[[GQC] Tim]

If you had an electric van, okay.

Thats not 'green' though. Electricity production is not eco-friendly in any way whatsoever.

Oh yea, of course haha

[Steve CM]

a name is irrelevant, its how you market and brand build. Me and Ian (window washers) were debating it the other day, he seems to think his name would have an advantage over say something like mine which means nothing to do with window cleaning.

I pointed out a few well known brands that have a name that doesn't pinpoint what the product is. If you want to be big enough where by your are the only/first name people think of when they need window cleaning then you need to have a hugely powerful advertising campaign to do it. it wouldn't matter what that name is because it would be drummed in so hard it would be connected to your business anyway.

But lets face it most of us on here arn't gonna conquer world domination in Window Cleaning so its pretty irrelevant anyways. but just to go over this anyway.

The few well known brands i pointed out were

levis
coca cola
morrisons
tesco's
and play station

he said play station is exactly what it is, i said it wern't, it would be called game console or arcade console. or something that connects it to arcade games. if you heard the word play station and you didn't know what it was for how many would guess its a games console? it could be a kids toy or even something a little erotic for the missus!   who knows??

but the power of brand building is where you seperate yourself from your competition, while we are on the subject of playstations does anyone remember the advertising campaign they produced? when it was launched they had the word playstion and the 4 symbols together in all the media. the circle, square, triangle and cross. all it was for months was the word playstation and the symbols, kept drumming it in to your head then after they done that they took the word playstation away and just played with the 4 symbols. I remeber seeing a picture of a settee in a magazine which had 3 cushions that where shaped in a circle, triangle and a square. they then had a seatbelt/harness that showed the cross. there were lots of different variations to this as well. that is the power of heavy advertising to be able to play with people in such a way that your brand is so strong they only need the slightest inkling that is connected to your brand that they know what it is.

So in summary its not the name its the brand that sells

[WCE]

So in summary its not the name its the brand that sells

Very true although i think Ians name gets the best of both worlds. Brand Identity is the thing that you need to build regardless of name but in ians case his name makes it easier to build the brand identity. The name explains exactly what he does.   

[Roger Slater]

Don't know about you but sometimes when I see what goes down the drain waste wise it does get me down. 

The rain water does go down the drain if you don't harvest it lololol Therefore i dont wast water or use it from the tap very often. If water metering becomes compulsory in the future then you will all have to switch to harvesting or back to the bucket squad

That makes no sense. I was talking about the waste from the ro! Also what about the filters etc? You cant recycle them so what about that. Really it's all swings and roundabouts. As tim said Eco is just a buzz word. Harvesting a bit of rain water wont do a thing to reduce your carbon footprint.  Weigh up all the factors and in reality nether methods are more eco friendly than the other.

What on earth are you dribbling on aboot

I don't think you get the point, harvesting rainwater is a very eco friendly thing to do.

Because it take massive amounts of electricity to get the water to your tap, eg: Water treatment plants, hugh pumps etc..

If im not using much tap water then my carbon footprint is reducing my friend and you cant grasp the Eco concept.

I suggest you look at this and you might just get it..  www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/waterres/287169/286587/511050/
As for the ro unit you can recycle the pre filters as i have done it.

And as for the waste water from the RO, "That waste would have been waste anyway if i didnt harvest."

[Moderator David@stives]

If you think lugging about a 2 ton van with an extra ton of water in the back, not to mention the rescoursces that go into make your hoses, poles pumps etc is ECO, you are  mistaken.


Biodeisel , well the jury is still out on that one, all it seems to do is to take away fields from food crops, there for forcing up food prices, to run one car for a year probably takes up 1 acre field.

[Steve CM]

So in summary its not the name its the brand that sells

Very true although i think Ians name gets the best of both worlds. Brand Identity is the thing that you need to build regardless of name but in ians case his name makes it easier to build the brand identity. The name explains exactly what he does.   

you can still gain the same recognition by stating what your business does regardless of the name itself, Its all down to the advertising!

