Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Brendan B on January 20, 2009, 07:42:35 pm
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Do you offer any incentive for your customer to recommend you to her friends adn family?
I see there are CC's that do 10% discount for them or £10 of next clean, i dont rally like eaither of them to be honest and was just wondering what do any of you offer
Cheers
Ben
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10% of their next clean, and same for the recommended client. It has to be an incentive of some sort and a free room always seems a bit too much. I also offer the same to customers who book a follow up appointment for 6 months/year.
Cheers
Simon
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simon
this is just my thoughts so don't have a cow, but to me it seems that your saying to your client, if you recommend a friend, i will clean there carpets for 10%less than i cleaned yours but don't worry, next time you have a clean i'll give you 10% off, or have i read it wrong.
seems a tad unfair to the original client.
derek
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See your point but I see it as an encouragement to have me back to take advantage. Though on consideration i'd never seen your way, and i've never had anyone comment. I might review it now!
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I have to say that I offer no financial incentives, I just stick to a well tried & tested formula..
I turn up on time, I do a job that I hope exceeds the customers expectations, I take time out to put the world to rights with them, maybe even have a laugh, charge a fair price, leave a couple of spare cards and ask them to mention me to their friends and family if they're happy with the results.
Probably brings me 80% of my work. I've always known 'word of mouth' to be the best form of advertising.
Les
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Most time they are just glad to get someone who does a great job and can trust in there house :)
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Derek , thats the way it came across to me 2
Clinton , couldn agree more
Ricky
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Goron had a really good idea
£5 in cash if you recommend a friend and £5 off for the customer they recommend when they have cleaning done.
I have a discount idea from Jim but never got round to it and to be honest it seems long winded.
Shaun
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Shaun
What do you give as an incentive ???
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I have thought about giving a £5 voucher (m&s, etc.. but not zavvi) if their friends/family book in a job
Daryl
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we do a recomond service
they recomend or introduce 3 others when pepole call they menion the person reco them and they get 10% off the next clean with us
there is a condition the pepole they reco must use the service and spend over £50 with us
it works for us
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Quality work.
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Ian,
I have used a similar system. But I prefer to give them £notes. £10 up to £50 and £20 over £100.
I'll take £80 rather than nothing anyday. If you get 4 a week that's £320.
Don't forget you are dealing with human nature here!! Expecting people to do something for nothing rarely works, they have to be motivated into action with a sharp stick. :o Recommends are in my mind the best source of business.
They don't cost you anything, they are pre-qualified and they already have an idea of your pricing. If you can't close a recco, you are in the wrong job.
Jim G
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Mike you are talking Balls everyone says that but customers expect it as standard!
Shaun
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Would you get them without doing quality work?
Of course you are right Shaun, the previous post. For the sake of a tenner you could have a customer for life who won't flinch at a price that easily covers the referral.
Research into motivation suggests we are all different in how we respond to being rewarded for doing something especially £££. You can put rats in boxes and see how they respond, but humans are a little more complicated than that.
On the whole though financial rewards are a safe bet.
Here's another cunning idea I have cooked up though that uses a more powerful urge.
Never accept a thank you, actually say you can't accept it. Then ask them for something else instead that's of value. ;)
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Mike,
A referral costs nothing, it's something you would not have had it's +£40 not -£10.
Jim G
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The problem with offering money is that you look like a salesman or a desperate.
I used to offer M&S vouchers but I got people saying that they had recommended me but not filled in the card I gave them, how could you say no?
I think the best way forward is to build relationships by offering FREE SEX no I mean giving away spotting bottles.
Shaun
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Shaun,
"The problem with offering money is that you look like a salesman or are desperate".
Is this not a pre- requisite in the carpet cleaning industry?
Jim G
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Depends on how you view it and what response you get, I don't think this is a straight forward yes or no, if it gets regular work and you are happy then it is a good scheme, please don't think that I am knocking it but I have used such a scheme and didn't like it.
Shaun
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Shaun
Do you give a voucher nowadays ???
I never went down that road but i know someone that even sent a small bunch of flowers to the housewife after a decent paying job ::)
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During my days in the motor trade a sister dealership in our group offered £250 :o for each reccomendation.
