new strategy for next year

I want to get some feedback from you guys on a new strategy we are going to test run next year.       The idea of this plan is to increase the number of cleanings each customer gets from us per year,     while at the same time increasing business in the slower season when our expenses are lower and less people are needing service.      

What we are seeing is too many customers waiting 1-2 years to call back then needing a restoration cleaning,    this is pretty normal throughout the industry in both residential and commercial.

So here it is..  

Each customer that calls for a carpet cleaning next year we will offer a discount on the final bill,    if a maintenance cleaning is scheduled within 4-6 months.      The maintenance cleaning would involve a CRB visit with no furniture moving,    they dont have to prepare anything major for the service just simply clear the small items and stuff off the floor.  

We would pre vac,   lay down encap,  and CRB our way out the door.     Its much faster than steam cleaning so we charge less,     but if they really need a steam cleaning then we would do so without the better discount.    


The idea would be alternating steam clean - CRB - steam clean - CRB.         So in the spring/summer we would steam clean them,    then fall/winter we encap them.     After 1 cycle when we come back to steam clean the carpets in many homes arent going to need such a restoration which will benefit us.    


Our website would reflect this idea of maintaining carpet and keeping it clean rather than letting it get horrible then cleaning it.     I know that most cleaners think this is just the way it is and there is nothing that can be done about it just keep slamming out jobs lol  but if you want to be different you have to think outside the box a little.  

we would maybe call it our "keep it clean"  program.    

Literally every other business like ours does this,     our industry is the only one where the majority of companies do not do this.     Another funny fact is we have the highest rate of failure.     go figure.

Our customers will gladly pay for 2/year and have no problem with it, its just they dont think about it until the carpet is dirty. We have a good amount that do and they call before its bad but this would hopefully increase that number of customers

I find that the people that may clean their carpet more than once a year actually have the cleanest carpet.

They clean for maintenance, health, and lets face it some are just clean freaks.

The strategy should probably be two fold increase than cleaning per year with those folks and charge more for restoration cleaning.

Im way behind the eight ball. I need to do a better job sending out annual reminders

The "normal" 1-2 years is because people do NOT put carpet cleaning as a priority. They aren't concerned with cleaning until it's visibly thrashed.

You would be better off I think, explaining the damage done by not cleaning, and showing them how the price difference is for a resto and a normal maint. clean.

Your resto should be 25-100% more than a normal clean.

Just understand, some/many will not convert. They don't care now, they probably aren't going to care later.

You may even think of offering a easy way to budget for it. Offer 2-3 cleanings a year, and offer to do a ACH from their checking account (monthly) for the cleanings. That way the cleanings are budgeted in their monthly bills, rather than a bill every time you schedule them.

Well, I support your plan to a point, but not entirely. I bang the drum hard at all times regarding the need to clean carpets often instead of waiting until they look dirty. What kills the industry is that the carpet makers recommend restoration cleaning every 12-18 months.....of course they are assuming that people vacuum daily and don't live like animals.

My commercial has always been at least every 6 months if not quarterly and find that winter is the time of year when HWE is needed most due to ice melt residue, sand, and the holding of viruses along with bacteria in the fibers.

I guess that is my main problem with the plan....I don't accept the CRB encap as adequate for winter conditions. I want to flush out that ice melt and sanitize the materials during the winter months.

I even go as far as offering an "Environmental Sanitizing" of the home during the flu season. I apply a biocide to the air ducts, wipe down the walls and doors, and steam clean the furniture, carpets, and rugs. There is no discounts either, they pay well for that service when all their co-workers or kids at school start getting sick.

People will clean far more often than 1x per year if they look at their home from a health standpoint rather than in a visual way. That is my approach and what I spell out on the website. That is where you need to go in my view.

Hell, that is where the whole industry needs to go in my view. We have already started to pay more attention to the safety of the chemicals and the type of water, but we still focus on the visual standard. Why? We know what is in carpet and furniture. We know it isn't just dirt. So why act like that is all that matters?

Converting just 10% of your client base to bi annual cleanings would have a tremendous impact to your bottom line and the customers that would be converted are normally the higher ticket cleanings

Some day I am going to cut out a piece of carpet when the owner says that isn't very dirty and do a full lab test on the contents. Once they see the report on bacteria, viruses, and dust mites, they will either have me clean 2-4 times per year or install wood floors.

thats a really good point about flu season and selling that service.. I like it

For the last 3 years, I have been cleaning 4 day-care centers on a monthly basis with that approach. Once the temps start dropping outside and the sniffles start, my phone blows up.

Stock up on Sporicidin and the service sells.

How do use sporicidin ? Use it as pre spray in hydroforce ?

I should have explained....the Sporicidin is used to wipe down all non-porous materials (counters, phones, walls, etc.). You can use it to clean carpet and tile as well since it contains adequate surfactants to do it, but can get foamy.

I consider the normal hwe of carpets to be acceptable for sanitizing (a little peroxide boost also good) so you are just looking at sanitizing all the hard surfaces with the Sporicidin.