Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: clinton on May 07, 2009, 03:14:54 pm
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Hi guys
Just wondering how much you spend on advertising at the mo or are going to this year ???
Just i have been going for a few years and have plenty or regulars but am going to step things up a bit and get more newbies.
Was thinking on the lines of add words on the top pages of google etc.
cheers
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We were advertising in the local parish magazine for 3 months (£60 for 2 different areas) we had 2 calls from it, (2 jobs)! which I think is rubbish. Should of had more than 2 calls when they were sent to around 6000 homes. So I cancelled it - I had the dreaded Yellow pages call yesterday, she said 'Oh if it was FREE would you be interested'?! What a stupid thing to say ;D
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Hi Clinton
I have a monthly budget which I spend every month = £840
Dan
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around 500 month at moment as soon as i get more work i am hoping to plough bit more into the budget
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It is generally perceived that you need to spend 25% of your turnover to expand a business including startup and 10% to stand still. The secret is finding out what works in your area. Still too many don't monitor where their work is coming from and end up wasting money.
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spent £15,000 on advertising last year
got a good return on investment
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Highest ever spend was 3k in a year, probably 1/2 that now
50-50 split between carpet and contract cleaning
Andrew
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£500 / £800 + per month on advertising - that seems like a lot :o
- Which source is most of the work comming from?
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Hi Suffolk
My advertising is split as follows;
£200 Google
£200 Monthly magazine
£240 existing customer reminders
£200 leaflets
On average I get back @ £6k a month, with the internet being the best return, followed by loc mag and existings.
Dan
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Thanks for that Dan - really useful. The 2 jobs we got were £200 in total for £180 worth of advertising - maybe I should carry on with it
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I know Clinton - Bargain ;) - I've read on here about how rubbish people think it is so wasn't prepared to waste our money
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Barbara
This is where the benefit of something like Kev Loome's software can come into its own.
Although you only got c£200 on £180 advertising spend, the trick is to track it from there. If you get a repeat job from each of those clients and say also 1 referral then the rate of return on your advertising obviously goes up.
But if you don't monitor/track it properly how will you ever know?
For the record my only advertising is YP about £270pm. From the first 3 months of this year I got just over £2000 in new business and a further c£5k from repeat YP clients and c£4k from referrals from the original YP clients.
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I know Doctor Carpet - when I was typing it I thought - oh that's not bad esecially when both the customers were going to recommend us to others etc. I need to be seeing the bigger picture instead of just - oh it was only 2 calls, this post has made me see that - thankyou - thankyou
As you can see from my photo - I'm only little & have a lot to learn!!
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I think justifying a poor return on any marketing by looking at the potential of future recommends or the customer returning is risky, you are in effect working for nothing.
I'd rather spend money on marketing that brings in work straight away then any future work is a bonus.
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Hi Suffolk
My advertising is split as follows;
£200 Google
£200 Monthly magazine
£240 existing customer reminders
£200 leaflets
On average I get back @ £6k a month, with the internet being the best return, followed by loc mag and existings.
how do you come to the figure £240 existing customer spend per month intreeging is that 900 letters a month
Dan
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Good post's guy's
Having started my business from fresh so to speak down here in Berkshire after trading for nearly 30 yrs in Wolverhampton.
It's comforting to see a fresh approach to advertising, like many I have tried leaflets with the help of me old mate Mike AK Henry Haliday with very little take up. So far the tinter net is giving me better results via yell.com and a second site that Doug Hollaway has done. (Thank's Doug)
Advertising is a very strange media and as many have said before me it pays to monitor or you could just be throwing your money away!
We all know that word of mouth is by far the best way. So saying that its off me backside and onto the street to sell my wares
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Dave, you couldn't sell an ice cream on a hot day. You're far too shy ;D
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Hi Richard
800 reminders a month x 30p (2nd class stamp) = £240
Dan
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John,
Borax!
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Clinton
Your probably right about the internet response, its a pity I couldn't send them an e-mail that cleans the carpet then I could truely work from home ;D
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I think justifying a poor return on any marketing by looking at the potential of future recommends or the customer returning is risky, you are in effect working for nothing.
I'd rather spend money on marketing that brings in work straight away then any future work is a bonus.
True Mike. But if you don't measure it properly in the first place you won't know.
Barbara could justify dropping that line of advertising, but if measured properly and then she finds the repeats and referrals do start to roll in from it, she would then be validated in returning to it once again.
