How to get more clients for a carpet cleaning business?

[Livengood]

My father owns a carpet cleaning business and does not do as much business in the winter and has been struggling lately. How can he get more apartment complex clients?

[Anand Sagar Kashyap]

Hi,
There are a number of ways to boost up sale. One way is to market the product on the right platforms (both offline and online). If competition is high you can offer some discounts. If budget is a constraint, you could use social media to connect with as many people as possible in your locality/city.
Regards,
Anand

[DennisChang]

Do some research on what exactly is the problems. Is your pricing competitive with your competitors? Are people aware of your services? How many percentage of your customers are return customers? How satisfied are your existing customers with your services?

[Livengood]

I would say about 90% of his work is returning customers and those are mainly a few apartment buildings that use him for all their units.

[Livengood]

Right now I think looking for other apartment complexes is the best route right now.

[Harold Mansfield]

Right now I think looking for other apartment complexes is the best route right now.

Then you need to approach them for the contracts. Good old fashioned handshaking and schmoozing. How did you get the accounts that you have now?

[Fulcrum]

Property management companies will be your target market.

[Paul]

Try soliciting your current clients for referrals or at least try to get some contact info for other complexes they may know. Get some testimonials and create a flyer and hand deliver. That is a business that requires being in their face….constantly.

[Livengood]

How would you go about contacting potential clients? He has gained the current clients through referrals years ago. Would you call first and ask to send a flyer or just walk in with a flyer?

[CCAdamson]

Step-Dad used to run a carpet cleaning business. His was mostly residential homes but he did have some commercial buildings and complexes. He had a reputation in the business because he had worked for another company for some time before branching out on his own. When he did, he would work his full time job during the day and clean commercial sites at night (his brother would work for him during the day). Anyhow he worked his way in to some places just on reputation and price but with others he had to do a little selling. He would work with property managers to get contracts. Not an apartment but for example he had a restaurant that he struck a long term contract with so they would clean it regularly. Point is he developed a relationship with the right people and then worked it to his advantage i.e. long term contracts.

[HooktoWin]

My father owns a carpet cleaning business and does not do as much business in the winter and has been struggling lately. How can he get more apartment complex clients?

Hi Livengood, I'm sorry things have been a struggle for your dad lately. Here's a brief overview on how he can get more apartment complex clients.

Step 1: Identify the apartment clients that are willing and able to pay. They're not created equal. Some have specific vendors they use, others have specific budget demands e.g. lowest price possible.
Step 2: Talk with your ideal customer. They kind of customer that spends money freely and loves to do business with you. Identify their top 3 biggest problems (as it relates to your dad's business). Is it turning over units quickly? Getting good renters that are willing to pay? Low cost contractor/vendor support? Whatever it is it's your job to find out.
Step 3: Use the information your ideal customer provides to create an irresistible offer e.g. "we'll clean 10 units free"; be sure to attach conditions to your offer, e.g. 6 mo. contract, minimum of 12 projects per mo., etc. Go back to the ideal customer you interviewed and ask if they find that offer "irresistible." Some skepticism is natural.

Generating a steady supply of customers/leads

You'll need use/create a marketing system that generates leads. Here are some steps I'd take.

Step 1: Build a list of websites, magazines and apps your ideal customers (apartment complexes, property management companies) read or use regularly/religiously.
Step 2: Place ads marketing your irresistible offer in as many of these places as you can afford. Create a unique code or system that shows you which ads are working. Increase spending on top performing sources, cut low performers.
Step 3: Most of the people that reach out to you won't be ready to buy right away. It always takes more time than you'd expect. Create a list of parallel content, material or edutainment you can send to apt and prop managers until they either (a.) buy from you or (b.) unsubscribe/tell you to leave them alone. The goal with this step is to help these companies build their business whether that's helping them save or make more money.

If you're a little light on budget you can use free, hyper local options like craigslist, backpage, patch, yelp, facebook and others.

Let me know if you have questions

Andrew

[RR151]

Way to go Andrew...That is a great bunch of ideas that can be used in any business. Thanks for sharing...RR

[HooktoWin]

Thanks a lot RR151, I appreciate it. :)