty – because they nourish the soul
6. To avoid criticism – which nobody wants
7. To make their work easier – a constant need to many people
8. To speed up their work – because people know that time is precious
9. To keep up with the Joneses – there are Joneses in everybody’s lives
10. To feel opulent – a rare, but valid reason to make a purchase
11. To look younger – due to the reverence placed upon youthfulness
12. To become more efficient – because efficiency saves time
13. To buy friendship – I didn’t know it’s for sale, but it often is
14. To avoid effort – because nobody loves to work too hard
15. To escape or avoid pain – which is an easy path to making a sale
16. To protect their possessions – because they worked hard to get them
17. To be in style – because few people enjoy being out of style
18. To avoid trouble – because trouble is never a joy
19. To access opportunities – because they open the doors to good things
20. To express love – one of the noblest reasons to make any purchase
21. To be entertained – because entertainment is usually fun
22. To be organized – because order makes lives simpler
23. To feel safe – because security is a basic human need
24. To conserve energy – their own or their planet’s sources of energy
25. To be accepted – because that means security as well as love
26. To save time -- because they know time is more valuable than money
27. To become more fit and healthy -- seems to me that’s an easy sale
28. To attract the opposite sex – never undermine the power of love
29. To protect their family – tapping into another basic human need
30. To emulate others – because the world is teeming with role models
31. To protect their reputation – because they worked hard to build it
32. To feel superior – which is why status symbols are sought after
33. To be trendy – because they know their friends will notice
34. To be excited – because people need excitement in a humdrum life
35. To communicate better -- because they want to be understood
36. To preserve the environment – giving rise to cause-related marketing
37. To satisfy an impulse – a basic reason behind a multitude of purchases
38. To save money – the most important reason to 14% of the population
39. To be cleaner – because unclean often goes with unhealthy and unloved
40. To be popular – because inclusion beats exclusion every time
41. To gratify curiosity -- it killed the cat but motivates the sale
42. To satisfy their appetite – because hunger is not a good thing
43. To be individual – because all of us are, and some of us need assurance
44. To escape stress – need I explain?
45. To gain convenience – because simplicity makes life easier
46. To be informed – because it’s no joy to be perceived as ignorant
47. To give to others – another way you can nourish your soul
48. To feel younger – because that equates with vitality and energy
49. To pursue a hobby – because all work and no play etc. etc. etc.
50. To leave a legacy – because that’s a way to live forever
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Ian
You seem to have lots of ideas but do you ever actually implement them?
What sort of results are you achieving as thats the bottom line regardless of the message.
MArk
PS. as others have said people arnt interested in it. Look what happened to allerstop.
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Why people employ carpet cleaners
by John Gregory
printer friendley version
1 to clean carpets
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I think it worth 'paper' advertising as a subheading and it may be a selling point but not then major one for most people, quality of clean and drying times are my most asked questions then I give my price.
Shaun
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Hi Mark
Check out my site
www.carpet-upholstery-cleaner.com
Marketing is about finding that market. it takes time to find where these groups of people hang out. that's why allergstop went wrong. nick was advertising in the allergy mag, when he should have been in the sister mag asthma. (among other reasons)
Big difference between how people see allergies, say the word allergy and they all think about food allergies and if you read the "allergy" mag that's what it was about. asthma is about allergies that are caused by air, and allergstop was about air allergens. plus the name was wrong why call it allergstop and not allergystop. one letter makes a big difference to how you say the word, and how it communicates to the reader
Dan kennedy has a saying that small hinges swing big doors. or the devil is in the detail.
You wrote the word message, so you know about message to market match then? if message is unimportant then what are prospects buying on then cost. that's a one way street.
Carpet cleaners have banged on for years about being looked at as just dirt suckers. we all know that there is a science to cleaning but the public don't. Every job I go on in my starter pack are copies of my city and guilds and prospects are blown away when they see them because they see cleaning as easy, and because they can do it, it has no value.
many join NCCA to gain this credibility with prospects and it works. Why because over many years they have worked to promote professional cleaning.
Things are changing. the super bug is seeing to that. people now know how important cleaning can be and has always been. lets not let them forget. Eco cleaning is just being responsible with what you sue and how you use it, just as important as hygiene.
There are many that believe the Eco movement and many that just talk the talk, I do jobs for customers that have Eco cleaning products under their sink and are using me because of my Eco USP but have big cars on their drives and life styles that and nor Eco friendly. as you guys are pointing out many people don't give a dam. change is hard and how ever little it must be good and responsible.
if the science guys are right then it worth it, if not then its good business practice.
Respect
Ian Harper
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Chris Straker has changed his business over to the Eco clean and has done very well out of it, it gives him a better audience who are ready to buy a not normal product at a not normal price but the hardest thing is finding that audience. I don't believe YP is the way as it is mass where as the glossy mags and websites are for the more disconcerning.
Shaun
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There have been many attempts over the past 20 years to introduce so called Bio Eco friendly products and as stated several times above.................
Whatever service or product you are selling, what your prospect wants to know, is, what it will do for them and that usually goes a bit beyond a clean carpet.
