For you new guys, dont make the mistake I did..

[Farenheit251]

Contractors,Interior Designers and RE agents have all been hit really hard by the economy. Are you sure you lost them?

 

[Bob Savage]

Referral sources are worth their weight in gold.

We have tried not to put all our eggs in one basket.

We do work for Ethan Allen, and also a local contemporary only furniture store, a major local carpet and fine rug dealer, a large restoration company (cleaning tile/grout, carpet, upholstery, mattresses, and carpet stretching); in addition, we also clean for several dentists, several repeat commercial clients, several local commercial electrical contractors, and a local high-end design service who also sells furniture and accessories, but, our largest piece of the cleaning pie is residential carpet, upholstery, and tile cleaning.

It has been really nice these past 4 years not having to spend any money on advertising, other than the reminders that we send out.

 

[KeithCo]

Uh, not sure what to say.

This is why I only give Paula advice, now.

 

[ACE]

I tend to error a bit on the other side of ingratiating my key customers too much. It’s a thin line to walk.

 

[Wayne Miller]

Our best referral sources don't appreciate "free" stuff nearly as much as they do a fair deal, dependability and honesty.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Our best referral sources don't appreciate "free" stuff nearly as much as they do a fair deal, dependability and honesty.

You said what I meant to say.

 

[Mikey P]

No PMS here.

Blame my sobriety on Brevik.

On his advice I gave a contractor a 3 for the price of two for a job I had to go on on three times to complete. Each time a minimum charge.

Got me thinking of some others who would still be calling if I did not ding them quite so hard.

In my biz I am able to price a good percentage of my jobs AFTER I am done. Probably not the best time to do so. Tired, running late and covered in cat piss is no time to be deciding on how I want my future to develop with this particular client.


In now way what so ever am I telling new guys to go cheap. Just to be smart and try and realize what each customer can do for you. Learn to recognize a potential cheerleader and treat them like the gold they are.


To answer Jim's question, if Mikey P circa 2002 found this board today he'd be calling me a Judson/Bruders suck ass and be almost as obnoxious as Nancy Boyle can be every three weeks or so.






and yes since taking the Six on as my mentors, I have matured a ounce or three.

 

[randy]

There is a huge difference between recommending someone go the super low price route and pointing out that being overly obsessed with premiumisation & high prices greatly narrows the target market, especially in times like this. Things have changed drastically and despite claims to the contrary by a few folks intoxicated by their own optimistism , sales of luxury items are extraordinarily depressed. The current issue of the Forbes 400 shows the net Worth of several top clothing designers down by 80%. One major player in that market discussed his CRISIS PLAN in a recent article:

1) Broaden consumer targets in terms of price (bundling of products, discounts, coupons & huge sales) .
2) Strengthening our promotion and marketing
3) Massive cost cutting with savings redirected to investments (they are hoarding cash flow to weather an extended recession). Yep the one Obama warned us about, a double Decker recession, the longest in history.
4) Getting back to the fundamentals of selling, marketing and delaying plans for new product development

Now the CEO that formed this strategic plan is a billionaire several times over, so perhaps Mike is on the right track.
Carpet cleaning isn't recession resistant or you wouldn't see the current high failure rate in the industry. You wouldn't see huge, long established distributors shutting down. We are in for a long haul, watch your spending & cash flow closely. Don't let your inventory of parts & supplies get out of bounds. Be ready to pounce when things rebound.

Maybe think about how Mike's thinking aligns with more than a few billionaires right now. Perhaps you should be formulating your own crisis plan ?

 

[Greenie]

I can see the coit...er....I mean Connoisseur 40% off post cards hitting the street now.

Or...you could just give the next $900 house a preferred custy discount of 10% (3 of those $20 biz cards for friends, (Should be $50 cards in your hood) and a gift card for $30 to your favorite tofu pit stop instead of a bottle of poof.

And a big warm hug explaining how you really need their referrals cause advertising sucks.