Also you then don't limit yourself to one avenue either if you wish to diversify.

look at Virgin?

Virgin Coca Cola
Virgin Credit Cards
Virgin Records
Virgin Airliners
etc etc..

[simon123]

This is why trad is far superior to wfp = Wfp takes maybe 500 litres of water daily , trad on the other hand takes only a couple of gallons !   

[WCE]

Don't know about you but sometimes when I see what goes down the drain waste wise it does get me down. 

The rain water does go down the drain if you don't harvest it lololol Therefore i dont wast water or use it from the tap very often. If water metering becomes compulsory in the future then you will all have to switch to harvesting or back to the bucket squad

That makes no sense. I was talking about the waste from the ro! Also what about the filters etc? You cant recycle them so what about that. Really it's all swings and roundabouts. As tim said Eco is just a buzz word. Harvesting a bit of rain water wont do a thing to reduce your carbon footprint.  Weigh up all the factors and in reality nether methods are more eco friendly than the other.

What on earth are you dribbling on aboot

I don't think you get the point, harvesting rainwater is a very eco friendly thing to do.

Because it take massive amounts of electricity to get the water to your tap, eg: Water treatment plants, hugh pumps etc..

If im not using much tap water then my carbon footprint is reducing my friend and you cant grasp the Eco concept.

I suggest you look at this and you might just get it..  www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/waterres/287169/286587/511050/
As for the ro unit you can recycle the pre filters as i have done it.

And as for the waste water from the RO, "That waste would have been waste anyway if i didnt harvest."

Oh LOL you mis understood me. Read my post again and you MIGHT get what i meant.

[Roger Slater]

Dave you should work for the environment agency, i think your knowledge on our eco system is second to none.

Lets have a poll

If im wrong i will shut up.

[mark dew]

i also think window washers is the best on here. Especially with the .com bit added on his van. The orange background is also distinctive and eyecatching too.
Others that i think are very good
mywindowcleaner.com
ourwindowcleaner.com
thewindowcleaner.com

[simon123]

Know somone round here who uses the name " Mr Wishy Washy " 

[Roger Slater]

mywindowcleaner.com
ourwindowcleaner.com
thewindowcleaner.com

All registered, It really grinds my pole that individuals and companies buy up these domain names and have no intentions of using them but to sell them on at a profit.

People like www.tomcruise.com can have there domain names protected so why cant genuine tax registered window cleaners do the same or for that matter any genuine business.

[Roger Slater]

Looks like Reflection Window Cleaning is going to win.

[Paul Coleman]

I just use my surname and tack "Services" on the end of it.  When I first became self-employed (due to unemployment), window cleaning was not my only source of income.  I was also doing some bits of work on a self-employed basis for an advertising company.  Additionally, I was renting myself out to various places to do ad hoc driving work.  Those three things are fairly diverse and "Services" was a catch all name suggested by the accountant I went to (I'm still with him 17 years later)..  At that time, I had no idea which way my work life was heading.  Gradually the window cleaning took over from the other bits of work until it became my full time occupation.  Then I started a business account in the same name.  It would just be a load of hassle to change it.

[jaykie]

well you know

[kris martin]

i like reflection window cleaners but i have my mind set on clear vision, i know somebody already has this but there a long way from me ive done umpteen searches.....

[simon123]

i like reflection window cleaners but i have my mind set on clear vision, i know somebody already has this but there a long way from me ive done umpteen searches.....

Doesnt matter you can still use that name or I stand to be corrected ( again ) .

[Jeff Brimble]

This is why trad is far superior to wfp = Wfp takes maybe 500 litres of water daily , trad on the other hand takes only a couple of gallons !   

You dont have to use massive ammounts of water, I often use a third of a bucket of water to clean the glass only of an average house. I only carry about 50 litres in the van.

[Captain Scarlet]

im very good with water now too Jeff, I can do a domestic day with 150-200ltrs even though ive got a 500ltr tank. on commercials though its the whole 500 and often more

[Roger Slater]

This is very close between reflection and window washers i will keep the poll open for another couple of days.