For those of you know who know me, you know that I'm a huge fan of using a multitude of marketing angles to attract prospects to our window washing businesses. I guess it stems from never putting all of our eggs into one basket, so my belief is that it's important to spread yourself out. And the most successful window washers I know are people who do the same. This means incorporating flyers, postcards, business organizations, networking, targeting service businesses, yellow pages, and more into the marketing mix on a regular basis. I know there are folks out there who own window washing businesses who only want to do a house or two a week, or maybe they love their full time job so much, that they don't want to leave it yet and do window washing full time, so this article focuses mostly on window washers who want to grow, grow, grow! Due to the "time factor", I realize it can be difficult to juggle so many different marketing avenues but the results truly are phenominal. I spoke to a window washer the other day who gets 2 to 4 phone calls PER DAY from interested prospects due to the many different marketing techniques he employs, so the pay-off is certainly well worth the initial effort of hustle and bustle. Here's the recommended marketing attack: Flyers--Yeah, I know. Not very exciting. And they can take a whole bunch of time, but if you do it correctly and consistently, they will pay off for you. And like I wrote in an email to someone yesterday, when the monies start rolling in from flyer distribution, then pay someone to do it for you. Postcards--Once my cards were designed and the system was set up with my local direct mail house (described in my manual How to Start Your Own Residential Window Washing Business), it took a grand total of 5 minutes every couple of weeks to set the wheels in motion for a postcard delivery. Here was my phone call: "Hey Dick, what do you say we get out a mailing to route 46?" Boom...done. Yes postcards are more costly than flyers, but once the calls and business come in from a mailing or two, simply reinvest back into more mailings. To be successful, repeat mailings are a must, but I also advocate constantly repeating flyer distribution over and over again. That's the key to getting the maximum number of calls. To tie the postcards and flyers together-if you pick two or three of your desired neighborhoods to focus your postcard and flyer efforts on, you'll soon be well known within those areas. People will see you giving estimates, doing jobs, etc, (Get magnetic signs for your vehicle and a yard sign to stick in customer's and prospect's lawns) PLUS they'll still be exposed to your constant barrage of flyers and postcards. This works! Service businesses--No cost here, just a little effort to get out there and press the flesh and introduce you and your company to them. Pass out business cards. Easy to do. The rewards are not instant because it takes time to establish the relationship and get the service businesses to trust you enough to feed you business, but greasing the wheels now will result in a regular stream of referrals coming your way. Business organization--The last thing I wanted to do on a Friday morning was wake up at 5AM and go to a business function/breakfast, but man 'o man was it lucrative. This is another marketing angle that isn't instant though. When I first joined, I expected all this window cleaning business to be thrown my way, but again, it takes time to establish the relationships and get folks to trust you and your company. Over time though, whew! And as far as cost, we're talking just the dues to join and maybe a weekly stipend. For example, it cost me 7 bucks a week for the breakfast. What an investment! If you're having trouble finding a small business organization like that, visit http://www.bni.com and see if they have a chapter in your area. Yellow pages--not my favorite form of marketing, but it does bring in business. The quality of customers tend to be lower and of course you'll get more price shoppers, but I received 3 to 5 calls per month from a little 1/4" display ad. 2 to 3 of those calls converted into customers. And the cost was only $32 a month. Do you know of anything else that you can do? How 'bout contacting subdivisions where your target market lives to see if they publish a monthly or quarterly newsletter? Put an ad in there if they do. One window washer up in Michigan put a little ad in his local Pennysaver type paper and is getting great returns from it. The last time we spoke, he said he made around $1,500 for a $40 investment. Although these types of ads were not winners for me in my area, hey...it's worth 40 bucks to try it in your area, right? If you incorporate the above marketing angles into your business routine on a regular business, how many calls do you think you'll get? How much business do you think you'll wind up with? It's definitely not a hard business. It just requires a consistent plan of action using the above techniques and anything else you can think of (and can afford). Keep your marketing wheels turning constantly. One window washer I know has a "Take one" box attached to his yard sign, so as neighbors take their daily walks, they can mosey up to the yard sign and take a flyer. Or if someone is driving by, they see the fact that they can take a flyer, so they stop and take one. You're in the back of the house or inside cleaning windows and your marketing is working for you. Another window washer sponsors a little league baseball team, and all the little tykes wear shirts with his company name on them. This list literally goes on and on. Window washers who are marketing oriented, are the window washers who are raking in the bucks. After all, as we all know, anyone can wash a window. So...Happy marketing! Best Wishes, Steve |
