[Mike Halliday]

Do you think customer loyalty is influenced by how much you charge?

If you are cheap will they look for cheaper next time? Or if you are higher priced will they again look for lower price next time.

I'm higher priced and I have to admit I need to advertise all the time other wise the phone would never ring, people say once you've been going a long time then you get a steady stream of recommends and returning customers,  but I don't.

I do a good job but still I don't see the majority of my customers returning, I know I have 4 companies aggressively  advertising in my area who poach away my customers.

I spend about £800 a month on advertising which does bring in a lot of work but most of my work is new customers

Do you think that the companies who are lower priced have more customer loyalty?

[davep]

I'm probably mid priced and would say after only a few years trading 50% of my work is repeat or recommendations. I spend approx £350 per month advertising.

[robert meldrum]

That's an interesting question.............the one about lower priced service having more loyal customers !

I've always been lower to middle pricewise and in spite of NOT ADVERTISING for at least 12 years I still get regular customers using me and ,,,,,,,,,,,,If I left cards or leaflets would probably have at least double maybe treble the number of repeats.

I'm hard to find but still get people taking a lot of effort to get in touch. I don't believe it's all about cost - everyone knows I increase prices slightly each year - but I DO STRIKE A STRONG RAPPORT with most of my customers and this has given me loads of referrals to relatives, neighbours, work colleagues.

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Knowing your figures is very important but i think there are 2 ways of looking at this 1 is how much you spend 2 what % of your turnover is advertising.

£800 a month is loads if you are grossing £3000 a month but £1000 a month on ads is better if you are doing £2000000000 a month, ok over exaggerated but it shows the point.

Merging topics but my tm and van fuel bill costs me more than my advertising and that pales into insignificance compared to what the 'family' spends not naming one person especially........WIFE !

Shaun

[The Carpet Cleaning Pro]

Mike...you state you are high priced...why... what is the reason for this.? Is it just greed or are your commitments high. You also state that you dont have many returning customers. Why is this? Perhaps you are pricing to high. Perhaps to keep your cusrtomers you could give them a small discount and get them to book in advance. Just a small sugestion thats all.

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

No Mike

I think price is only one aspect of clients decision making process and that if they are happy they will return to you regularly or they will return to you not exactly because they are happy but because they realise they might need to try out an awful lot of other cc's (and have bad experiences) before they find one of your quality but who is cheaper.

I have had quite a few clients who use me regularly but have "winged"/indicated they wished the price was cheaper. Having confronted them in a nice way about it I find it normally clear the air. Something along the lines of "well, madam. If you want my quality you'll just have to pay my prices" Can't say I've ever lost one of these clients as a result.

But don't forget Pareto's Law. As such I only really concentrate on looking after my top 20% of clients. The rest only get my full attention when they get in touch with me.

Rog

[Mike Halliday]

Monty I'm not greedy I just have a large cocaine habit and my spend on Thai ladyboy prostitutes is quite large

seriously when i say my prices are on the higher than average  side.....

Carpets Price
Dining Room £60.00
Lounge £70.00
Through Lounge £85.00
Bedroom Double £70.00
Bedroom Single £55.00
Hall, Stairs & Landing £69.00

but i have a special offer on at the moment 2nd room half price.... so my prices are not extortionate

its an interesting point about where 'high' prices come from, my prices are based on what I want to earn for what I do

[mark_roberts]

Do you target your previous customers with reminders as last time I was talking to you I think you didnt.

I too have the same problem as we all do to an extent.  I often here I lost your card and only found you again by chance as your pic is in your YP ad.  Customers will forget your work, your name, your bus name but most will remember your face.

Ive used a plasterer three times over the last 8 years.  I can never remember his name, where he lives, I loss his card but my bro knows his son and thats how Ive got his number each time.

Mark

[Mike Halliday]

Mark I don't target past customer but only because in the past i have done and found it cost just as much as finding new customers, so I thought use my money on finding new customer and let the old customers just naturally come back (which some do... maybe 20%)

I used to spend ages writing postcard buying stamps and the postcards but like I said when i looked at the figures it was nearly as expensive as finding new customers.

i keep hear these gurus say......' it cost 9 times more to find a new customer than keep an old one' bollox!!!

[The Carpet Cleaning Pro]

my prices are based on how long i think it takes me to do a job. What people have to bare in mind though is some people can still do a really good job in a short time. I am highly motivated and crack on with jobs. I hear all this about people earning 100+ per hour and are charging a fortune for works. I do not charge allot... i go for lower prices and take a small profit,... but lots more of them. I actually find that my hourly rate is more than £100 aswell but perhaps I have to clean allot more carpet for that to maintain its self, but looking on the bright side i get in allot more doors and therefore get far many more recommendations.

