So many people never take the first step toward achievement in their desired goal or dream. The majority of people think and plan, but fail to take action. Action is the key to more action and results. Marketing is simply the act of promoting the services you offer or provide. Effective marketing can yield amazing results in sales and help launch you toward success in your carpet cleaning business… and if marketing for your new business is overwhelming, this post is for you!
Maybe you have the equipment and everything necessary to start cleaning, but something is holding you back? Winning your first customer can be intimidating when you’re new, but sometimes you just need to get started. Below is a rough plan designed so that you can get a number of marketing tasks done in one day to start promoting your new carpet cleaning business and booking jobs. You might be surprised at the effect momentum can have once you actually start.
Define Your Ideal Customer
In order to launch into effective marketing one must first define their “ideal client” or their “perfect customer.” At first glance it’s easy to disregard this by thinking that you desire any and all customers that are willing to pay you for you effort. Realistically though, you will want to define the specific type of client you would prefer to serve.
There are a lot of different types of carpets and flooring, and a huge variety in the types of customers out there. Customers that see a lot of value in cleanliness, have plenty of money to invest in such, and have values that align with yours is a good place to start. By simply taking the time to define and focus on your “ideal customer” you attract more of what you truly desire – sit down and write out a description so that it is clear in your mind and you’ve fully articulated and understand who you want as customers.
Set Up a Google My Business Listing
Every carpet cleaning business should have a profile on Google. The fastest and best way for your business to show up on Google is to start a profile on Google My Business. A future blog post will go into more detail on this, but in the meantime, you can watch these two Jumpstart Youtube videos to quickly and easily make this a reality:
- Setting up a “Business” Google Account For Your Carpet Cleaning Business
- Marketing for Carpet Cleaners: How to Create a Google My Business Listing
Leverage Social Media
Social Media (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc.) is quickly becoming one of the most effective tools for marketing. Many times by just creating a Facebook Business Page you can invite your friends to “like” your page and begin to create a powerful marketing platform. Even without an official page you can start to find customers on social media. If you have the time we recommend setting up an official business page now, to help strengthen your brand and improve how you’ll be perceived. After that is complete, it’s time to start posting about your services…
Outreach on social media takes time, creativity, and energy but doesn’t have to cost you any money. Because you took the time to define your “ideal client” you now have some idea of what information would best attract that prospect to become your customer. Remember that carpet cleaning is an intimate business in which we operate inside of people’s homes and/or businesses – trust and integrity go a long way in marketing carpet cleaning services. Humor and relating to your prospective customers also encourages a sale. Have fun with your marketing, ask questions that get someone to smile or laugh. Sales is emotional not logical – your marketing should be designed to put people in a good mood. Sit down and draft a few different styles of social media posts. Run them by people you trust (or ask about them in the Jumpstart Facebook group!), and refine them until you’re ready to post them publicly. You many want to even consider using your phone to record a video.
If you created a Facebook page for your business already, you should now be ready to post your best ideas to your page. You can then share them to your friends and family on your personal timeline, and possibly share them in local groups. If you don’t have a page, just put out your first few posts on your personal timeline. If you are connected to your local community on any platforms other than Facebook, repeat the same steps there and start telling people in your area about your business.
Related Post: How to Win New Carpet Cleaning Customers with Facebook Ads
Old Fashioned Word of Mouth & Networking
Marketing with an online presence and social media profiles is very effective but shouldn’t be your only means of marketing. In the beginning stages of building your business one of the most powerful ways of marketing your company will be just talking with people. Again, conveying trust and integrity is the keystone, always smile and look into the eyes of anyone you are talking with. The more you talk with people, the easier it will be to tell them about your business. While you can easily go door to door in a nice neighborhood with business cards and find a lot of success quickly – networking events may be even better.
There are a lot of networking events happening in most towns every month. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce – join and participate. You can also explore meetup groups, Facebook events, business networking opportunities, etc. When you begin talking with someone always ask them questions. Find out who you are talking to and what drives them. What do they want? What do they value? Build rapport with someone before ever mentioning what it is you offer – you may find that people will naturally want to help you promote your business once you know each other a little and you’re friendly.
Order Printed Materials
Lastly, start brainstorming some form of printed marketing material that can be mailed out or handed out immediately. You may want to avoid leading with pricing – I recommend leaving your prices off of all your material. Most potential customers think they just want a price. They think that a price will be enough information to make a decision to buy. Knowing the truth, price alone is seldom enough information – while evaluating a potential job you can steer conversations toward building trust and integrity. Have your “call to action” be to call, text, Facebook message, or email you about pricing (and make sure to not use your cell phone number!). This will afford you the opportunity to impress them with amazing customer service.
Obviously you won’t get your new printed materials on the same day that you order them, but you’ll have that to-do checked off your list, and you can start writing down ideas on how to best reach your ideal customers with your new marketing materials. Maybe it’s leaving flyers on doors, or asking family and friends to distribute materials to their friends – brainstorm a list and give a few new ideas a try when you receive your materials.
When inquiries start to come in, immediately respond, thanking them for their inquiry and then ask questions. The idea is to build rapport with folks before giving them pricing. Once you gather enough information (location, last cleaning, areas of concern, etc.) you might decide to inform them that in order to provide them with the most accurate price, “a free in-home estimate works best.” Ask them what day and time would work best for them to have you come take a look. Once someone allows you the opportunity to come into their home or business you are awarded yet another interaction where you can provide amazing customer service. During your estimate convey confidence and ask more questions. Ask questions about them, not their flooring. Ask how long they’ve lived in the home, their family, their profession – whatever will help build trust and comfort into your conversation – remember that people love to talk about themselves. They love it even more when someone actually listens.
Marketing your carpet cleaning business can be fun and the key to keeping it fun is action. Make a commitment to do at least one thing everyday to market yourself and your services – it doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you keep putting in small efforts every day. Also remember that you aren’t selling carpet cleaning, you are selling yourself. Putting yourself “out-there” can be a bit intimidating at first, but it will be very attractive to your future customers. It’s the only way to connect. We need to truly connect with people, especially with our marketing. Good luck!