[Robin Ray]

We all need machines, chemicals and cleaning knowledge but more importantly we need to market. Without marketing there are no customers! So what are your top ten marketing avenues?

[Mike Halliday]

TOP 10!! You're asking a lot

Let's wait for the old chestnut...." I don't do any marketing, all you need to do is great work. And they will come flooding back & recommend all their family and friends"

That will be written on many a headstone in the bankrupters graveyard. I know so many great carpet cleaners who are often slow and need constant marketing to stay in business. doing great work and being a excellent carpet cleaner is not enough to ensure success in todays market, their are too many other carpet cleaners marketing to your customers. all it takes is a nice leaflet to drop through a loyal customers door with an enticing offer and you've lost them for a year.


But I digress....

For me (as everyone knows) it's leaflets..... easy to control and scaleable results that are easy to track. Using your own deliverer or doing them yourself you are in total control. Too many marketing  methods require you to hand over control and money to someone else who promises you the earth but couldn't careless is you get a result or not

Long term it's trying to dominate your local area with your presence, being known by everyone ( a fantastic sign written van helps )

[neil 47]

recommendations
Leaflets
Internet
Newspaper ads
Do friends for free to get some practise
Door knocking
Emails
Telephone
Facebook
Website
Tumbler
wordpress blog
Sign written vans , cars
Letters to commercial firms,then follow up with a visit
Free listings
Join carpet cleaning forums 
Networking
Posters
Facebook   

all i do is google though

[COLIN BRIGHT]

My best one is ME , just tell your clients what else you clean, and you'll be surprised at how many people have no clue, I think they focuses on what they want cleaning and don't even register your other services... Simples

[Andrew Briscoe]

My gob
website
£5 lineage ad every Saturday
My sons school.

not needed anything else, what works for 1 may not work for another

[Simon Gerrard]

If you consider every jobs an advert and deliver fabulous quality at a value for money price then you should have set in train probably the most vital of all marketing elements, recommendations, which costs you nothing and your customers do all the work for you.
Getting the customer in the first place is of course your first issue but with a combination of all the usual elements followed by high customer retention, your advertising bill should be relatively small and shrinking over time.

Simon

[Jamie Pearson]

Why would you shrink your advertising budget. Surely if it's working you would increase it or at least spend the same as it becomes more efficient to get more and more work so you can scale the business.

[Robin Ray]

Jamie what are your most effective methods for reaching new customers?

[Shaun_Ashmore]

If you look after your old ones they will return AND bring friends.

Shaun

[Robin Ray]

What was you most effective way of finding the old ones?

[Mike Gwilliam]

Old peoples homes 

[Jamie Pearson]

Jamie what are your most effective methods for reaching new customers?

I dont do domestic carpet & upholstery cleaning. However, for us, the best ROI is Google Adwords.

We spend a lot on it but it brings back in more £ for £ than any of the others.

That said Facebook Ads works out cheaper but doesn't quite match Adwords yet. Its not far off though.

Some of our work (wood floor sanding) is one of with customers not coming back for 4-5 years.
For these its about direct mail to get us back in again.

The most impressive of all is the £20 professionally produced video that so far we have quoted £20k of work from and carried out around £15k of it so far.

This is one of 100+ videos. The rest havent brought back anything like the same return but over the whole vidoe project its still a return of 20:1 at the moment.

[Steve Chapman]

Hi Jamie,

Who did you use to produce your videos, as we are looking to get some done,

Cheers
Steve

[Jamie Pearson]

www.attwooddigital.com

[Steve Chapman]

ok thanks,

I've looked at some of their services, you obviously rate them ?.

Do you subscribe or was it a one off cost ?

Regards
Steve

[Radek Jablonski]

20 pounds? do i read correct? or you missed one zero?

[John Kelly]

Think it was one of 100 so 2k

[Ian Gourlay]

My gob
website
£5 lineage ad every Saturday
My sons school.

not needed anything else, what works for 1 may not work for another

you bloody lucky

[jasonl]

jamie have you got a link to your video

[Ian Gourlay]

If you consider every jobs an advert and deliver fabulous quality at a value for money price then you should have set in train probably the most vital of all marketing elements, recommendations, which costs you nothing and your customers do all the work for you.
Getting the customer in the first place is of course your first issue but with a combination of all the usual elements followed by high customer retention, your advertising bill should be relatively small and shrinking over time.

Simon

i DID LISTEN TO A MARKETING TAPE WITH ALL THAT DREAMY MUSIC   I bought on the way from back north   it was called something like wouldn't it be nice. All you need to do is find five customers who then lead you to five more customers  who then lead you to five more each  so i think we must be over 200 by now   I think I recall John Bolton saying he only advertised for 5 customers in 1964 and built  is it Dynomo Clean etc