[kate1]

Stu Mac

Why are you saying for FREE?

Why automatically has something got to be for "free" to progess?

[darren clarke]

doesnt it all depend on what stage you are at with ur business,  if you only have 50 custy and can get 10 new custy every month for giving away a free clean,  the go for it,  but a lot on here what rounds off 300 plus so dont need to get more custys and say i would never do that

[mci services]

Stu Mac

Why are you saying for FREE?

Why automatically has something got to be for "free" to progess?

because that was the original post "free or half price"

doesnt it all depend on what stage you are at with ur business,  if you only have 50 custy and can get 10 new custy every month for giving away a free clean,  the go for it,  but a lot on here what rounds off 300 plus so dont need to get more custys and say i would never do that

that is a fair point Darren and offering a clean here and there in return for a referral makes sense and gets the customer doing your canvassing for you, but that was not the original poster's question, he wanted advice on retaining customers not gaining new ones.   

[darren clarke]

good point stu, but if you are good enough to be recommended then you should be able to keep them,  even if they only keep u to get free cleans, but get u a new custy every month then great

to keep a custy  just keep the windows clean and turn up and be polite and take a interest in them


i use to have a wc before i became a wc  and never even knew his name, most he ever said to me was, that will be x amount  or this is the new bloke taking over,  and had him over a year  i think the window cleaner change about 3 times in that year

[mci services]

good point on the name thing and yes if you are good enough the customer will refer you without any offers, that's why I don't offer anything, back to the name thing my name is on my slips, leaflets, website as is my address and it installs trust without all the free offer stuff.  If you are targeting customers that want a cheap deal or freebie offer they are the wrong type of customer anyway and will drop you as soon as a better offer comes along.   

[aallshine]

yeah have you seen a doctor knock off a price for appointment or a dentist
,why we should do?, like somebody else said already,if you are reliable and good,that s all matters............

[kate1]

Nobody is saying what you currently do is not a bad idea

All the original poster is saying is that hes exploring different avenues

I dont really see a problem with that

[windiewasher]

kate start a new post and see what are the best ideas to come up!

Ewan,

This thread is not about money

Its about ideas

Its about different suggestions that other people have.

[kate1]

Hi Doc

The ideal situation would be a sep forum for marketing ideas.

You share them see what works for each other instead of fighting against eachother.  You guys on here have an ideal situation to form a coperative.

You have already sitting here all the tools that you need.  Ive said it before

[windiewasher]

totally agree kate!

Hi Doc

The ideal situation would be a sep forum for marketing ideas.

You share them see what works for each other instead of fighting against eachother.  You guys on here have an ideal situation to form a coperative.

You have already sitting here all the tools that you need.  Ive said it before

[kate1]

ASDA first then?

[windiewasher]

i prefer tesco   lol

ASDA first then?

[Londoner]

This site is hilarious at times, maybe there should be a thread on ‘360-degree thinking’ that way people can go nowhere and end up where they started.

Thats why we have got you on here Ewan, the resident flim-flam man.

 I notice you are often quick to offer criticism but never help.Is that because you have no ideas yourself? I suspect so. If not, lets hear some of yours.

[Ben Peters]

Folks I was only looking for a few idea on offering a little more value to my service to keep the customer thinking they are appreciated as my customer....fair enough some of you dont think you need to offer anything and thats fair enough...buy in my area there have been alot of lads with there ladders out and charging very little therefore effecting my business...

Just so you no I operate as much a professional service as possible, do the best job i can, be friendly with customers, am fully insured, new sign written van, T shirts with business info on them etc etc...

At the end of the day the reality is what we do is not rocket science and anyone can lift a bucket and start wc which is is what is happening around me and is effecting my business....for example a cul de sac of houses I clean is £10 per house, i clean 7 of them =£70 I have lost 4 of those customers = £40 to a guy charging £3...

Hence the reason of maybe offering some sort of loyalty scheme and looking some opinions/ideas on them...

[mikecam]

You may end up costing yourself even more money trying to compete with him. I'd just sit it out, at £3 a pop maybe he won't sustain that for to long.

[Sunshine/Cleaning]

The first question you need to ask is WHY are your customers becoming disloyal and leaving you.
If they are not leaving you then you don't need to offer a loyalty scheme.
If they are, is it just about price.

The trick is to offer something that has a high perceived value which costs little.

I did an offer at one time, Introduce a customer and both receive a 'Thorntons' chocolate bar.
Cost was 79p each, so £1.58 cost. Customers loved it. The 'value' of the chocolate was perceived to be greater than it was as it was well thought out.

Don't offer money off. I did this and it was a nightmare. I will post more later.

[Dave Anderson]

Treat customer losses as a way to re-new your round with better paying customers.

Personally I see around 10 - 12% loss per year whether moved/dumped/ dumped me.

I am at the minute 'removing certain' customers from our round due to being messed around for varying reasons.

As for retention schemes..march to the beat of your own drum.

Dave.

[Londoner]

Personally I see around 10 - 12% loss per year whether moved/dumped/ dumped me.

Dave.

Yes probably about the same as me, I have had about ten die so far this year.

[Dave Anderson]

Ah yes...Thank for the info....will have to create a 'dead' column on the spreadsheet...