The problem was that their range of cars were very unreliable and unprofitable which led to a poor level of customer service and numerous dissatisfied customers.
Ours on the other hand were incredibly reliable and very profitable which allowed us to offer our customers a whole range of services that benefited them. nothing was too much trouble and because my staff were well paid, motivated and happy with our product, they in turn were pleasant to our customers, happy and helpful.
For these reasons we had the best customer retention in our group, the second highest profitability, the best staff retention, the lowest number of complaints and the highest number of refferals.
Nothing needs to change just because I'm now in the cleaning industry.
Les ;)
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Shaun
Clinton this could cause all sorts of problems, especially when the husband comes home and finds that the local carpet cleaner has been sending his missus flowers. >:(
Do you give a voucher nowadays ???
I never went down that road but i know someone that even sent a small bunch of flowers to the housewife after a decent paying job ::)
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Just had a brainwave........................encapsulate a fiver, with magnetised backing, for their fridge, they will never forget you, especially if your contact details are included.
r m
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I'm doing recommend a family or friends and receive a £10 M&S Voucher. It's worth it I think and it encourages people to recommend you if they know their going to get something out of it. You have more chance of getting recommendations if they know they will get something in return. ;D
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The problem with offering money is that you look like a salesman or a desperate.
I used to offer M&S vouchers but I got people saying that they had recommended me but not filled in the card I gave them, how could you say no?
I think the best way forward is to build relationships by offering FREE SEX no I mean giving away spotting bottles.
Shaun
Shaun,
I have seen that spotting bottles idea before on the "Cleansmart" website. If you have not seen it, check it out, they have some very good marketing ideas that they give away for free, well, they used to, don't know if that is still the case. I have copies of them if you can't get them.
Jim G
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A fair number of suppliers offer " give away, or retail " spotters, some even offer to keep then filled for life.
Another good suggestion "from J P" was sticky labels placed on customers vacuum cleaner,
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Just checked out the Cleansmart website. They offer a free newsletter for anyone who signs up for it, don't think there are any strings attached - like having to buy stuff.
http://www.cleansmartsupplies.co.uk/acatalog/FREE_Carpet_Cleaning_Newsletter.html
Jim G
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Mitch
;D A hard one to explain to your hubby with the flowers.
It was a c cleaner not far from me who used to send the flowers to the clients ::)
I must be a skinflint as never given my clients any recom incentives ;D
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What about if your customer recommends say 3 or 4 people and they use your service (to a min value maybe) then there next clean would be half price (or similar)?
I personally dont think gifts or 10% gets your customers attendsion, I would say they would be far more inclined to recommend people if there was real value in it for them, what do you think?
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Clinton is the Yorkshire?
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Incentives - No! A good customer might be offended and think less of you if you appear to be grasping. The best way is to impress not only the customer but her friends when they next visit and think she's got new carpets.
Dave.
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Don't agree Dave I think they need a push and a spotting bottle is a good business card as they keep them under the sink for years.
Shaun
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Incentives - No! A good customer might be offended and think less of you if you appear to be grasping. The best way is to impress not only the customer but her friends when they next visit and think she's got new carpets.
Dave.
Dave,
Have you actually ever tried it. We all like to think that the lovely clean carpets will be the topic of conversation when their friends visit and the host is freely handing out your business cards or leaflets with the Dundee cake, biscuits and tea. It may happen 5% of the time but I am willing to bet that 95% of the time, you won't even get a mention, it's old hat, they have moved on. A week later, they can not even remember what a bad state their carpet was in. Motivation is a prime mover.
Jim G
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Mike
???
Yorkshire ???
Cheers clinton
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i do a good job :D ;D
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I laugh at this place you get GOOD advise from someone that doing it for real and you say no thats not the way to go.....Hes the one with the big new TM and van been doing it for years and knows how to eran BIG money carpet cleaning....
Its no wonder half of you spend half your day in this site, He might be on here every nite but i bet hes made 200+ before he gets in tho and you lot are moaning about being quiet.... get a grip or go get a job and stop moaning.......
Its no wonder capet cleaning isnt uniform all over the country and standards are all over the place... :'( :'( :'(
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As ever there is always more than one way of achieving the same thing.
Personally I'm with Dave on this one although I accept there are other methods which will work. Mine seems to work for me though.