LeePemberton.com

“Marketing is not about how much you spend, it’s about how you spend it!”

How are you and your business doing, as we move full bore into spring, 2012?
Can’t see your way clear to spend on marketing during this current economic slog?

A frugal, budget conscious behavior is totally understandable, but you have more options than just spending a lot of your marketing budget on printing, postage and other costly mainline promotions!

KEY MANTRA FOR TODAY:
Marketing is not about how much you spend, it’s about how you spend it!

Here is a chart that gives you some options. The left column focuses on marketing tactics that you can use which require more of your time, but far less money.

Click Image to Enlarge

If this is your busy season, start your day early and schedule a business breakfast before your regular production day starts with a commercial or institutional contact. If your business (and cash flow) is slower, you might want to do a simple coffee & danish. One or two breakfasts and / or several coffee & danish contacts a month will probably run no more than $100.00 per month, and look what you’ll accomplish! Four or five one-on-one sit-downs, away from their work environments will do a lot to create and maintain relationships. Where can you purchase advertising for that amount?

There really are dozens of categories of people you touch as you move through your personal and business life every week. How many of these people know who you are or what you do? How much business are you missing by ignoring the opportunity to just share your message?

Marketing really isn’t about expensive advertising or glitzy direct mail campaigns. It’s about belly-to-belly, face-to-face and voice-to-voice communication, while you build confidence, comfort levels and trust with people who are either prospects or centers of influence.

Don’t know what to talk about? I guarantee you that reading the CleanTip each week will give you more new subjects of interest for discussion over a breakfast or coffee & danish than you will ever need!

And this is a great time of year to do just that. Pick up the phone and invite somebody now!

Bedbugs, by their very nature are an upsetting subject, but it turns out that anyone, no matter how clean they are, or how clean their home, can pick up bedbugs and infest their home!

BUT . . .
You (or your customers) can greatly reduce the chances of a costly bedbug infestation by catching them early!

Here is a link to a great, down-to-earth article that you can use or share with your customers . . .
Scroll down the page, this article is a “keeper”

It’s from The Housekeepingchannel.com
http://tinyurl.com/tipbbgs

P.S. I have listed a great Bedbug resource book link in the CleanTip Resource Corner.

In a tough marketplace, restoration contractors need a new angle, a different approach to increasing profits and building their business.

An every-increasing “good fit” for them is green, and this doesn’t mean the color of money. Disinfecting and deodorizing services for clients who may already have a contract cleaning or in-house cleaning staff is proving to be a popular option for restoration contractors.

For complete article, please visit…
http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public/875.cfm

My cellphone always looks disgusting, but this article really gave me a different perspective on cellphones and sanitation! Check it out!
- Lee

Nasty Bugs Lurking on Your Cell Phone
By Tim Locke
WebMD Health News

Study: E. coli Found on Cell Phones the Result of Poor Hand Washing
Oct. 14, 2011 — The next time you reach for your cell phone, consider this: A new study found that 92% of cell phones in the U.K. have bacteria on them – including E. coli — because people aren’t washing their hands after going to the bathroom.

Read more:
http://tinyurl.com/tip1028

I love this article! When it comes to disinfection, there is so much mis-information put out as fact that it is really disgusting!
- Lee

The Fantasy Of Disinfection
according to Dr. Steven Spivak,…chairman of the Cleaning Industry Research Institute International’s (CIRI) Science Advisory Council, efficacy in principle is rarely reached when disinfecting is practiced.

“Because of … the time demands of cleaning services, some in the industry have dubbed the practice of attempting to remove harmful pathogens from surfaces “the fantasy of disinfection.”

Read more:
http://tinyurl.com/tip1029

Thoughts From Lee

Educators today teach that what we hear – we forget – what we see – we forget, but what we see and hear, we remember.

And since we all certainly rely on good communication to build our businesses, the following little tidbit of information should be of great interest to you. . .

FACT:
Like it or not, print media, television, on-line, plus mobile and social media are all now vital components of any marketing program.

When it comes to making an impact, seeing certainly is better than hearing but not being seen at all is even worse.

The problem with using electronic media today is that most of it is never seen at all by the prospects we are looking for! It is relatively inexpensive and in some cases even free, but if it is not seen, it’s worthless!

Also, there is a general misconception or myth in the business world that customers are tech savvy. Unfortunately, that is just not true! In fact, only a small percentage of the population actually is tech savvy. Just because they have a cell phone doesn’t make them a “techie”.

On the other hand, almost everyone can read and understand a postcard.

Print still has power and don’t forget it!

