[kate1]

Sorry I thought I ought to post this seperate because I had changed it so much, hope thats ok



I wish I could find the advert now.

But they were offering quite a good comm rate if you were to close a commercial contract.

Im assuming, no expert, that within this industry its price wars.

Depends what your target market is?  Domestic or commercial?  Which will all depend on the equipment capacity that you have.

Commercial I suppose less buildings, domestic - high volume?

I suppose you must get to a turning point within the business where you want to progress.  You maybe doing a mixture of both, but then is the decision where either you want to do both domestic and commercial or one or the other?

Domestic marketing

I would assume that leaflet and door to door knocking, plus word of mouth (word of mouth can also be bad if you do a bad job) so it works both ways.

So yes domestic would be regular advertising in local mags,  One off ads do not work, you have to be continuous, so people get used to seeing your name. Leaflet dropping, but you COULD if you wanted follow this up with a call.  Everybody prioritises services and bills, which is more important, paying the gas? or paying the window cleaner?

If any of you advertise, I would have thought that the advertising bill is last on the list to pay - its a necessity, but not as important as buying supplies to run your business.

Commercial marketing

I would definately go down the route of calling from a TPS list (telephone preference service).  You either can buy data, and hopefully rely on that the amount of employees reflects the building size?  Or you drive round your local area and look at the buildings you would like to clean.  Try and find a number on the net, TPS
check it and call.

Really its very diverse the ideas, you could offer 1 month windows, gutter cleaning free - or something like that - mix and match?

Refer a friend, an honoury clean?

Sometimes you have to add a little "extra" that sets you apart from the competition, a bit gimicky it maybe - but it may sway people to go with you.

Even a voucher scheme, so many cleans and you get a clean free?

You could even run a competition between all the people on you round, make it fun, this month A N Other are giving away X, it makes you different

you could do a trival pursuit type of thing when you put the bill through the door, whoever wins gets their clean free.

Your a community industry

You will soon be known for being a bit different

Just a few ideas thats all



Hope that helps

[richard jagger]

Anything you give aways is worth nothing. Dont always thing of cheaping yourself with free give aways.Thats not marketing its buying .Be unique, offer something differant why is it when you guys speak of differant its a give aways, its a none brainer.No unique. 

[Moderator David@stives]

Hi Kate

Have you ever put those marketing ideas into practice or is it all text book stuff.

[kate1]

Nope its not "text stuff"

Its marketing ideas to stand you out from the rest. 

Ive been in sales/marketing for 20 years, it all depends on how you deliver your service that makes you different from other people

Its emotional buying

AIDCA

Attention
Interest
Desire
Conviction
Action

Its how you write adverts

Todays climate you need to offer the extras

Its not a window clean, its a way of life.

[M Henderson]

I think what Kate is saying is get people talking about you by being different.

Like that company that cleans on ladders in kilts 

By being different you get people's attention.

Like that song, "When you're strange...people remember your name.." 

[kate1]

yep

[kate1]

It depends on what your goal is and what you want to achieve

Sales is active upon leads, you can try and generate leads of your own back, or you employ a seperate person/or lead generating company to do that for you.  It would mean getting a TPS database,  because we cant call willy nilly anybody that we like.  Its a £5k fine if you make a cold call and that person has opted out of cold calls

marketing is trying to push your name in your industry

So for example if you have a website, you would want an SEO company to try and pull your website up i the ranks

So Marketing

It would involve you releasing press releases. 

Sales would you be actively going out and promoting yourself, knocknig on doors, someone one on the phone, marketing is more public relations, where you send a piece of information to a magazine, saying you have come out with a new product

With Pr your looking for free promotion of your business, without paying anyt advertising costs

hope that helps

[kate1]

Nothing Ewen, Im too  busy

All I can offer is a bit of advice

[kate1]

Not selling anything Ewan, just trying to help on the marketing side

[mikecam]

Kate which would be the most costly for a consumer, a service they where sold by a provider or a service they where marketed by a provider?

[kate1]

I have two hats Ewan Im closely involved with Acacia - but Im freelance.  Seperately I work freelance for lots of different companies,  Im just trying to offer help and advice with regards to marketing problems, thats all.  You guys have to look at yourselfs as if you were Tescos, ................  loyalty schemes, different incentives, unfortunately to win business nowadays you have to go the consumer way,

Hope that helps

[kate1]

Mikecam

Can you make yourself a bit clearer, im not really sure what you are asking

[kate1]

Oops cant sleep tonight

You could also do a tear of slip on your leaflets, as in the same kind of stuff that clingfilm works on.

The corrigated stuff

Request a quote

[G Griffin]

Ok Kate, I must have got it wrong I thought you were offering some service, and wasn’t exactly sure of what that was.

 Dirty swine! 

[richard jagger]

I think Kate is talking about correx the stuff estate agents boards is make of. Marketing is influencing the way customers perceive you and drawing business towards you.

[Clive McDonald]

I like your ideas kate they are very good. Some we already do after a fashion, but already you have come up with several tweaks.

The problem you'll find when you are dealing or interacting with us is that we already think we know everything.One of your main points, i think, is that a fresh approach is nearly always beneficial.

Community industry was a good phrase.Lot's of your ideas were corkers.

Your grasp of what we do- domestic/commercial, was poor but strategies a different subject.


The next campaign i do i'll have to run it past you for input.

[kate1]

If I think of anything else, will post it.

As the mods on here have been kind enough to let me post, ought to give something back

[kate1]

I imagine that you get customer email details where you can?

Do any of you use these as a marketing tool? Monthly offers etc?

[kate1]

Another idea, maybe a family discount card, for aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters etc

[Dave Willis]

The trouble is Kate, I don't think you fully grasp the situation most windowcleaners are in. A very small minority are big players who can afford to take a hit offering discounts, advertising on the radio and tv.
In truth I think you will find most visitors to this forum are sole traders who have been forced into cleaning windows due to redundancy or purely for survival. Many think they are the next entrepreneur to sit in the chair on Dragons Den but in truth many don't have two pennies to rub together, which is why diy subjects are so popular.
Your ideas sound like they have come fresh from the classroom and straight off a flip chart or even from a marketing book .
Where do your ideas come from? Do you specialise in sales? just curious as you have loads of ideas but they just don't seem to cross over into our simple business particularly well if you see what I mean.
First cleans are a nightmare and can take an hour to do - offering to do them free makes no sense in my mind nor does working for nothing appeal to me.