Ideas for a "green" carpet cleaning company

[Contemporary Carpet Clean]

We just bought a new truck for the biz. I was thinking of running some adds in the local phone book. Nothing big maybe 100-200 a month advertising green cleaning for carpets and furniture. What would be a good name for such a company? I would try to charge 60-75 cents a square foot for prevac, cleaning, rinse. Then about 20-25 cents for protectant. If they do not like the price, I would tell them I will just clean with out prevac for 50-60 cents a square. Or 45-50 cents for just cleaning with no pre vac without green chems. What do you guys think? We are getting 32-35 cents a square for residential for just cleaning with no prevac currently.

I am really interested in a catchy name and I would tattoo the van with some pics or Earth and or some trees.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Green? Are you insane it will never take off. It's just a passing trend. I have never heard of anyone trying that. :shock:

 

[Walt]

I would defiantly prevac. Almost all of my clients have animals - fur galore. If you use good products like planet guard you wont have to prescrub and post pad any more than usual. I think you'll find that the carpet is cleaner to begin with in this market segment than others. Mostly pet issues, not koolaide.

If you aren't currently getting that kind of money on your jobs I wouldn't expect for the "green" cleaning to be a silver bullet causing the phone ringing off the hook.

I would recommend that you reconsider your yellow page ads. As a green cleaning company we found that the yellow pages didn't work that well. I think you will find the internet works very well. The customers are very educated on green cleaning so you need to be as well.

 

[Terry]

richard you'll have a hard time selling protector to a "green customer". I aggree with walt that new media marketing such as internet and moms club groups is the best source for this very educated group.

 

[Cousin]

GreenR CleanR

I know, pretty lame


But listen Richard, you just send me those royalty cheques every month, you hear :wink:



M

 

[Ron Lippold]

green cleaning has been a passing trend hear since the early 90s and it just keeps getting bigger good luck.

Pure clean
enviro clean

 

[Spurling]

Clean-n Green .. you could tattoo your truck with some wild animals drinking your waste water out of a large bowl

 

[Contemporary Carpet Clean]

Paul,

I am not sure about the animals.....ME RAAAIRD!!! lol

 

[Mike Draper]

You could call it, Hot N' Steamy with a green horn!

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Richard,

So are you gonna be a green company or just use green chemicals.

 

[White Collar]

Stamley Greener Steamer!











(all I gots) (took me an hour to come up wit that)

 

[duckster]

I'm no expert, but I use the name Baby Safe Carpet Cleaning and promote the green side of this business. There is a picture of a baby on the side of my van. It gets the attention of moms and grandmas which is my target group. Like I say I am no expert, hope this gives you an idea.

 

[Contemporary Carpet Clean]

brent,

I would do my best to make that a green company....I would advertise green cleaning practices....and then see how it works. I will change things as a go or as needed. Heck with all the non green cleaning chems we still change what products we use...and demo all "new and improved" products. So I would say I would strive to use and be green in many ways off the start...then try to be "all green" once the biz took of and is established. I could run a natural gas van...and natural gas powered truckmount. You all know if you have the money the sky is the limit for anything.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Cool bro, have you found a name yet. I dont know about NY, but waaaaay over here in Seattle Green is HUGE. I am ordering some judson 02 prespray and rinse. Many tell me its the way to go. Thats true if you have the money it has great potential. I have been cleaning for 10 years and just starting Go Green Carpet Cleaning. I just got my van set up and am working on building my client list. I am banking on word of mouth and refferals.
I still use a gas van, but when I have more funds its gonna be cleaner fuel system.

I have read alot about the green moevment and I think its here to stay and is only gonna get bigger in the years to come. With this business its important to be different than your competitors, to make you stand out from the pack. Here in WA, green is big and a multibillion dollar a year industry nationwide, green is everywhere. Green this, green that. So I am gonna ride that wave all the way to the bank if I can do what I am planning. I am just lacking time and money. I have a family to take care of and its a little harder to quit my full time job. I am working on it.

Alot of what I am doing has to deal with the little things that helps me stand out, not just using green products. My uniforms are green, all the paper I use for the custy is seeded with 15 different plants a herbs so they can plant it afterwards. I try and be as green as I can. I have a TON of ideas but it takes money so I have to wait until things take off to do them all. I just dont want to start a carpet cleaning company that cleans carpet I want it to be more than that, I want it to be an experience that people are blown away from and tell there friends, kinda like a Pink Floyd concert. And other stuff I really cant mention because of local lurkers.

Good Luck keep in touch.

 

[Royal Man]

It takes more than hanging a shingle and placing a 1" ad in the yellow pages to be a success in the cleaning industry.

Green or no green.

You should of gotten your marketing in place before you bought a new truck.

Pound the turf and knock on a lot of doors, place a lot of calls to commercial, network your area, get a high placement on the internet for your site, separate yourself from the rest of the cleaners, get educated and get a referral system established.