New Business starting soon,advice needed please on promotion

Newdirection

Hello everyone, hope you are all well.

In short y new window cleanign business starts soon and I am nervous I have everyhtign in place I need to. I am 99% set up and happy, but wante to ask here as the replies on other peoples posts are brilliant and so helpful, I thought I would try and seek some great ideas for mysefl from you brilliant lot.

I am seeking promotion ideas for a window cleaning buiness, aprt form the norm, flyering, business cards, website, facebook, door knocking, and local stores, what else is there that I can do to promote locally online? or in person? Aany genius ideas on getting customers in will be great.

Thank yu for your time in advance.
Kind Regards

Pennywise

Get your car/van signwritten - it's going to be parked up near homes and driven around housing estates etc so it could well be your best advertising. Simple and small is fine, but just make it look professional. If you've got a quiet day, or at your lunchtime, no harm in parking it someone where there's a lot of people passing by, i.e. outside the local chippie or outside the school at 3.30 etc - it's all a matter of getting your name in peoples' minds so that when they come to want a window cleaner and search online or in the local paper of whatever, they see your name and remember seeing it somewhere before to give an air of being reputable and established.

Always leaflet the neighbouring homes whenever you're doing someone's windows and then go and door knock the next visit (once they've seen your leaflet, so it's not "cold").

Don't forget small businesses - corner shops and small offices need their windows cleaned and are unlikely to use the larger firms who will be concentrating more on the larger businesses. Do the same, leaflet drop one visit and then door knocking the next.

Opinion

Our window cleaner does the windows of a small parade of shops down the road. Really nice, chirpy guy, looks like he's enjoying it, and he sings pop songs the entire time. Only reason we ever decided to have window cleaner!

InsideInsurance

Once you start getting custom you can introduce recommend a friend type promotions like "get a free wash after your friends 3rd" or such to promote longer term commitments, alternatively loyalty type promotions of buy 9 get the 10th free either on a by use basis or bulk buy discount.

Never given the window cleaning business much thought but I would imagine that the ideal is to get clusters of customers to maximize the revenue/ minimize travelling time and so recommend your neighbour could help with this growing of clusters

cavework

If you use any tradesmen on your home give them a card and say you will recommend them to your customers
You would be amazed at how much work you can get this way.
Try to get communal clean contracts. These don't usually include tenants windows, just the communal areas but once you are on site there will be plenty of people asking for their windows to be cleaned when you visit on a regular basis

Newdirection

Hi all.

Thank you for your tips, taken some of them. Great!

I am basically, flyering, door knocking, web site, facebook and putitng business cards in local stores if they will let me.

Does anyone know of anything else that wil help a local window cleaner get work in, I am really desperate to get tips as I need to build this up fast.

Hope someone can offer some tips. I am not sure what else there is really.

Thank you so very much to any one whom offers help.

cavework

Contact local letting agents and ask if they manage any communal areas..
contact local private nursing and residential homes , contact local HA's..
In fact contact anyone with a large amount of windows

Short-n-Sweet

You are making a great effort! I also suggest Printed Clothing - I have been in the Chip Shop, Shopping and even in the Doctors with my Printed Clothing on and someone has asked me for a Business Card because of it.

The best way to really get a Business off the ground is word of mouth!

So try offer some special offers to get a few customers then if you do a good Job they will soon spread the word. Also if you offer your services to Businesses write a template email and send them to a few local Businesses and offices any places that may need windows cleaned.

Also sign writing is a huge boost for many reason!

Newdirection

Short-n-sweet

Thank you for the support. I am now flyering and have done 500. I have not got anything from it yet, I started at the start of the week. Ok, someone might ring, but its been a week nearly since started and its worrying me. The flyers are really good and professional and also friendly and to the point - explaining what is on offer. I have a web site and the seo is being worke don, its not there yet on google but its only early days. I have a face book and trying to work on getting people on that, i join groups and look for people wanting a window cleaner, but nothing yet.

I am just so worried, but I can not think what else I can do. I am flyering hard and will start door knocking on Monday too. I just am so worried as I have put so much effort in in setting it all up and getting equipment in and feel I am presented well with my flyers and business cards, I suppose i just need to wait, maybe people do not ring stright away.

I hope someone can give me some tips or info they have in helping gain customers. I am determind and will put 100% effort in walkign the streets flyering and door knocking and spend lots of time online trying to seek work and posting ads on FB. I will also pt an add in paper too and put my flyers and cards in chip shops, PO, stores where they will take them.

I hope people on here can offer any advice as there are soem real clever people on here with great advice. Thank you everyone.

colino

Please do the basics first and stop wasting money on flyers. Are your targeted streets already on someone else's round? If so, why would a customer change to you? If it is a mature area (not a newly built estate) why isn't there a window cleaner already there? Is it too far away from other customers to justify the travel, are there too many non-payers or just not enough demand?
When you do have some basic info., and you are targeting an area that should have enough customers in a tight area to let you park up and walk most of the route, you do the route. Go to every door and premise on the route, with your gear, and go on the knocker. If they're in, give your best sales pitch and tell them how much and how frequent the service will be and leave them a card. Be prepared to do a clean there and then, and move on. If you don't get a response, leave a card. You will only know if there is sufficient demand in an area after 2-3 weeks, and the reasons for it.
Personal services delivered on the spot wont ever be researched by questionnaires or social media, you have to actually do the walk.

cavework

Quick question..
are you using a pole fed system?