Bill Yeadon loves this quote attributed to marketing maven David Olgilvy: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is I don’t know which half!”
How would Mr. Olgilvy feel about marketing in the current COVID-19 slowdown? He would likely say that investing ANY money in ANY advertising right now would be wasted! Most cleaning and restoration contractors feel the same.
Another issue may be a negative backlash by panicked residents against you promoting your business during a state-mandated ‘stay at home’ order. And yet…
It’s still essential to keep your business name out there to build and maintain ‘TOMA’. Say what, Steve? ‘TOMA’ stands for ‘Top-Of-Mind Awareness’ which just means your company should ‘come to mind’ when a potential customer in your market is asked about a service you provide.
GREAT NEWS! One low-cast (or even free!) TOMA marketing tactic is to…
Use local Facebook groups (and other social media) to subtly promote your business.
NOTE: The key word with social media marketing is ‘subtle’. Do NOT show up and immediately start a thread advertising (or wore bragging about) your services. ‘Like’ or comment on other’s posts in a ‘neighborly’ way. (Remember you want to be viewed as a ‘local’!) Then when a cleaning related topic shows up offer advice or sympathy.
For example, your customers ‘feel the pain’ of so many struggling local businesses. So notice how SFS Training graduate Jeremy Vandergugten promotes local businesses and the ‘buy local’ theme in area community Facebook groups.
Even better, Jeremy’s post also subtly maintained awareness of his company too! Why? Because there were dozens of follow-up comments about how much everyone missed going out to this local restaurant. (And also what a great carpet cleaner Jeremy is too!)
Just offering to ‘help out’ is another great way to subtly maintain TOMA. (And it makes you feel good too!) For example, SFS Training alumni Brandon and Tonya Cerrito with Carpet Chemist in Eminence, KY offered to ferry food deliveries around their market areas… for FREE!
Brandon tells me he posted this in a local Facebook Group with 13K members. Businesses are allowed to post here once weekly and his normal posts receive 10 to 15 ‘likes’. (Not bad!) But the post pictured above got 247 ‘likes’ and ‘loves’… all for FREE!
OK, Brandon’s post actually got 248 positive reactions but #248 was a big ‘LOVE’ from Tonya! ❤
I ‘borrowed’ these neat marketing tips from our Strategies For Success: Growing Your Business Facebook Group members. You too can learn from our 1,000’s of cleaning and restoration contractors. You don’t have to be a SFS Training graduate to join us so CLICK HERE to apply today! (And please share how YOU are keeping TOMA with your customers!)
NOTE: I recently shared some COVID-19 cash conserving tips HERE. (In fact, our SFS website has built quite a library of COVID-19 resources HERE.) However, if you’ve hit a COVID related slowdown the new Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PUA) program allows states to pay independent contractors compensation retroactively for losses since January 27, 2020!
I urge you folks to check this new (and very profitable for you) ‘unemployment provision’ out by CLICKING HERE! After all, your taxes paid for it!
Above all else, please work safely out there and please… STAY WELL!
Steve