Are price shoppers driving you crazy?
Is their first question: "How much do you charge?"
You want to provide quality service, but you might feel that it is difficult to find consumers willing to pay for it.
This is a challenge for many companies.
Price shoppers make up only a small percentage of cleaning consumers. Some companies manage to attract more than their share of these.
Are you attracting price shoppers instead of quality-oriented consumers?
Is your marketing and advertising encouraging price shoppers to think you provide the service and price they are looking for, while at the same time you are discouraging quality consumers from calling?
Marketing decisions are commonly made by the owner.
The problem is that they often project their personal perceptions onto their target market. The consumers you want to attract probably do not think the same as you.
Price shopper or quality consumer?
Ask yourself the following two questions:
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Before you started your company, did you have your carpet professionally cleaned on a regular basis?
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The last time you had your carpet cleaned by another company, did you pay 30 cents or more per square foot?
If you answered "no" to both questions, you were probably a price shopper when it comes to carpet cleaning.
There's nothing wrong with being a price shopper.
Most cleaners have been in this category when it came to having their own carpet cleaned.
But as a business owner, it makes sense to want customers who spend more on services than you do. It is natural to assume that everyone thinks the same way we do. We relate most easily to similarly-minded people.
This assumption creates problems in marketing. You must adjust your message to speak to the consumers you want to reach.
Two mistakes
The first mistake is to assume quality consumers find their service providers the same way you do.
Often, cleaners ask themselves: "If I needed a carpet cleaner, where would I look?" Answers such as Yellow Pages, ValPak, Google searches or postcards come to mind.
Quality consumers find their service providers primarily through referrals from other satisfied customers. They check with their friends, interior designers, home furnishings retailers and people they know from groups in which they belong.
Quality consumers turn to advertising only as a last resort.
Referrals and networking are ways you get introduced to quality consumers.
Traditional advertising draws price shoppers and consumers who rarely use cleaning services.
The second mistake carpet cleaners make is to assume quality consumers want the same things from a service company as they do.
You might think speedy service, powerful equipment, low prices and impressive guarantees are important.
These are exactly the features price shoppers with filthy carpet and houseguests coming in 48 hours are looking for.
The guarantee tag line of "The best cleaning ever …" is code for "I'm looking for price shoppers."
What they want
Quality consumers plan ahead for valued services; they are not in a rush.
They never allow their home to become embarrassingly dirty.
The thought that they might have to rely on a guarantee brings to mind all sorts of bad memories.
These consumers are not looking for the lowest price. They are looking for good value. They know that you get the quality of service you pay for.
These consumers have used several cleaners over the years and have settled on the best of the group.
They would desperately love to find a more dependable and professional service, but they are afraid to risk trying out new companies.
They will stay with one of their past companies until a friend persuades them that another company is worth the risk.
Change your focus
The industry has matured.
A majority of the population has never used a professional carpet cleaner.
Is that the market segment you want? Don't you want the consumers already convinced that they need carpet cleaning services and are willing to pay for quality service?
Instead of looking for consumers in need of a carpet cleaner, change your focus to finding consumers who want a more professional service.
This is much easier and you will have a lot less competition.
As an example of this, I am intrigued and entertained by the Apple Computer television ads that show "Mac" talking to "PC."
These ads don't try to convince consumers to buy a computer. Instead, they point out how much nicer your life will be if you switch from a personal computer's irritations to the advantages of using a Mac.
Stop trying to convince consumers who don't value carpet cleaning and other home services to call you.
Focus on consumers who want more than their current cleaning company is providing.
If you want better quality consumers, make your company available to them where they are looking.
Spending a lot of money on traditional advertising may get your phone to ring, but are you getting the customers you want?
If your marketing message is that you provide the most service for the least money, you frighten off the consumers willing to pay for quality.
It takes discipline to view the world from other people's perspectives.
Everyone knows that good service is hard to find.
If you convey that you provide: "The best professional and most pleasant home service experience ever, no matter what," you will be flooded with customers willing to pay top dollar.
Steve Marsh is the creator of the Be Competition Free Marketing Program. He is a 30-year veteran of the carpet cleaning industry, an IICRC-approved instructor and a Senior Carpet Inspector. Marsh is a marketing and business consultant who provides a turn-key program for attracting better customers. For more information, log on to www.BeCompetitionFree.com.
