Wow, thanks Greg...sorry to hear about your friend.
1. Know your audience. - who are they? specifically by demographic--- Who is our audience...is it the same for every cleaner?NOT THE SAME for every cleaner. White, black, hispanic, residential, commercial, homeowner, apartment buildings, rich, poor, middle class
5. Decide what ONE thing is going to make people remember you. Market the living heck out of that one thing. ---What is that one thing for you Greg?i change it up on a regular bais but the message I have been sending since the recession started is: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY ALOT OF $ TO GET YOUR CARPETS CLEANED"
7. Pay attention to your competitors and adjust accordingly. ---What do we look for?message, share of voice, trends, pricing variances, weaknesses, buy out opportunities,
This needs repeating
Quote:
If you want MORE LIFELONG CUSTOMERS: realize that you have to take yourself out of the equation. Most cleaners build jobs for themselves. They build their "job" based on how good they are. They often brag to customers about their skills or the power of their truck. HUGe MISTAKES
I think this is for the guy or company that wants to grow...if a local guy wants to stay that "local guy" then I see no harm in promoting their talent etc.
I don't think you can grow to more than a few trucks.....this has been my "problem'. I focus so much on quality that I take my business out of some of the game. The quality can still be there...but I don't need to worry about it so much.
I disagree. NO-ONE wants to work forever. Owning a business means it is something worth OWNING. Meaning it could and should be sold when the owner is ready to retire. If the reason theya re using your company is simply the cleaner- it is a going out of business plan. The thought process behind this is: you talk all about your skills, eventually you get a helper or another truck? When and if you add a couple of trucks- is the emphasis is going to be on their skill set? How do you stay in business when those cleaners leave? Particularly if they try to steal your customer base? The owner can still clean but the marketing message shouldn't be about your skill set. It should be about the benefit of using your company. Even if you are small, you need to focus on what you want to become. Build all your systems with your ultimate goal in mind. For instance, I started my company with 3 contractors. I only wanted to grow it to 5-7. BUT, I built systems that could easily be reproduced and little adjustment was needed to accomodate growth. Eventually I had 10. Then 15, 23,30, 50, and now well over 60. It's not about what you want, rather it is about what the business wants. I have always lived professionally by a moto: "GROW it or CLOSE it" Quality isnt your problem in growing, its the fact that you need to develop systems to accomodate growth.
I loved the analogy in SFS of the 3 boats. THe first being the 1 man sailboat. The second being a racing sailboat (skipper + 10-15 crew members) The third being a large ship with a captain, 1st mate, dozens of crew members, etc.. The one they left off is the admiral in the flag ship with the smaller vessels running behind it. The flag ship plows the way making it easier for the smaller vessels to travel and survive. This is the model I have created. However I have modified it. We use contractors (esentially the one man boat) that are able to coast behind the smaller vessels and the flag ship. It's a win win for everyone. As many here likely recognize: Franchises also run a similar operation. I have always believed that if you don't possess the wits to build all the systems from the ground up (or you just don't want the headaches) you should buy a franchise. Just make sure it is a proven one
