Post 4 of 4 in our Targeting Marketing Series
What do cereal commercials during cartoons, souvenir shops at Disneyland, and beer references during country songs have in common?
All of these have an audience that is in the right place to listen to their message—kids like sugary breakfast food, fanatics buy memorabilia, and people that like listening to songs about backroads and fishing also drink beer.
You are much more likely to find people that are willing to listen to your message when it is in front of an audience that is willing to buy from you. After all, the most perfect marketing message in the world isn’t going to get a devout vegan to eat a juicy burger from Whataburger.
If you want to increase your sales you’ve got to put yourself in front of your audience. Your audience is eager to hear the compelling things that you have to say.
Today’s marketing landscape looks entirely different than it did just a few decades ago.
Many consumers no longer read the daily paper or watch programmed TV. The combination of Google and Smartphones has forever changed how people make their buying decisions. You will have to take all of this into consideration as you put yourself in front of your target audience.
This article is going to teach you how you can use different channels of communication for your business including websites, email, printed materials, and social media.
The Importance of Selecting the Appropriate Marketing Channel
The first thing that you need to do is decide which marketing channel will work best to reach your customers. Because all customers behave differently, I would personally recommend that you use as many channels as possible. By using more channels you are able to have more contact with your customers. Don’t forget to always include your contact information in every ad to make it as easy as possible for customers to reach you. This can include your email, phone number, website, social media handles, address, and any other method whereby you can be reached.
Email marketing is one of the most underrated marketing tools available due to its unique properties. Many people check their email daily and look forward to getting emails that they are expecting. Facebook and Instagram own any of the content that you produce, and if they chose to remove it your content could be gone at any moment.
Your email list doesn’t have the same constraints. It is yours to keep and has all of your interested customer’s contact information. In addition to owning the information, the cost to advertise using email is minimal and can have an outsized ROI compared to other channels. You also aren’t as limited by design, size, or technical constraints as other advertising methods.
Email should be used strategically to communicate with your customers on a periodic basis. How often you use it will depend on the needs of your business, but I would at least recommend using it a couple of times a year.
Here are some suggestions for how to get the most out of email:
- Always collect a customer’s email after servicing their home. Make sure that you ask for their permission to email them and let them know that you will use their email to provide them with valuable updates periodically. Your customers trust you, so make sure that you follow through on this.
- After visiting your customer’s house make sure to send them a copy of their receipt and a thank-you for doing business with you. This is also a great opportunity to provide them with a warranty for the service that you provided and give them your contact information. In this email, you can also include an invitation for them to write a review.
- Make sure to send each customer an email at least every 6 months to let them know about the services that you offer—especially new services, any recommended maintenance appointments, promotions, and tips that they can implement to save time and money.
For example:
- Provide educational material for your customers about best practices for maintaining their carpet or other expensive surfaces. This will show them that you genuinely care about them keeping their floor nice and will also let them know that you are trustworthy and care about their needs. You are more likely to build credibility with your customers and earn their future business if you provide them with valuable material between visits.
- Include a promotional coupon for their next appointment—nothing spurs action like a good deal, and offering a customer 10-20% off their next service will go a long way towards getting them to use your service the next time that they need their carpet cleaned. If you do this, include an expiration date on the coupon to create a sense of urgency. However, always be willing to honor it no matter when your customer decides to use it.
- Ask for referrals—let your customer know that if they refer a friend or neighbor that uses your service that they will receive a certain amount off of your next visit.
- Email your customers a “Happy Birthday” or “Happy Holidays” greeting that also includes a coupon for them to redeem on their next service. Your customers will hold on to it and use it for their next appointment. (Sending your customer a happy birthday message is a great way to show them that you are thinking of them and will help them to feel special.)
- Be wary of always being in ‘sales’ mode. Send informational-only emails that help the customer solve a problem. Great companies take the time to inform or entertain their customers and aren’t always looking for the sale. Ironically, this will lead to more sales as the customer will come to trust that they can refer you to trusted friends and family and you’ll be respectful of their attention.
While this list certainly isn’t comprehensive, it’s a good starting point. By consistently and effectively using email you will build your audience over time and they will look forward to hearing from you.
Email marketing is not something that you will master overnight, but don’t let this discourage you, and don’t be too concerned about making mistakes. As long as you are authentic and genuinely try to help your customers, they will look forward to hearing from you. Emails that are filled with valuable content help solidify your customer base and you can make progress towards your marketing goals every day with every email address that you collect.
The most important thing to remember is that email is your direct line of communication with your customer base. It is the primary channel that you have to send whatever you want, whenever you want, to your customers, so make sure to use it wisely.
Websites
I already discussed what an effective website should include in my last article, so I’ll just emphasize here how important it is for you to have a professional website. An appealing website will give your customers confidence and build the credibility necessary for them to choose your service.
You don’t want to do business without having a good online presence because almost all consumer activity now has an online component to it. A website is now the price of admission for doing business: your customers will expect you to have a website and this is crucial to you building a trustworthy relationship with them.
All customers will go to your website at different stages of their buying journey. Some might discover you as they search on Google for local carpet cleaners. Other customers will hear about you from a friend or receive a flyer and then go online to read reviews.
In my previous article, I discussed how Mike Bagnall uses his website to help customers buy from him.
Mike Bagnall’s customers use his website to find answers to many of the questions that they have about his cleaning services. By visiting it they are also able to see pictures of the jobs that he has completed and learn about how he will take care of their homes.
On his website, Bagnall talks about common problems that they might experience and what they can expect from him when he comes to visit. The purpose of him doing this is to get them to call the office and schedule a consultation.
