Hi Steve,
May I ask you how you feel about carpet cleaners asking homeowners to display a yard sign (with our logo and contact info) for a couple days after our service?
Thanks much,
Meditating in Houston
A good question, Meditating, and one I am a bit ambivalent on. There is no question that such a sign would be valuable for increasing awareness of your services in the neighborhood.
BUT the downside would be potentially making a customer feel pressured in his or her home. (Which of course is a HUGE no-no!) Yes, I know that typically home improvement contractors will use yard signs. However, looking through your “Customer’s Eyeglasses” (a key SFS concept!) I think there is much more “snob appeal” in telling the neighborhood you have just installed granite counter tops in your kitchen than that you have had your nasty carpets cleaned!
Sure, a dialed in owner-operator that is skilled at reading clients could probably get away with tactfully asking to put up a yard sign with carefully selected Cheerleader type clients. But especially with an “emotionally clumsy” tech I think the potential problems outweigh the benefits. (Plus you have the logistical challenges of programming in a time to return and collect the yard sign.)
So Meditating, may I suggest instead falling back on the old-fashioned door hanger? In fact, here on the SFS web site we’ve had a couple of recent “QuickTIPS” on how to get more mileage out of this tried and true marketing trick. Here are the links:
- Tweaking your door dangers
- Combining a “frig magnet” along with a door hanger
- Make your door hangers into a “horse race”
Thanks for writing, Meditating, and please don’t be a stranger on this site.
Steve
PS Another option would be a targeting mailing in a two block radius with a special flyer starting out, “We just ‘cleaned up’ in your neighborhood over on (name of street) and …” Obviously you would not use the customer’s personal info but I think this “targeted door hanger by mail” idea has possibilities. Hmm, maybe we better run this one by Big Billy Yeadon.
NOTE: So what is everyone else doing to contact the neighbors and increase local awareness after cleaning in an area? Is anyone using Meditating’s yard sign idea? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.