Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Steve Chapman on February 03, 2009, 05:18:52 pm
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Hi All
Am in the process of getting some referall cards printed with discount for new customers, for existing
clients to give away to friends and family etc.
I will get the exiting customer to note there name address on the back, so i can log it when i get
handed the card.
What do you think is a suitable reward for this?
I want something quick and easy so its not too much work, i remember reading a post where someone
just posted £5.00 when they got a referall!
Was thinking something along these lines, or maybe posting a discount voucher for a future clean....
Any other ideas....
What do ya think?
regards
steve
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I've done M&S card vouchers and they have been good. Fivers are a bit manky these days anyway.
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Goron Knight had a good one on here a few months ago.
Shaun
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Found it
www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=63306.0;all
Shaun
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Put yourself in the customers shoes, what would want in return? If someone offered me a £5 note for refering them to my friends, I'd jump at the chance.... If it was a scabby fiver? I'd still be happy :)
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just a thought but...
if it was a tenner or possibly £15, do you think you may entice professional sales reps, i mean! how much do these gas fella's or double glazing reps get per sale?
derek
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Derek
The whole idea of referrals is you utilise the fact that they have used your service and are TRUSTED. Even if they have taken a small bribe. :)
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sorry mike
just getting ahead of the topic.
derek
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I think having proper referral systems in place, make all the difference in the world to the bottom line. You do have to keep on trying and tweaking them, but most people can't be arsed as soon as they get busy which is a mistake.
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Mike
Am guilty of that then :)
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Shame on you Clinton! ;D
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Why would some one refer YOU ?
Were you on time, achieved a brilliant result, were pleasant, well mannered, tidy, showed consideration for their possessions, did a little more than agreed.
If you answered yes to most of these, you won't need to ask, but referrals sometimes take a while to bear fruit.
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I agree Robert but a friendly push can also bring fruit down from the tree more often and at a fast rate.
If you do nothing expect nothing.
Shaun
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True Shaun. It's good to nudge, especially after telling them what a wonderful job you've just done !
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We introduced a referral system at the begining of 2008. Up until that point we had seen a steady 30% increase from the previous period year on year from when we started in 2005.
Our referral system offers a 10sq meter frree clean, no obligation to all new customers. It also offers 10% of the clean (before VAT) back to the customer doing the referring as a discount on their next clean.
After 6months we had seen virtually no return, but we were persistant with the letters being sent out.
I think we had about 10 people booking through the referral program, out of which 3 were completely free cleans (Please just do the one bedroom, its only 10 sq meters). We thought we had made abig mistake.
In June (South African mid Winter) we noticed that we had booked 11 calls through the referral program out of about 45 calls, again I think there was about 3 free cleans. from then on the referral system just exploded.
We now book 30% of all calls through our referral program. From having 1 team in December 2007, we had to hire backies and ran 3 teams in December 2008. What is most interesting is that the average customer purchase has increased by 15% and thats 15% above the price increase in March 2008 .
SO DO THE FREE JOBS
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You could think of referrals as a long term investment that WILL give a return, but need patience. Occasionally you will get a quick return, but you could wait a year, even longer.
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You are right Robert but I guess that it depends what the incentive is, I like Goron's idea but also the free 10sq metres to potential customers is a good one.
The way I would do it is offer a recommendation sheet to the present customer telling them that if you get any promotional offers would you the customer and 3 of your friends or family want them sending via email or post to their homes then just offer the friends and family the 10 sq metres for free and keep the original customer on the datatbase.
Shaun
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theres pushy referals.
you ask (after the clean) your client for 5 names and addresses of friends and family that may be interested in having there carpets cleaned, then you call or right to them. think i read it in JP's book somewhere.
derek
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To get the referal to book is the hardest thing as people think you are fibbing!
Joe Polish recommends a 'you won a free carpet clean' but I don't, I would at the top of the letter put the original person's name and then put has recommended you for a free carpet clean.Personalising it with a known person will increase the response incredibily.
Shaun
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The problem i have with Goron's idea is that the new customer knows the person refering them is
getting paid for it, so it could dampen their enthusiasm to take up the offer, as they are not refering you
just because they think you are good.
I think it would be better to offer a discount to new customers by referall cards but keep the reward
part of it just between you and the original customer!
Just my opinion :)
regards
steve
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I haven't used it so I can't comment on actual response but the way I see it is that it has 2 eliments to gain and reward customers.
A fiver says you'll refer me and a fiver to your friend to have her cleaning done by me.
Can image it would work well in big social groups.
It's an easier system than the 'fill in a referal form' as there's no paper work, a simple card handed to all customers where as you have to come home an do the letter, envelope and post it and then do them 10sqm for free or something like. As CC we are lazy and need to do no brainer advertising.
Shaun
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Hi Guys!
There is a nice line in customer loyalty cards from Masterline Marketing.
address www.masterlinemarketing.co.uk
Regards
Gary
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The only thing that bothers me when we all talk about giving new customers discounts is how does the customer feel about you giving a discount to someone she recommends. I know how I’d feel when I had just paid £50 to have my lounge cleaned and your now going to clean my sisters for £40!
Or am I get the wrong end of the stick here.
Us English are funny folk we don’t like excepting money from people we know and like and that is what generally happens when we have spent time with customers cleaning there carpets and drinking their tea they become friends in a strange kind of way.
We all respond to stories and the best one I came up with for them to recommend me to friends and family was to tell them the story about yellow pages and the vast amount of money I use to spend with them .
I tell them that rather than giving Yellow Pages x amount of money every year advertising my service I’d rather share it with people I know and trust ( See where I’m going with this) so for every person you recommend my service to I will in turn send you a £5 Argos voucher all I need you to do is put your name and post code on the back of one of these cards when you hand it to your friends and tell them they need to show it to me when I call to clean their carpet. Let me know when you run out of cards and I’ll send you some more. You can alternate the vouchers depending on the type of customer at the time.
When I was in Wolverhampton I use to send Argos and Marks & Spencers vouchers, Now I’m in Newbury it will be Argos and John Lewis vouchers.
Never failed for me, one customer use to use all her voucher for xmas presents.
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Thats very true Dave and a some useful ideas with the vouchers
cheers
steve
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Hi all
How much does it cost to get new customers?
and ones who are already primed and know you do a good job
We use referalls and find it works well we pay £10 cash for a referall
as said might not happen straight away but its a good sorce of work
John
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Another way to use the voucher system is for the customers to use their voucher s they get from you for recommending to buy cleaning from you, that way you don’t feel as though your working for nothing!
And the vouchers you collect can be passed onto further customer for recommending you so all is not lost.
;)
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i thought about offering them the choice of either a £5.00 voucher for Argos etc or £10 carpet cleaning
voucher off future cleaning, which if they choose the latter at least they keep on coming back and
hopefully provide more referalls.
regards
steve