Most carpet / upholstery cleaning is done for a specific reason...........................brother / sister visiting from Canada...................21st birthday, etc, etc. This is vanity cleaning and has nothing to do with, cleaning for health reasons
The occasional clean, is because, a new baby is due, or a pet has messed up and these are the most likely situations, when you might be asked about the safety, of products.
Incidentally, Ian," " marketing "is ANYTHING that creates ............An awareness / A need / A desire, for a product, or service !!!
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Ian, if they aint gonna listen then its their loss, we recently added an eco option to our flyers, and to be honest we dont even mention it to callers they have the option and they choose it, even though it costs them Twice the price of a detergent clean! to us its a no brainer, if you dont offer it, how can you expect to see any result from it.
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Hi guys
Well another interesting subject.
As ian said nearly 7 out of 10 clients of ours have eco friendly products under their sink.
Come to think of it again this is about marketing , and educating people towards healthy living without doing any damage to the earth.
All you have to do just look in to your local super market and see how they are making billions of ££££££ just out of this eco friendly logo.
Regards
Bosh
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Boshravie Im sure it will work one day just not yet Ive just looked under my sink and found Biological washing powder, fairy washing up liquid, why do i buy these products? because i now they work . Procter and Gamble give you a choice in the supermarket bio or non bio I wonder which is there best seller?
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A3 leaflet now on blog
http://cleanersnetwork.wordpress.com/
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Ian well impressed with leaflet hope it works , I like the way you are trying to educate the potential customer about protecting there investment in carpets and upholstery
John
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Punters buy non-bio washing powder over bio washing powder for one reason and one reason only. Their young childrens skin.... Ask your wives what the difference between the two is if you dont belive me. There is virtually no enviriomental reason to choose between the two.
People buy 4 x 4's for the same reason, move areas for schools and so on...
Therefore your marketing surely should be more towards the health benifits for having clean carpets rather then the punters worries about the sex lives of fish.
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I think many carpet cleaner get lost, remember what earns you money and keep doing it.
Dont do it, its to small a market.
im still waiting for someone to call me to come out and kill there dustmites (the last bandwagon im glad i never got on)
i think all this speculation comes from to much time on your hands lol!
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guys
think about the word "marketing" it has a big difference to selling
selling is trying to sell something to someone that does not need it, but marketing is sell to a need or demand. big difference.
and yes you are both right, because what you are talking about is selling
With respect
I would dispute your definition of selling.
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Prodry, With respect
The bio in washing powder is biological meaning enzyme based
the bio that i am on about is the indication or involvement of plant just like bio-diesel
Respect
Ian Harper
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Hi Guys
Ian , the confusion over what Bio means, different things to different people, is why I have gone down the Green Carpet Cleaning route as I believe more people will be aware of this.
Cheers
Doug
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Ian
I just think you are marketing to much on the enviromental side at the expence of the health side. I think people would be more concerned about chemicals in their carpets to what goes down their drain.
The positives are no nasty chemicals, killing dust mites, reducing asthama/allergys etc....
Being kind to the enviroment is also a positive but the above are an imediate benifit to the custy. There are many more peopl;e who worry about their kids health or who suffer from asthma or allergies then the green issue.
It's rule number 1 of marketing, present a problem then offer a solution. You are not going to be able to save the planet but you can help stop their kids allergies etc.
Just my thoughts.
Good luck with it.
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Hi ian must say haven't looked on your blogs for a while (havent had the time) just had a look at the new leaflet must say it is bloody brilliant mate well done was thinking about adding the same sort of things to my own back along to try and educate the customers abit more, i did actually get something typed out but that was as far as it got. Must say i think you are a true credit to this forum and carpet cleaning in general and very generous to share what you do with others. Will have to catch up with the rest of your blogs when i got 5 is all your old stuff still on there?
Keep up the good work mate, i for one certainly appreciate it.
Regards
matt
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Ian,
I think what you are trying to do is geat. I ask people all the time are we cleaning for health, or to improve appearance. 99% reply appearance. Some care about harmful chemicals, but most don't.
Many years ago I was told that people buy for 1 of 2 reasons. Pleasure or Pain. With carpet cleaning that, IMO, relates to, Pleasure - I want to know my carpets are clean, even when they don't look dirty or Pain- Just get them clean ! If you understand where they are coming from then you can adjust your approach. Those that derive pleasure from clean carpets will possibly enjoy knowing that the clean is ECO friendly as well, the others don't give a damn.
Just a thought
Nigel
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guys
thanks for your comments i do take them on.
we live in a world of fear politics it the new way to tax and will become more and more part of our lives. buying to stop the pain of fear instead of pleasure.
As an example smoking use to be pleasure then it became a way to tax and now the fear tactics of harming others will see the end for many that see it as pleasurable.
Without going to deep it all comes from the cold war. our politicians found out that they can control us with fear and its been down hill from there. the media uses it, how much good news do we get at six each night?
we all want to protect our families and now we are being told that we must protect our environment.
The fear business is massive it drive economies like ours that don't have manufacturing any more.
Please don't get me wrong, it is just part of our lives, not all but some.
marketing can be linked to what is going on in peoples minds, if they are being feed information from the government and media then what you are saying just confirms what they are hearing from them.
Respect
Ian Harper