My head was racing around all over the place this morning. Here are some thoughts I had about running your business that I wanted to put out there for you to read:
1. There are so Many Cleaning Businesses these Days that Marketing has to play a part in your strategy
Outside of the chemistry that you use and the professionalism that you exhibit, there might not be too much that sets your business apart from other cleaning businesses.
This is where your marketing makes a key difference. Marketing is the tool that you have for helping your customers internalize the value that your business offers, setting it apart from any of your other endeavors.
Martin Davidson described the true potential of marketing in his book “The Consumerist Manifesto: Advertising in Postmodern times”. Although Davidson wrote this book back in the 90s, his advice is still remarkably true today:
"The philosophy of the 50s and 60s was to burrow away into the minutiae of a product’s technical specifications until something unique to it was found; this USP (unique selling proposition) would then form the basis for the advertising. Occasionally, of course, this is the most motivating reason to buy, but when products become more and more interchangeable, the hunt for the USP becomes more and more sterile, trivial, and marginal.
The perceived difference allows you to concentrate on intangibles that you can control. If you make three types of whisky you advertise one as the one you pay a hefty premium for in order to give as a lavish present, to consummate very formal social gatherings, or to brandish as a token of discrimination; the other as the one you bring out when a mate comes round, lubricating long evenings of convivial male bonding; and the third as the one you swill around your mouth when it’s the peaty taste of Scotland you want to savour. These added values make the difference and are as integral to the advertising as they then become to the product (sic, emphasis mine)"
In other words, according to Davidson a brand impression can make a powerful difference to your customer through leveraging the power of advertising. Your advertising should always include your unique selling proposition.
Your customers will want to use your service if you effectively communicate to them WHY they should use it.
Put yourself in your customers' shoes. If a customer wants their carpet cleaned they’re going to look for somebody on Google, ask a friend which company they should use, or maybe they have saved a business card. This is where your marketing comes in. You need to use this critical opportunity to stand out and communicate the unique value that your company offers.
It’s easy to rave about your chemistry when you know how effective your prespray is. Contrary to what you might think though, customers don’t really want to hear about this.
According to Davidson, customers want to hear about the *intangibles* that you can control. In other words, what are you doing that you can make the customer aware of that will make them more likely to use their services? These are the aspects of your service that your customers care about that you should frequently talk about in your marketing materials:
Professionalism/ Excellent customer service
Creating a comfortable home environment
Ridding their home of bacteria
Preserving the life of their carpet/upholstery
Helping them enjoy a more relaxing home environment
These are the things that the customer wants to talk about, the benefits that they will be able to feel in your service. Make sure to focus on these.
3. The best way to focus on the intangibles is to tell stories
People always remember stories because they are relatable. Stories will spark your customers' imagination and make it possible for them to envision the impact of your cleaning. They may not remember the small details of your service, but they will always remember stories
Whenever possible use stories in your marketing:
Include testimonials (there's nothing better than hearing a memorable story from another customer)
Use descriptive adjectives that arouse your customers' senses
Describe your work in a way that makes it easy for your customers to imagine
You get to interact with a customer in their home! Just think about that for a minute, and let that sink in.
Your customers' home is the place where your customer is the most vulnerable. This presents a great opportunity but also poses a great risk because your actions are always on full display.
On the one hand, don’t do anything to piss a customer off because those bad memories will stick with them and they won’t use your services again.
But if you’re doing business the right way, you’ll be able to build a mountain of trust. How do you do that?
Talk to the homeowner for 5-10 minutes each visit to establish rapport with them
Ask them questions to understand their concerns
Point out problem areas that you notice and explain what you’ll do to help
Don't ever cut corners. Always clean homes using the proper commercial carpet cleaning equipment.
Place foam furniture blocks underneath the legs/arms of furniture surrounded by wet carpet so that staining doesn't occur
These are just a few examples; there are surely many more that you can think of
If you do this correctly you build trust which fosters loyalty. When a customer is loyal to you they will always choose you over any other company. When you earn a lifelong customer you earn a lifelong stream of revenue.
It’s essential to invest in these relationships. Not only will they make your job more enjoyable, but they are the catalyst that will make you successful in other areas of your business.
Hopefully, this helps! Remember: how you position yourself and how you communicate to your customers is just as important (I would argue more important) as how you clean. If you can’t do these things effectively then you’ll have a hard time getting in the door and maintaining customer relationships.
Start by practicing the basics; at the end of the day, it’s all about building relationships!