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RAM Cleaning

  • Posts: 76
Business advice
« on: September 19, 2007, 02:39:14 pm »
Hi all,

i was wondering what advice you have for people starting out, i have been running my own carpet cleaning business since xmas now and it started off well but seems to be dying on its feet, i have lots of advertising going, local community mags, yellow pages, estate agents etc, the only thing i think left is leafleting, but im not sure about doing this as i know how much i hate leaflets dropping through my own door.  Do you have any advice or tips to drum up any new business??

Cheers

Richard

kaysho

  • Posts: 7
Re: Business advice
« Reply #1 on: September 19, 2007, 03:16:39 pm »
ive been going three years, a lot is to do with time of year and money in pockets, just keep going with the advertising and it will go nuts up to christmas, good luck

Matt

northstar

  • Posts: 43
Re: Business advice
« Reply #2 on: September 19, 2007, 03:42:05 pm »
Hi Richard,
I am in a similar position. I am new to carpet cleaning and am currently using local magazines (these have previously worked well for my domestic cleaning business) and local press. However, things are very quiet in York.
I will let you know how I get on when I start leafleting.
Mike

benny d

  • Posts: 706
Re: Business advice
« Reply #3 on: September 19, 2007, 04:16:47 pm »
Leaflets are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Honest  ;D
Do it, its well worth it.
"If i'm not in action, I'm in traction"
Voted 397th best looking carpet cleaner in West Sussex 2015. Up 10 from last year...

lands

Re: Business advice
« Reply #4 on: September 19, 2007, 04:29:39 pm »
Richard

Does  Ilfracoombe have a high OAP level of residence?

Pete

edward coller

  • Posts: 393
Re: Business advice
« Reply #5 on: September 19, 2007, 04:50:03 pm »
Bizness is tough and when you get busy is tougher ... you need to keep your marketing going like dripping taps     try everything you can afford and test it but it takes time.. ithink leaflets are good for me not as good as perhaps 5 years ago...call on dry cleaners vets doctors carpet retailers pubs clubs but dont give up and make sure you get out the door early and have an aim....500 leaflets today 5 retailers called on etc....aim your marketing at the right customer look smart all the time keep your van cl;ean smile and force yourself to smile price upwards dont go cheap youll get cheap give good service do xtras  ask for refferaals.......work your butt off and if it hasent happend in a year get outv and try something else....best Simon

melanie rowe

  • Posts: 24
Re: Business advice
« Reply #6 on: September 19, 2007, 05:41:52 pm »
if you look in your local roundswell community mag, you will see there are no fewer than five carpet cleaning companies advertising in it,you being one of them, this mag only has a circulation of 5000, it started with one, now they have all tried to jump in thinking there is enough work to go round, sadly thats not the case, i would get used to your hard times if i were you, seems to be a familiar story in sunny devon!

John Kelly

  • Posts: 4461
Re: Business advice
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2007, 09:04:01 pm »
Leaflets are a good way of obtaining work, however it needs to be a planned campaign rather than just putting a few thousand here and a few thousand there.
Say you have an estate with a couple of hundred houses on it. You put leaflets out and you should expect to recieve 1 job. This is because carpet cleaning isn't a business which makes people buy on impulse. That 1 person was probably thinking of having their carpets cleaned, your leaflet arrived, bingo.
2 Months later you put another hundred leaflets on the same estate, another person who was thinking of having their carpets cleaned gives you a ring and books you. You now have 2 customers on that estate and maybe a couple of referrals from them. Also all the other people on the estate keep seeing your leaflet when it pops through the door. Some will have put it to one side and will ring when they want cleaning.
If you leaflet this estate over a 2 year period you could potentially end up with between 12 and 20 customers. Thats a lot from 1 estate. You then have to make dam sure they remain your customers and the addition of an active referral scheme will go a long way to obtaining a decent customer base.
Lots of ifs and buts as with any business but regular leafleting is the only way to make them succeed rather than a waste of money.

Mike Halliday

  • Posts: 11578
Re: Business advice
« Reply #8 on: September 19, 2007, 09:49:58 pm »
the problem is most people ask for advise too late, usually they are too skint to start an effective marketing campaign.

forget about serving North Devon serve an area 10 miles around your home ( hopefully this will hold 25-30k quality homes) then sell yourself as the 'local carpet cleaner' start 5,000 leaflets a week rotated every 4 weeks,  offer a local person discount & a 10% discount for retired persons.

it will take 3 months to become totally effective but keep it up for the first 3 months then you will be on the carpet cleaning gravy train.

Mike
Mike Halliday.  www.henryhalliday.co.uk

Shaun_Ashmore

  • Posts: 11382
Re: Business advice
« Reply #9 on: September 19, 2007, 10:09:02 pm »
or be skint like me,or is that because I'm married? ???