Here are some tips to follow when creating your website:
- In today’s world, internet users want immediate results, so it’s important to make sure that your website has a fast load time. If customers can’t quickly get to your landing page, chances are that they will immediately leave because they will think that your website is unreliable. You want to avoid this at all costs. A website with a quick loading time is one that your customers will trust.
- When people visit your website they need to be able to clearly see your value proposition (what your business offers) at the top of it. It is frustrating to visit the website of a business that doesn’t do a good job of explaining to their customers what they do. By clearly communicating your value proposition to your customers you will save them the effort of spending valuable time browsing your site trying to figure out what you do.
- There are plenty of examples of bad websites. A website can be unappealing for numerous reasons including a bad layout, over clutter, lack of pictures, no contact details, etc. If your website makes any of these mistakes it quickly becomes a liability that will confuse prospective customers. You want your website to be simple, modern, have engaging pictures and writing, and make sense.
- Include a clear call-to-action and your contact information. The purpose of your website is to get your customers to take their next step. Your customers are unable to do this if you don’t invite them to take action and provide them with the necessary resources.
- It’s important that you use your website to answer questions that your customer might have and that you explain the services that you offer, but don’t overwhelm them and distract from your calls to action. Remember that your purpose is to get your customer to take the next step. If they get bogged down in all of the extra details and fluff of your website this will confuse them and could keep them from buying.
- Include a contact form that your customer can use to fill out and request more information. This is a good way to collect a prospect’s email address (see above) and follow up with them.
- Remember that your website exists to help facilitate the buying experience. It is a medium that you can frequently update to advertise your services and help answer questions that your customer has. After looking at your website, your customer should be ready to take the next step towards using your service. If customers are converting after visiting your site you’ll know that you’re doing a good job.
Physical Ads: Postcards, Magnets, Business Cards, Calendars, Stickers, and Flyers
Print/physical advertising can be expensive but is a good channel for reaching people that don’t use social media, or have been so bombarded with digital communications (think email spam) that they’re accustomed to tuning out digital advertising. This channel is especially good for developing awareness of your company and services.
Customers will use physical ads in ways that aren’t possible with digital ads. This includes hanging them on their fridge, filing them away, flipping through the mail, or putting them next to their calendars so that they can use them for a quick reference when needed.
Because this is something that your customer will hold on to, you want to make sure that you take advantage of the opportunity to provide them with something extra to make your flyer or business card as effective as possible.
Here are a couple of good ideas for what you can include on your printed materials:
- You can include a coupon for a certain percentage off of your next service
- You might include a bullet point list of tips and tricks to help save the customer time and money
- Put your contact information on your handout so that customers can get ahold of you in between appointments or give your contact information to a friend
- Give a coupon for a free touch-up service between appointments.
- Ensure that your material looks professional by including pictures of jobs that you’re proud of so that your customers are reminded of the great job that you do.
- Include pictures of the services that you offer. If you just include text there is a good chance that your customer won’t read it. Pictures will stand out and remind the customer about your service.
- If you offer maintenance or recurring services, include a follow-up date so that your customer is reminded of when the next appointment is. The car maintenance industry has mastered this with the use of oil-change reminder stickers. Think of how you can apply this same technique with your services.
Social Media
Social media is an extremely valuable tool when used correctly, but it can create more problems than any other channel and your message (and brand!) can quickly get mixed up in a negative discussion. Avoid any messaging that could lead to comments that are political, religious, or offensive. Unique to this channel is the fact that customers can comment to others on your message, and you don’t have control over the ad like you do in other channels. This can be hugely beneficial or massively damaging, as there is the potential for campaigns to go viral. Knowing the potential for an increase in attention exists, you should always carefully craft your message and make sure nothing can be misconstrued.
You want to use social media to build trust and a brand presence with your customers without over-posting or being too salesy.
Here are some suggestions that can start you off in the right direction on social media:
- Use social media to create a consistent brand message and to post pictures of the jobs that you complete.
- There is enough negative in the world that your customers will appreciate if you focus on the positive and share with them something memorable from your day that makes them laugh or make them smile.
- Use your social media to comment on your customers’ posts or like the things that they post. Don’t expect engagement with your channel if you’re not willing to engage with theirs. Wish them “happy birthday”, provide helpful tips, and celebrate their accomplishments.
- Tell simple stories about things that you are doing to help your customers clean their carpet
Keep in mind that social media is a good way for you to have simple interactions with your customers that get them to trust you. In today’s market, people are looking to have an interactive experience with their customers. By doing this, you create a memorable, positive experience that will stick with them.
Conclusion
The purpose of our Target Marketing series is to provide a lasting guide that you can reference as you work towards building a profitable carpet cleaning business. If you have followed my advice up to this point, you are already well on your way to doing this.
This series has covered a lot of ground, and we want all cleaners to be able to benefit from the information here. If you are in the beginning stages of your business I recommend that you start from the first Pro’s Corner article that I wrote on target marketing and diligently work towards applying what you learned. The principles in these articles aren’t meant to be used all at once, rather they are intended to provide a framework to help your business grow over time.
If you have been in business for a long time you should use the information here to identify areas of your marketing strategy that you can improve upon. As you do this, new customers will use your service and you will build brand loyalty among your existing ones.
My promise to you is that all of these principles work and that countless people have built successful businesses through using them. As you are consistent, you too will see the results. I’m excited for you to begin your journey and help people solve their problems by providing them with the services that your business has to offer.
Have questions about what you read? You can send us an email at marketing@aramsco.com.
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