[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

well ive hit a brick wall and im unsure what to do .......

as many of you know i was one of the cheapest c.c. there was and after buying a t.m. and a new van,  spending heaps of money on it then buying a second t.m   i started the long haul of get my prices up which i have done over the last two years but !!!!!!

im now finding that im too dear for the cheapend and to cheap for the dear end custys and im kind of at a tipping point of what to do

after over 30 years of being is this game my instance thought is too half the prices and start hurting the other c.c. in the area as im lucky that i can afford to run the c.c. at a lost just for the hell of it but do a want to dump two years work down the drain

and im not confident or have the know how to push it that one step more and move in to the top end stuff and im truely at that cross roads now any idears would be good please

 as you know ive taken most on borad on what people have said and done well so far but its getting harder buy the day

[Joe H]

Whats your turnover like compared to 2 years ago (before you started upping the prices a bit) ??

If its about the same but you are doing less work then you are doing fine - less strain for you and the machines.
If its increased then you are doing better then fine.
If turnover has gone down you need to analyse why.

How do you know you are too dear for the low end and too cheap for the top end?
Whats happening in the business for you to come to that conclusion.?

[Ken Wainwright]

Hi Susan

I'm not experienced at direct marketing, but I'll have a go.

Don't drop your base prices!

Target the lower end of the market with time limited special offers, eg Half Price, 1 room free, Free protector etc. etc.

For your high end marketplace, come up with a similarly attractive package to suit them. For example:
Gold Package:  Standard high quality clean
Platinum: As Gold plus protector
Diamond: As platinum plus a 6 month visit to highlight clean the traffic lanes.

The variables are considerable.

I suspect that you know how to go about your problem, but after all the gloom and doom peddled by the media I think we are all lacking in a little confidence for the future.

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[JandS]

Can't be doing that bad if your running 2 TM's.
Prices too cheap for the high end??
How do you know that, have they said to you your too cheap??
Never had that problem.

John

[Mike Halliday]

 
too expensive for the benefit cheats, too cheep for the millionaires, 

how about aiming for the people in between, which is probably the biggest section of the population.

get real, you don't have a problem

[Shaun_Ashmore]

You need to find a different market so the advertising you are doing now isn't reaching your ideal demographic, look at the homes that you want tro work in and also look at the people that would buy your services and send them leaflets, get them on a database and keep mailing to them very often at first.

Change the way you advertise in your normal medium, put a more quality advert out with the benefits of 30 years experience and the TM and speed drying.

Design a spot and stain removal guide and give the customer one after cleaning long term this will add value and they will call you back as you are now the professional and first point of call.

Shaun

[clinton]

Susan

You must have been turning over a good profit to get two t mounts on the go.

I know you put your prices up a while ago just dont forget there is also a slowdown at the mo for many people so you may be feeling it more in your area

Clinton

[Mike Osbourne]

I agree with those who say you need to find a new clientèle.

I'm a big advocate of charging a good price but you first have to find those who are willing and able to pay it. Some of your custies will come along but most will have to be left behind if you ever want to escape the 'cheap is my usp' trap.

Don't lose heart, just the decision to move your prices on is half the battle. You have fantastic equipment and experience, just seek out those that will appreciate it.

It's much harder work to do this in the beginning, it's far easier just to go cheap but it leaves you few choices when someone else goes cheaper or there's a downturn in the market.

You can do it Susan


Mike

[derek west]

put your prices up, your still to cheap.
let me put it another way.
your working for free.
why would i say that?,
well ok your getting paid for your carpet cleaning, but what about all the other jobs you do.
your a graphic designer.
your a telephone answering service.
your a book keeper.
your in marketting and advertising.
your a manager of workers.
a supervisor.
have i missed owt.
i'm not the dearest on here by a long shot, but i know what i'm worth and i know the hours i put in when i'm NOT cleaning carpets. and if people don't think i deserve my wage then F##K EM, i'll find custys that appreciate my efforts.
if they want me to be here next year then they need to make it worth it.
the amount of customers who've said, ive had them cleaned before, he was a lot cheaper than you, but he doesn't do it anymore though.
EXACTLY>
sorry i'm ranting.
i'll shut up now.
derek

[suffolkclean]

Hi Susan
I agree with Clinton, things have definetely slowed down for us too against this time last year. It is a worry with so many Cheap CC's around.
I have started to respond to the comments over the phone about our prices being more than they've been quoted already. I say 'well we do work for local letting agents, and they recommend us to other people too. There are other CC's who quote cheaper and don't do a high standard clean like us'
Where do you advertise? Do you ever go out to offices in your area with cards?.
I went out a few weeks ago with some postcards I got done at Vistaprint cost around £4 look really good and went into a few offices. I went in with the female no pressure attitude, 'Hi I'd just like to hand in this card with information of our carpet cleaning service for when you need your carpets cleaned'. If they like you and need their carpets done they could say - Oh I do actually how much would you charge!.
This going to be my new approach, I did this a few weeks back only went into about 3 places but I've to call one back in the New Year regards to a quote. If you would like me to help you with getting some cards done email me on info@kc-services.com
Barbara

[Barry Livingstone]

its easy to say get new clients......but susan has been going for years so customers use her due to the fact her company was cheap.

id get one tm for the cheap cleans and use the other to target the new market that way you still have an income, so there isnt so much presure on you at the momnet.

saying that i got a job today due to the fact her last cleaner TM, left the carpet too WET didnt use a drier...........so never mind other cleaners they have been after your clients you just dont no it....

