Marketing Strategy 24: You Are Not Your Client

In today’s lesson, I want to talk about one of the most common traps carpet cleaners fall into.
This trap can cause even the most effective marketing strategies to fail.

It can leave you scratching your head wondering what’s gone wrong… and it can ultimately cost you a lot of money.

What is it?

Not looking at things from the client’s point of view…

The one thing I always say to carpet cleaners who ask me for advice is: Look at the situation through your client’s eyes.You are not your client. Your client has different problems and worries.

They have different knowledge and experiences. They want different things to you. So even if you think a new service is good, your clients may not see the value in it. That’s the reason that before you launch a new service, it’s a good idea to ask your clients if they actually want it. For example, you might think that ‘pet hair cleanup’ is great, but do the people in your area even have hairy pets?

Maybe the demographic is skewed towards renters who aren’t allowed pets,or young families who favourbabiesover animals. You might neverthink about these issues, but your clients certainly will and the easiest way to find out is to ask. Then if clients sound enthusiastic about a service, don’t jump right in and start offering.

Instead,test offering the service to a small group of people first.This is important because people will often say that they want something until you ask them for money.

TODAY’S TASK: Find Out What Your Client Wants

If you want to launch a new service, here’s what to do…

1. Ask your existing clients if they want the service. Tell them the benefits and features of the service. Then try to gauge what they are most excited about.
2. Take this feedback into account, then test the service: Offer the service to a small group of people and see if people are actually willing to hand over money for it.
3. Tweak based on results:If you get good results, continue to roll out the service. If you get poor results, contact people and ask why they were not interested. Make changes based on the feedback and test again.

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