Past clients.

[Brody Robert]

I have not been doing a good job staying in contact with past clients. With newsletters and such.
I think there would be a lot of value in actually mailing to them.

Is there any good templates or programs that anyone would recommend to mail to my client base?

Something really fun to read and informative. I don't have a large budget but I think this would be a good investment.

Anyway, any thoughts and ideas would be great. Thanks

 

[hogjowl]

You need to look into ServiceMonster.

 

[Mike Draper]

I second that. very easy and profitable

 

[Mikey P]

how ever you go about it, do it at least three times a year.

 

[Papa John]

Yep-- Service Monster with "Fill my Schedule" service will help greatly.

 

[Brody Robert]

What is the price of service monster?

 

[Able 1]

I would figure $250 a month,but I don't do the 3 month reminder..

 

[Mike Draper]

I only do 12, 18 & 24 month reminders. I doubt I pay much over 100 a month at most.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I like these. You can do print or buy electronic or both.

http://ccnewsletters.com/

 

[hogjowl]

I do ALL the reminders and probably pay about $200 a month max. It's so small I don't keep up with it.

The money I save not paying shipping more than makes up for my SM costs every year.

 

[realclean]

How much customer info do you need to have for SM.

 

[hogjowl]

Name, address and shoe size.

 

[jkowalski]

To get the most out of SM and FMS and get that repeat rate high and stable (assuming you're paper based and not a QuickBooks user) the minimum information you need is name, address, and last invoice date. We have an excel template to make it super easy. Then we will import the list for you.

As far as client count, we have some sub 100 client subscribers but it's rare. I would suggest SM to anyone with either; 200+ clients OR if your just starting, have night aspirations, and don't want to lose a single client.

For paper based part-timers' with under 100 clients, it's probably not worth the expense.

 

[realclean]

assuming you're paper based and not a QuickBooks user

What if I am a Quickbook user?

 

[hogjowl]

Then you already have all the info you need.

 

[jkowalski]

Like Marty didn't say directly, we can import it.

Then you get most of what you have in QuickBooks from your Accounts Receivable.

 

[jkowalski]

Oh and if it's QuickBooks desktop SM will import when ever you need it.

We are actively working on QuickBooks Online.

 

[D Luke]

Kind of off subject but not really. I always thought SM's setup fee was a cash grab until I actually went through with it and saw what they actually import. They get you up and running with a full billing history and dropped into FMS with no issues.

If you want something fun for your customers to read though, FMS is not it. I use a monthly newsletter that my clients seem to love.

 

[Mikey P]

something your create or buy?


can we see it?

 

[jkowalski]

With a solid newsletter you can strip FMS to the money makers (3,9,12,18) and leave the newsletter to fill the gaps.

And before you guys string me up for mentioning the 3 month as a money maker, read this

http://www.servicemonster.net/?s=3+month+reminder

You could go without the 3 month if your newsletter mentions all of your services.

 

[D Luke]

something your create or buy?


can we see it?

I will PM this month's to anyone that wants to see it. It's from a company that tends to be a little controversial so I don't want to get in to it, but the newsletter is really top notch.

I send it out every month both email and snail mail without fail. It's hard to actually quantify an ROI but I've been really happy with it.

 

[D Luke]

With a solid newsletter you can strip FMS to the money makers (3,9,12,18) and leave the newsletter to fill the gaps.

And before you guys string me up for mentioning the 3 month as a money maker, read this

http://www.servicemonster.net/?s=3+month+reminder

You could go without the 3 month if your newsletter mentions all of your services.

I've been using FMS as is but I'm about to switch to 4, 8, 12, 17, 24 to go along with my monthly newsletter.

 

[jkowalski]

Nice! Let me know how it goes!

 

[jkowalski]

I think newsletters will be in vogue within the next few years. Millennials will think it's neat that your social media is in print and mailed.

But it has to be good and have some funny, be relevant to the current state, and have a bit of local/family. Those are the common elements I've see work well in the past.

 

[D Luke]

I think newsletters will be in vogue within the next few years. Millennials will think it's neat that your social media is in print and mailed.

But it has to be good and have some funny, be relevant to the current state, and have a bit of local/family. Those are the common elements I've see work well in the past.

Best thing I've done is create a super personal section in my monthly newsletter. Babies, family, whatever, just really play it up.

People feel like they actually know you and they really care about how you are doing. They love to talk about your kids, etc. when they come in to contact with you. They've even stopped some of my family members to inquire about how our family is.

 

[Mikey P]

I will PM this month's to anyone that wants to see it. It's from a company that tends to be a little controversial so I don't want to get in to it, but the newsletter is really top notch.

I send it out every month both email and snail mail without fail. It's hard to actually quantify an ROI but I've been really happy with it.

please send me a copy

 

[Shane Deubell]

Monthly print seems excessive to me nowadays with email.

Not a criticism, we just cut back on print quite a bit.

 

[Brody Robert]

I will PM this month's to anyone that wants to see it. It's from a company that tends to be a little controversial so I don't want to get in to it, but the newsletter is really top notch.

I send it out every month both email and snail mail without fail. It's hard to actually quantify an ROI but I've been really happy with it.

I would love to see it as well!

 

[D Luke]

Monthly print seems excessive to me nowadays with email.

Not a criticism, we just cut back on print quite a bit.

Yeah, well, you can go eff yourself.

Just kidding. You're probably right in a lot of ways, especially for multi truck guys.

It works really well for me though. Great engagement through giveaways, trivia, shout-outs, interesting articles, etc. Very little of it is actual "marketing" for carpet cleaning in the traditional sense.