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

well thing is ive now started takeing custy off a dearer c.c. where i trade because people have said many times hes getting to dear now    and my long term regs are now not booking in due to the price

i think ive losted around 20 this week and thats people we have been going to from when my dad was alive ......

as for marketing,  i dont do any at all apart from a very small ad. in the local free paper .

i realy dont want to start doing suites where there so dirty you cant see the patten anymore and getting in to the world of four hours hard work for 40 pounds ive grown from that

im down around 200 a week on the takeings with half the work but i dont like seeing a van sat on the drive two days a week i want it out

ive made bugger all this year out of the cleaning due to investing heaps of cash back into the buissness but i dont care as long as were moveing forward ill make it back next year so there no worries there as everything is paid for out right  ...

maybe there some training corses i could do,  i feel that its me holding us back now as im not confident on the phone any more it was ok when i could say " will beat any price and do a better job" as it was simple to do that , and befour you all start on me yes i did beat all quotes

so im now getting what ive been dishing out for years "what goes around comes around" but hey im trying to move up the ladder and trust me if that takes anthor 70k then so be it

 but its bloodly hard 

[Buster Ingram]

Its at times like this when money becomes tight we all start to look at our pricing! And start thinking could I have charged more or worst still when customers start to question your price!
Ken hit the nail on the head by saying adopt a pricing structure this way you have a pricing system that suits all pockets.
I have started offering two levels of cleaning that way the customer decides how much they want to spend.
If I see a lightly soiled carpet I suggest to the client they have a surface clean, that way the customer does not think I flashed in and out again. And if the carpet is heavily soiled I explain that a surface clean will not remove all the dirt and it would need cleaning again in six months.
What I have found by doing this the customer know just how much work goes into carpet cleaning to get the desired results,   99% of the time the customer will always choose the better service.
Another interesting point to this pricing systems is it has stops friends and family expecting me to charge them all the same price.

[David_Annable]

Hi

What would happen if you doubled you price tommorow?

Would you lose half you work?

Your turnover would be exactly the same for half as much work.

Then promote to fill your extra time.

Dave

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Susan write some key words down and put them by the phone,

start with

thorough cleaning
speed drying
professionally trained
30 years experience
not the cheapest
machine that cleanes to the bottom of the pile

when a prospective customer calls don't talk price until the very end, build up the cleaning and then put the price at the end and then ask when were they wanting it doing? if they um and ar then say that you are not the cheapest but not the most expensive but for what service you offer we are very cheap.

If you allow yourself to be negative then it will show to your caller.

Shaun

[pete sween]

Ha ha Dave. You are spot on with the love jobs mate

Hi Susan/Julian

I agree with Mike re the middle mkt. Its the biggest we have.

You could however invest in having 2 tiers of mktg too. take websites for eg. have two. one for cheapis and one for yaarrsss luvvies employ numbers for each directed to different phones so you know whether to charge 22p per sq ft or 44p

Just a thought

Pete

[carlton care]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah Susan

Two years ago I mentioned 10% while some others were saying double your price get a T/ M etc. Theory is great, for theorists.

Two years ago, you knew who you were and ( if I remember correctly ) had four vans working full time.

Getting the T/M was a good move, but you could have simply done the same thing you'd been doing before, but more quickly and increased your income by being more productive and virtually no one would have turned a hair at a 5% to 10% increase over the past two years.

Believe in your own judgement Susan it's stood you in good stead over many years and only needed a gentle tweak.

Best wishes whatever you do

robert m

[Shaun_Ashmore]

Look at the numbers before you start chopping your prices!

If in the last 2 years you have upped your prices by 50% and do the same turn over then you are in profit because you don't have to work as hard, if you are doing the same amount of jobs but charging 50% more you are making a far better profit.

I do the same amount of work as I did when i charged less than half my current prices and am now seeing the rewards, don't forget we are in a downturn but wait until we are in upturn then you will really reap the rewards.

You are building for the future, who's to say that you would get work if you slash your prices? 20 rebuffs may be that they were just shopping, if you down your prices then the work you have in already in theory will become cheaper and then you will still have to find the short fall.

Look for different avenues, look at the rental market try and make friends with letting agents, write them a letter or call them up, definately don't put your prices down or you have lost the last 2 years of your life.

Shaun

[Mike Osbourne]

Susan

Have a chat with Dave Liahona, I know you respect his legs, er sorry industry acumen. He's literally made me thousands through adopting his approach, but don't tell him or he will want some commission. Ask Pete Sweeney how much he has gained from talking to Dave.

Think about were you want to be, not where you are now. The easiest thing in the world would be to seek solace in your old ways of doing things. Look at who you want to be like. Do you want to still be working in 20 years time because you have to or because you enjoy it and have all the kit in the world to make it easy like Mr Lee.

Mike

[cleaningmaster]

How can we all get his words of wisdom ??

I wouldnt mind his help.

Shaun
i`v tried to say the list you gave Susan, but it seems as if people are only after
cheap prices, but i`m not dropping my prices

Regards
Daryl