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A typical problem in the carpet and furniture cleaning industry is the tremendous sums of cash thrown into the advertising or marketing arena, with the result of what appears to be a “dead” telephone.
What does it take to get the phone to ring? What does it take to book the jobs you want? What does it take to stop throwing your money away when it comes to advertising or marketing your carpet and furniture cleaning services?
In today’s world, there are five specific money-wasting “opportunities” that haunt many ailing companies.
Let’s analyze what they are, and how you can improve your bottom line and obtain better results.
These are your five deadly sins of marketing.
Marketing sin No. 1:
Here is a good definition of marketing: The quickest path to the sale with prospects and clients who are properly positioned to be sold without actually having to sell them.
That may sound confusing… to make it easier, let’s define the difference between sales and marketing.
Sales: What you do when you have someone on the telephone or in front of you, and are making a sales presentation.
Marketing: What you do to get those people on the telephone or in front of you in the first place.
This means that marketing, done correctly and most effectively, is really just great positioning, where you are viewed as a welcome guest instead of as an annoying pest. (See “Proper positioning” on page 43.)
Marketing sin No. 2:
Direct response marketing allows you to sell your services in advance, instead of just saying, “Here I am, here is what I do, and here is my phone number.” That’s just offering your name, rank, and serial number.
What you need to do is properly position yourself with education-based marketing strategies.
Have people call a 24-hour, pre-recorded message, visit a website, or read an educational sales letter or a consumer awareness guide.
These strategies educate clients in advance.
They give them reasons other than “price” to distinguish what is a great company to use.
There are many great education-based marketing tools for the carpet cleaning industry. A main difference today (compared with those of several years ago) is that there are new delivery systems to educate people, such as the Internet, e-mail and Podcasts.
Marketing sin No. 3:
A headline is an ad for the ad.
You want to use a statement that will pique interest and pull in consumers, such as:
Marketing sin No. 4:
“Best quality work” and “lowest price” do not belong in the same sentence, not to mention the same company.
But many of the best cleaners end up pricing themselves out of business because they don’t understand that consumers will pay more than what they are charging.
If you are going to try to compete on a low price, why don’t you also compete on just the same level of service?
It makes no sense to raise your level of value in one area (education and skill), but not raise it in terms of what you get paid.
If you want to service high-end homes and higher-end clientele, you certainly want to price yourself in a way that says you are “high-end.”
How much you can charge for something is based on your ability to sell it, which means the more you learn about marketing and the more you utilize powerful marketing techniques, the more you will be able to charge for your services.
Marketing sin No. 5:
Package up those testimonials in the form of print, audio or video and use them in all of your communications with prospects and clients.
Put testimonials in your brochures, in your consumer guides, in your Yellow Page ads. Use audio testimonials on your website and in your e-mails, and video testimonials on your website.
You can go into a home with a laptop computer or a video iPod to play actual testimonials to your clients.
No one sells your services better to prospects than really happy clients, and this is one area sadly underused by most carpet cleaners.
Put it all to work
Compare these five deadly sins of marketing to your own company. While you won’t burn for eternity from these, your business might.
Not understanding what ‘marketing’ actually is.
Not having an effective marketing system for selling your services.
Not using a headline in all of your ads
Not raising your prices
Not using testimonials in your marketing
Joe Polish, a past “CM/Cleanfax® magazine Person of the Year,” is president of Piranha Marketing in Tempe, AZ. He has helped more than 4,000 carpet cleaners take their business to the next level through his marketing tools and systems. For a copy of his free report, “How to Get into High-End Homes and Double Your Income,” visit www.joepolish.com or call his 24- hour FREE Recorded Message at 800-587-1953.
