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I know, I know. It''s not quite here yet — the spring rush, I mean.
Many of you are looking out your window right now at mounds of snow and ice, and spring is the furthest thing from your mind… although you may dream about it when you sleep.
But regardless of the icicles hanging from your gutters, now is the time to think about the cold spell ending and the busy season starting.
I remember, a long time ago, trying to get my carpet cleaning customers to call me and book jobs in the winter months. It was often a frustrating ordeal.
Most of my pick up the telephone to see if there was still a dial tone days were in the winter months.
Amazingly enough, when spring arrived, the telephone was operating again. It was an annual occurrence, quite the phenomenon.
I wish I could go back and change history. There are a lot of marketing methods and techniques I''ve learned about over the years that would have helped. One of the things in the early years was that I should have gone out (yes, left the house, even when it was really, really cold out) and met people face-to-face, each and every day.
But we can''t change the past. We can change the future.
There are some great tips in this month''s cover story, penned by Steve Marsh, tips that will help you to deal with the current winter slow season — what many of you are experiencing right now — and also to prepare for the busy season.
In the article, you will read about how to use reminder cards, incentive discounts, referral rewards, friends and family discounts, charities and much more. If you do the important thing — implement the ideas, and quickly — you should see some positive results during this slow season.
Perhaps even more importantly, the information will help you avoid a slow season altogether, thinking ahead to next year.
Steve knows which marketing methods will "jump start" a carpet cleaning company whose business growth could be compared to a turtle who misses its afternoon nap.
Differentiate your company
Many successful, and busy, companies have found success by being different, by "differentiating" themselves from the competition.
This does make sense, for many reasons. When a potential customer goes online to find a carpet cleaning company, there are dozens — if not hundreds, depending on the area of the country — of choices that could be made.
Being "different" and portraying a message that stands out can be smart… but don''t go overboard. Keep it tasteful and honest, a message that truly provides what the customer needs and will benefit from.
After all, a dentist might differentiate himself by advertising he uses handheld crank drills to save the patient some money, but not many would find that an attractive offer.
Use smart marketing. Implement the ideas you read about in Cleanfax magazine.
Please send your comments, thoughts or article ideas to Jeff Cross, senior editor of Cleanfax magazine: jcross@ntpmedia.com.