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does the repeats and referals percentage alter that much through different forms of attracting customers?
if you get where i'm coming from with this.
surely (all though i'm probably wrong) for every 10 custies from say YP you get X amount of referals and repeats, and from say google you should still get the same percentage ( X ) from that too.
or am i missing something.
derek
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I spend £85 on 5000 postcards, £75 on 2 local mags, so total of £160 per month
Mark
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Derek
I would think i would get different percentages from different advertising media as each medium will tap into a different type of client.
I would also assume each cc will get different percentages because of the mix of clients/wealth etc that we each deal with.
Finally, it will also come down to our own technique of "chatting up" customers. And different customers will respond to different types of "chatting up".
Each to their own, but if its not measured you will be whistling in the wind.
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You dont have to get more customers to make more money, just get the ones you do get to spend more, get the job ticket up with extra rooms for £30 etc or add Protector.
Mark
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The biggest thing I fall down on is selling protector I sell on 25% of jobs I need to do better (I'll write that down) Mark what % are you selling it on jobs and how much are you charging, I'm at £55 a suite on just cleaned and £28 for a 12 x 12 carpet.
Shaun
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It is essential to keep in contact with your client base.Customers might remember your name but not your comapanies details,so may not contact you.Always contact your data base source at least on a 12 month basis.
Mark
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Here's a twist to the question.
I spend at least 12hrs a week on marketing, not including leafleting. :o
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Can I be so rude as to ask what do you do in those 12 hours you spend on marketing?
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Yeah Dave
I listen to you on the phone and furiously write everything down. ;D
Doing a lot of website stuff Dave, hopefully it will pay long term dividends down the road.
Have been doing some doorknocking for commercial and going back to existing custies with offers.
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Well I hope you wrote down!!!!!!!!!!!
DON'T BUY WEB SITE RANKING HELP OVER THE PHONE! :-\
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800 reminders a month??
£120 a month local weekly paper ad.
£10 a month in a local easy find directory which pound for pound is probably the best thing
I have ever advertised in.
2 jobs yesterday from it @ £135 in total.
Last month got £360 out of it which was my first month.
Spent £100 on 5000 business cards which I post through doors but that was in January and still
got about 2000 left.
John
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OK dave
I've written that down IN CAPITALS. ;D
My latest epic journey is to once and for all understand and implement the finer points of PPC. Although I sort of already know the secret... tedious analysis and testing. :'(
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J & S
I have nearly 4000 customers on my database, so need to do so many per month to ensure that they are contacted regularly.
In an ideal world I would like to do a monthly offer to them all, but cant afford.
Dan
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J & S
What is the nane of this easy find directory, as they may have affiliates/franchises in my area.
Thanks
Dan
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Daniel
I have been through that loop and here's what you do.
Send a letter to all your clients you don't have email for.
Make the sole reason for the letter a Competition to WIN something.
Make it something worthwhile as a prize. ::) and to make admin easy for you, they need to do it by email ;)
Over time and a number of comps (which give you another excuse to stay in touch) you will get emails.
You then start to intersperse email with letters, postcards etc so you can contact more regularly at a cheaper overall cost.
Send them information, how to guides, comps etc as well as sales letters so you don't pss them off too much. ;D
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Hi Mike
Thanks for that, but dont you find that a lot of people will see your emails as spam?
I always ask for email address' when taking bookings, and indeed did do a bit of email marketing (not consistently mind you) but got little if no response.
Does the email marketing work for you?
Dan
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Yes
The 'trick' is only rarely try to sell something.
To get them from a new client I say something like. I've done a stain spotting guide so when you have a spill you know what to do so you don't screw up your carpet. Would you like a copy? Yes! Fine. What's your email address.
This is getting a bit fancy pants, but then I put their email into an autoresponder. This is like a pre loading gizmo for emails. They are a mixture of news, how to info on carpet, rug, leather stuff (mainly spotting advice/dangers) comps and OFFERS.
You get work from the none offers too because you're in their mind every couple of weeks. What you don't want is them unsubscibing.
Emails are free to send but what you send takes time to create if it's of any value to the client.
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Daniel
Am in York for the w/e but will look it up when I get home, think it is a W.Yorks thing but I may be wrong it could be a franchise.
John
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Daniel
He says give him a ring or leave your number on here and he will ring you.
01924 453419
John