I've had a fantastic year, I stole her credit card ;D

Shaun

lands

Re: Business advice
« Reply #10 on: September 19, 2007, 10:13:12 pm »
yeah but Shaun, she is on the board of google she told me (pillow talk & all that ;D)

Shaun_Ashmore

  • Posts: 11382
Re: Business advice
« Reply #11 on: September 19, 2007, 10:17:54 pm »
bored with google more like, all I get is 'are you on that bloody computer again?, you love that more than you love me!' :-X

Shaun


lands

Re: Business advice
« Reply #12 on: September 19, 2007, 10:22:07 pm »
ditto, there was no way I was gonna let her in on the wags thread, She would have said something like " you bunch of sad $$^%^&U% %%£$£$ %%$££ get a life you peo%&$£*£" and do some resl real work. %$£*%^&!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She's a classy bird (grew up on the Old Kent Road)

Ian Gourlay

  • Posts: 5746
Re: Business advice
« Reply #13 on: September 20, 2007, 12:03:22 am »
Shuan

Has she still got the dry cleaners, if so time to buy another one that should keep her out of the shops.

RAM Cleaning

  • Posts: 76
Re: Business advice
« Reply #14 on: September 20, 2007, 12:13:07 am »
Wow, there is some really great advice there,

Pete (ex lands) Ilfracombe does have a high concentrate of OAP's yes, but it also has the other side with a high percentage of young and unemployed.

melanie rowe.  Where are you based, im guessing North Devon, yes i know what you mean about the roundswell mag, i wasn't actually going to advertise in there due to there being so many others, but i got a good deal for advertising my two businesses the other business being bouncy castle hire, which is currently the only listing for that industry in that magazine.  Im also in the combe directory, although i haven't got a great deal of jobs from either i have got more than i expected from them.

mike_halliday i understand what you mean about serving 10 miles around your home, which that is our main concentration of customers, but we do have the odd job a little further a field, north devon is quite rural, i live within a small town, anyone whos been to ilfracombe will know and unfortunetly all the housing estates with people who actually have a job lol live around 15 miles away in Barnstaple.

On the topic of leaflets, do you advertise some sort of discount on your leaflets to entice people or are your leaflets just a bigger version of your business card so to speak.  I do like the OAP discount idea, and definetly local people, with that idea i could always produce 2 leaflets, 1 for within ilfracombe stating a discount for those living within the area and one for outside i.e barnstaple.

Thanks for all the tips guys you have mind working overtime now

Richard

lands

Re: Business advice
« Reply #15 on: September 20, 2007, 07:48:39 am »
Richard,

OAPs love a discount that is specific to them. Mike is your man on leaflets. I learnt alot from him. Also Jason Hedges gets alot of work from doing linage ads in the local papers with specific OAP discounts. Very cheap advertising and the elderly tend to read their local papers to death to they will see your linage ads. Worth a punt for the small investment.

Pete

stevegunn

Re: Business advice
« Reply #16 on: September 20, 2007, 08:26:34 am »
Maybe something to consider

It's Thursday, so here are seven questions for you.

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4  Do you think it's possible to launch or run a highly successful business, without becoming really, really good at Marketing? Is it just the quality of your product or service that will determine your success, or is it your ability to communicate the benefits powerfully to potential and existing customers?

5 Would you be interested in learning the world's most effective Influence and Communication skills? Would that make a small difference or a major difference to your impact. We'll be doing that in week eleven.

6 If you had access to me for 12 weeks, where I answer your specific questions as you master this incredible material, is it possible that I can help you solve your business problems and significantly boost your profits?

7 If Ultimate Marketing is three monthly payments of £295 plus VAT.  I'm willing to guarantee that you'll make an additional £12,000 profits from the course or I'll give your your money back.  What guaranteed return on your investment is that and how does that compare to normal returns on investment? (OK, I'll answer that one for you. It's a return on investment of over one thousand per cent - and compared to the average stock market, it's pretty amazing!)

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Best wishes

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Cardell Media Ltd
1 Northumberland Avenue
Trafalgar Square
London
WC2N 5BW

lands

Re: Business advice
« Reply #17 on: September 20, 2007, 08:49:32 am »
Whats your cut Steve

stevegunn

Re: Business advice
« Reply #18 on: September 20, 2007, 09:42:26 am »
I jus get emails from them all the time asking me to do their marketing course

stuart_clark

  • Posts: 1879
Re: Business advice
« Reply #19 on: September 20, 2007, 12:56:06 pm »
 Mike ! I do a bit of carpet cleaning for a contract cleaning company in north yorkshire , they are looking for someone to take care of one of there clients propeties in Hull to clean on a three monthly maintenace clean, would you be interested ? its low profile carpet