Cleaning Business Be Noticed To All Your Potential Customers
Advertising can get your cleaning business be noticed to all your potential customers. You may not be an expert or marketing guru, but you can do things to promote your business in order to obtain customers. Take note, before you spend money for advertisement, you need to decide your target market for your business. Finding your market and focusing on putting ads to that specific area, you can effectively and efficiently get the customers that you are seeking for.
Before anything else, you need to set and allocate advertising budget. If you are already earning with your business, you need to dedicate about 2 to 5% of your gross sales for advertising your business. But if you are just getting started, you need more money to advertise your business. Of course, you need to announce your new cleaning service in order to gain potential clients.
You decide where to advertise, once you’ve set a budget for it. If you are going to advertise your cleaning business it could not make any sense to advertise it with huge magazine or let it be aired in a TV commercial. These are expensive ads and would not reach your target market.
It would be better if you post an ad in your local newspaper. This is the most basic advertising way that you can do for your business. This is great way for you to promote your business to your potential customers.
You goal here is to attract the attention of your potential customers with your advertisement. Yes, it is obvious that you should attract attention with your ad, but if it can’t, then you just wasted your money with nothing, so you have to be sure that you can attract attention.
In making an ad, you need to address the needs of the readers. Make sure to tell how they will benefit from your cleaning service. And show that you have a new system that can make their homes and offices cleaner and healthier. In your ad, you should tell the great things that they can get from you and that yours is the best cleaning service in your area. The best ways to convince potential customers are through testimonials, awards and statistics.
The common print ad, run in your local newspaper or shopper, is the most basic unit of advertising. Print ads have launched major companies and many successful products. Running ads in a local paper can also be a great way to promote your cleaning business if you follow a few basic rules.
– Your ad should attract attention! Although this sounds obvious, unless your ad attracts attention you are throwing your money down the drain. The most compelling way to have a “noticeable” ad is to have an interesting and visually appealing headline. If you are designing a large ad, think of using a subhead. This will provide added information and can be longer than the headline.
– Your ad should address the reader’s needs or announce news. Tell how your cleaning service will benefit your readers and if possible announce a new product or service such as announcing a new carpet cleaning system that makes your carpets cleaner and your office building healthier.
– Your ad should communicate your company’s unique selling proposition. Or why should the potential customer pick your business to supply cleaning services rather than ABC Cleaning?
– Your ad should tell why your cleaning company is the best in the area. The most convincing way to do this is through testimonials, statistics and awards.
– Your ad should motivate your readers to take action. One way to achieve this is to include a special offer. Offers that work well are discounts and bonuses (get your carpets cleaned and get a free bottle of spotting fluid).
One of the main reasons people don’t read ads is that they do not have a great headline or a visual element that attracts readers. Headlines that work best are those that promise readers a benefit. Flip through a newspaper or magazine and notice the headlines that attract your attention – Save on Closing Costs, Your Dreams Can Become Reality, Get More Miles to the Gallon. Advertising experts suggest using the following words to arouse interest: New, Now, At Last, Warning, Introducing, Easy, Health, Save, Safety, Free, Money or Advice.
Although you may want to use your business’ name in your headline that is not recommended and is one of the common mistakes that small businesses make. Your business’ name does not have anything compelling to offer a potential customer. Remember, your headline should address the needs of your customers and not your ego.
Making your ad stand out can be challenge. Scan your local papers and take notice of what ads stand out – are they ads with reverse (white on dark background) print, color ads, ads that look like they were hand drawn? People notice ads that have illustrations or photographs that show products or ads that have people in them.
Before advertising in any medium call and ask for a media kit. This kit will contain rate information as well as demographic information about the publication (or radio station). The demographic information should include reader’s (or listener’s) age, income, and other statistics that will indicate if this is a good medium to run your ads in to reach your target audience.
If you are a member of your local chamber there will be opportunities in chamber newsletters, member guides and perhaps even on their website. Local newspapers are good venues as most businesses either subscribe or read regularly so they can keep informed of what’s going on in the local community.
Print advertising is one way to get your cleaning business’ name out in front of potential clients as well as reminding your current clients of the services you provide. Advertising is salesmanship and the more information you can give about your services, the more interest you will create. Always remember to include a call to action in your ad – tell them how to buy your product or service! Also include as many ways as possible for the reader to contact you: phone, e-mail, website, and physical address. Running the right ads will get your phone ringing and your checkbook balance growing!