[john martin]

Thanks     it was more an effort at humor
The data sheet dosnt tell all , but solvent and surfactant and a couple of things . Im sure its well capable of spotting all right .
Australians and they're odd names for things ... there is also ' sensation' and ' trusty ' 

[Hilton]

I leave all my customers a 1ltr bottle of unbelievable they cost me just under £4 each I put a sticker on bottle with all my details on. I tell them to bin all of the shelf harsh chems and explain problems they can make using them they love it and always say what do I owe you for this I say nothing it's a thankyou from me to you and also to stop you using crap etc.

£4 a bottle  oh my god you will some here chocking on their Cocoa Pops this morning when they read that....

You mean you pay as much as £4 to get or keep a customer, quite shocking, how on earth do you survive. 

[scott johns]

its quite a mixed opinion on here about giving away free spotters . they say on average it will cost approx. give or take £50
to get a new client so is it not worth an extra £1 to £4 to keep that client using your services I don't know about others but
where I am people love them and cant get enough of them also tell there friends about them we get so much referral work
from them so look at the bigger picture don't be tight as you are probably throwing money away not giving out these gifts.
happy cleaning

[Mike Halliday]

Who's spending £50 to get a customer?

I can see that giving away spotters gives people a nice, warm fuzzy feeling inside, but  as for actual return on the cost I can't see any evidence they are an effective marketing tool,  customers love them, they are a nice give away,  but this doesn't make them cost effective marking.

[Hilton]

I don't think that's a surprising statement from yourself Mike, if you can not see any return or benefits then you are not doing your numbers, which I think you admit you don't do any way, so that explains why you do not see any evidence....... BUT it's there.

A very large if not a majority will be spending more that £50 to get a customer, I think that a low figure.

By the way if every customer feels warm and fuzzy you are over half way there.

[Mike Halliday]

Hands up anyone spending £50 to get a customer........

But your are exactly wrong, I am doing my numbers that why I can see the bad return on spotters

[Hilton]

I have got both arms in the air..

You have mentioned on here before you are not very good at your numbers but that's fine I take your word for it.

[Radek Jablonski]

50 per customer? Jesus, someone likes to buy a nice holiday to his marketer
50 would be correct (even more) in stone restoration.

[derek west]

Can someone tell me the formula for working out how much a new customer is costing me?

[Hilton]

It's not just customer acquisition cost it's also life time value, this is where so many get it wrong..

The actual basic  calculation is.....
Total campaign or marketing costs divided by total customers acquired in a specific period.
3 months 6months 12 months what ever.
You have to include ALL costs when working out total costs and remember NOT to include retention costs which are separate.
You then need to work out life time value which is very important.

[Hilton]

For example ,in November
I spend £700 putting out leaflets, that's total cost, production,delivery and administration I get the industry average of 1% return that's 7 acquisitions so therefore it has cost me £100 to acquire each customer.
So what now would be the life time value of each customer?

[Tadgh O Shea]

Gave up on sending out leaflets many years ago now as above always found it to be a very poor return on the marketing budget, have been giving out bottles of soil and stain remover for years and the return on investment has been tremendous, high retention of clients and plenty of referrals, can genuinely say its been a wonderful marketing tool for us.

[Hilton]

I have used leaflets in the example because so many use them but it applies to all your marketing tools.
Local press, mags, spotters etc, where ever you have been marketing.

[Tadgh O Shea]

Not trying to knock leaflets but its fair to say a very high percentage of them end up in the bin, one of the reasons we gave up on them, its said that you can talk about a product all you want and a person might try it, but if you demonstrate they will probably buy into it, giving a quick demo on a bottle of soil and stain remover and a quick explanation of its many uses does leave a long lasting impression and yields to a great return.

[Radek Jablonski]

Leaflets work only for restaurants.
Never seen any professional leaflet from carpet cleaners in my door, just some cheap home printed ones.
Too much hassle with leaflets.

[Hilton]

Clearly they do work as some on here have built successful business's using them, albeit as part of the mix
It seems a no brainer to me that you would use spotters as part of the touchy feely part of your business along with Calenders (very important this time of year) and good quality calenders at that.

What better right now to give your customers a decent spotter plus an excellent calender with your business name and number on every page of the month that remains right in front of your customer for a full 12 months,

If its a crap calender it will be binned,ignored or put in a draw, make it a full size bright coloured with good content that people want to look at every day and mark with important dates, including their next clean.Any time any acquaintance,member of the family ,business contact anyone, mentions carpet cleaning they will have the opportunity to refer you to them as your name has been drilled into them month after month.....

Oh but the cost !!!!!!!

[Simon Gerrard]

Can someone tell me the formula for working out how much a new customer is costing me?

Pie squared with chips and gravy, simple

[tim handley]

and mint sauce....

[Tadgh O Shea]

Ya for def, a little bit of magic in a bottle can and will generate a great return on investment, marketing is all about working smart not hard.

[tim handley]

got 50 nice looking spotters coming today, ill let you know how they work for me.................