You say you charge high and have to spend £800 per month on advertising. That puts me £800 in front of you every month as I do not spand anything on advertising. My advertising is my work and for me it works a treat. Not everyone will agree but that is how choose to run by business and it works for me and I NEVER have a shortage of work. Infact I am having to turn work away as cannot fit them in. I have just purchased my 2nd truckmount so will be able to keep up with the demand better in the next coming year.

[Simon Gerrard]

Mark I don't target past customer but only because in the past i have done and found it cost just as much as finding new customers, so I thought use my money on finding new customer and let the old customers just naturally come back (which some do... maybe 20%)

I used to spend ages writing postcard buying stamps and the postcards but like I said when i looked at the figures it was nearly as expensive as finding new customers.

i keep hear these gurus say......' it cost 9 times more to find a new customer than keep an old one' bollox!!!

Mike,
You're joking? You must be, either that or you're not good at Maths. Past customers are a gold mine and the backbone of any successful business. I've always wondered why you seem to spend so much on advertising when you're running a second generation business.
With email it costs next to nothing to keep in touch with past customers, even a stamp it worth it.

Simon

[Mike Halliday]

Simon you are dead right  with email it cost nothing this is why I am really working hard on collecting emails but this is a recent thing I've only been web savvy for 3-4 years give it a few years and things will change but at the moment this is how its working for me

Monty sorry mate just going to have my tea i'll respond to your post later

[JandS]

You charge lower prices than Mike but are on
£100 per hour..............doubt Mike is on £100
per hour even with his prices.......lol.

John

[Mike Halliday]

Monty ( I'm back full of yorkshire pub and silver side)

you are exactly what I mean, is it better to be lower priced but have a zero advertising spend so everything is profit or spend the money to find the higher paying customers.

we both can earn £100 an hour but is it better to do 7 rooms of carpet cleaning in that hour or 2  considering you probably do twice the customers than me so have twice the people who can recommend you or return for more cleaning

[The Carpet Cleaning Pro]

At last somebody probably understands the NEW business world. Peoples spend has changed and you have to accomodate it, its not rocket science

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I'm interested in how Monte/Mick works as to get the said hourly rate at lower prices means I'd have to work faster so if Monte/Mick is half my price then he must work twice as fast it's a very interesting point as a settee and chairs will take the same amount of time to move if Monte/Mick is moving them or me.

Shaun

[Simon Gerrard]

Mike,
£800 a month? That's a staggering amount of money for an established company to be spending. Gosh, we spend way less than £100, but we make sure we keep in touch with past customers which is way cheaper than trying to get new ones.
Even if you're using stamps for postcards or letters, the people you are most likely to do business with again is the people you have already done business with, because they like your work and trust you - hopefully. Email has made that cheaper to do but even so a stamp and a postcard is only 50p and the benefits so rewarding.

Simon

[Steve Chapman]

Mike,

I would be seriously worried if I didnt have lots of returning customers, something must be wrong.

Our prices arent far off yours but I would say around 70% of our work is repeat customers, I dont even remember to send reminders out to them often but they still come back.

I still spend on advertising and thats what grows the business, enough so that it keeps three of us in work now.

In my opinion it would be a serious mistake not to market to your existing customer base, every business does it as its people already familiar with your work.

If I send out 100 letters I know i will get 3 or 4 phone calls the following week from those clients, which has got to be a better return than trying to find new ones.

I'm sure one of the big reasons people get us back is that we try and make friends with them rather than just rushing in and doing the job and out again, that starts on the quote as I tend to go and quote nearly every job, even existing clients as it gives me a chance for a chat and really asses their needs etc.

Fortunately for me I can spend more time marketing etc as 2 others do most of the cleaning, but since i have ive found a marked improvement in jobs booked and job ticket price,


Most of all though i think people buy YOU as a person and requires a bit of time but that must be the all important thing.


Regards
Steve

P.S.  i still find snail mail more effective than email

[The Carpet Cleaning Pro]

Hi Shaun,

It only take the same amount of time to clean a sofa and chairs if you are working on your own !!!!

[Mike Halliday]

simon its not the cost of stamps but the cost of time which is where I beleive people get their false cost of keeping in touch with past customers,

 I put a price on my time as though I was working...... me spending 2 hours a week writing postcards cost me the same as i earn when I clean a T/L & stair & a bedroom as they take the same amount of time.


My advertising cost me a morning work and keeps 2 of us going 5 and a half days a week at  high prices