Consistent profit growth in a service business such as in the cleaning services industry absolutely depends on the development of  strong relationships with their customer base.

So, why don’t more professional cleaning services make it a priority to build strong relationships with their customers?

For complete article, please visit…
http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public/866.cfm

Solutions to problems are something Jim and I find our customers looking for on a daily basis. If you can solve a troublesome problem, for one of your customers or for yourself, you might simplify your daily business pressures, or even help yourself avoid a financial loss.

I use the word “problem” because it reflects the effect of something negative that is holding you back, (Or you could also use the term “issue”).

Solving customer problems or “issues” is something we at Pembertons work toward continually!

Simple E-courses can be one effective tool . . .
E-courses are proven learning tools that can help adults to learn. People have problems & issues and need help from a trusted resource to overcome them, but have very little available time.

Maybe you have an problem or issue regarding how to do something, or how to make something, perhaps you don’t understand something, etc. Each of these are situations where an E-course can potentially help provide a reliable solution.

Jim and I and several valued associates intend to develop each E-course with the goal of solving an issue or problem per course.

Over the years I have had the privilege of working with a number of excellent instructors in our industry. Without a doubt the most down to earth, easy to follow and caring carpet repair guy I have ever known is Mark Violand!

Mark has put our first E-course together dealing with very basic, easy to do carpet repairs!
The course is divided into six parts that will take you step by step through the basic repairs that you need every day.

Learning these basic skills can add thousands of dollars in cash flow into your business with a nominal investment in tools and materials. Probably in the neighborhood of a hundred dollars or so.

Initially, I plan to publish each of the six sessions in upcoming CleanTip’s, and will alert you when I have it finalized as an email course, with sessions to be delivered every 3 or 4 days.

Here’s a dose of harsh reality. . .

Nobody really cares about your services (except you)!
People (customers, friends, even relatives) only care about themselves, solving their own problems, being liked, and so on. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This reality simply requires a shift in your thinking from “service pusher” to “trusted resource” – and that shift creates your big opportunities.

This doesn’t mean your services are NEVER mentioned or promoted by you, it just means, in a manner of speaking, that when you shake someone’s hand online or in person, you don’t lead with your service! Your services must come later as a part of the recommended solution to their problem.

By far, the number one mistake that business persons like us make and then repeat over and over when marketing and promoting in person or online is to talk on and on about ourselves … and how amazing our services are.

This is why most business-related blogs or web sites don’t do a very good job. Businesses aren’t sharing information that is focused on the consumer, whether business or residential. Instead, they just dump information that is all about themselves and what they do.

Before you get caught up in this seductive trap of self praise, ask yourself why people consume online content such as the articles, videos, audio, photos, etc as well offline content such as brochures, mailers, seminars, speeches, and workshops? Usually they do it to:

• Solve a problem.
• Be entertained.
• Learn about something they are interested in.
• Get a little inspiration.
• Pass the time. (Hey, we all get bored. You know it’s true.)

It’s time to embrace this reality! This simply requires a shift in your thinking from “service pusher” to “trusted resource” -

Your success in today’s marketplace truly lies in your ability to become a resource for customers, prospects and your very local community on the particular subject about which enables you function as a “Cleaning Professional”.

I recommend that you check out the following article regarding getting your business house in order, and the 10 area’s where we get into trouble. http://leepemberton.com/blog/mistakes/

JP revised

Here is a commercial carpet cleaning concept that may sound sort of off the wall, but trust me it works! The cleaning professional I learned it from is financially astute and has operated this concept for many, many, years successfully. Following is his process:

KEY: Make Your Equipment Do Double Duty!

This concept isn’t fancy, and it certainly isn’t attractive to most carpet cleaners — But, It Works!

If your business needs a boost, this might just be what you are looking for!

For complete article, please visit…
http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public/380.cfm

On the other hand, if you are targeting “Main Street USA”, I strongly suggest that you follow this link for information about a fresh, new advertising program just released by by John Braun, the “Infamous Hitman” of advertising in our industry!
http://www.hitmanadvertising.com/commercialcleaning.html

More and more commercial and institutional users of carpeted floors are discovering that carpet care is not a job for amateurs, stimulating the resulting growth in demand for competent, skilled, carpet care services.

When you compare residential and commercial cleaning, there are many similarities as well as several outstanding differences. One of the major differences is the manner in which particle soil is viewed.

In residential cleaning, dry vacuuming to remove particle soil is performed, in most cases, only when visibly necessary.

In commercial carpet cleaning, dry particle soil removal is the mainstay of the cleaning program.

For complete article, please visit…
http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public/202.cfm