If I used corn or gas would have that made it easier to relate?
I may not need it, I’m just saying that when I’m in their funnel. I now know, like and trust them.
[quote=“Justin w/A Pane …,post:20,topic:11291”]
That’s exactly what we are talking about, directly from the consumers (your) mouth. I am not looking to build a customer base that expect a discount everytime.
Your best customers won’t need a discount.
A wise fella told me before. You don’t know what you don’t know. That’s the way I think this one is going to go.
no - perhaps using another service business would though. Restuarants are not a good example either. Groupon would work for them. If people like the food they may come back several times over the next couple months. They have something uniquely different than the next restaurant. I’m sorry but no matter how good of service your window cleaning company does, there are probably a dozen or more company’s just as good if not better in your area. A lot of the customers (from groupon) you place in your sales funnel have already experienced other window cleaning company’s to compare you with. Most of these are unloyal and the ones I usually discard anyways. I could go on and on with this subject but I’m not going too. You try it and if two years from now you can honestly say it worked for you, then I’ll admit I was wrong.
If you don’t ever purchase from them again, what’s the good of being in their funnel?
I agree, the best ones probably won’t be looking for a discount either. My best customers are the ones that aren’t influenced by price, but by the service we give them. None of these were looking for a discount the first service. I have given discounts in the past (referall, new customer, etc…) and to be honest I can’t think of one customer that is still with me today. Granted you may pick up a few Ideal customers using Groupon, but my guess would be that it’s a low %. Again, just my opinion. I have been wrong in the past
I’ve been in business 9 years with a base of appx 1,000 customers. So if it’s essential to success then I would say yes. Please give me an example of what you’re asking.
If you’re this eager to grow why don’t you join WCRA - At a fraction of the cost Groupon will take, and you’ll learn the best ways to build a strong foundation.
I know, I know - why am I not a WCRA member? I tend to do things the hard way. I built my business from scratch without a website or some of the other tools that would have helped me in the beginning. I reached my initial main goal a couple years ago. Now the easier part will be slow steady growth. To help me with this my website is being built and I’ll become a WCRA by the end of the year.
Marketing is typically about taking a calculated risk and improving results on the basis of acquired data.
I want customers who value my service experience. From what I’ve read, Groupon markets to folks who may value a low price. That’s not my arena (even if Groupon is not currently in my service area.)
Nothing right or wrong about thinking creativity will make Groupon work, but results are the only way to convince others that Groupon is anything other than a gimmick for our industry.
I know I would get a lot out of WCRA, Chris has added a ton of value to me at a few different points. at everything he does I don’t see why this would be any different. I just have a bunch of projects going on and wouldn’t be able to consistently be a part of it.
We all grow different ways… Some the hard frustrating way, some the not so hard frustrating way.
Don, window cleaning IS a commodity. Those inside an industry are the only ones that think their industry isn’t a commodity. If there are a handful of window cleaning companies around town with at least 4 out of 5 star online reviews around, a customer doesn’t have much hanging out there in choosing one out of the bunch.
While I try to set myself apart from my competition, the reality is that I am not the only one around here who delivers good service at a good value. Only those of us inside the industry draw drastic lines of demarcation between ourselves.
Rob, I respectfully disagree that residential window cleaning is a commodity. I read the description on Wikipedia at least to make sure I really knew the technicals about commodities. Consider this: Don’t the customers you want to keep forever care about who will be entering their homes and working on their properties and who will provide headache and hassle-free service? I always considered residential to be more of a higher-end home service than than a throw a newspaper in your driveway type of service.
I would agree w/ that Karl. The more affluent the person the more they like to let you know they can pay top dollar for everything they have. They are definitely not the coupon type customer that is more likely to use groupon. So it boils down to who your target demographic is.
I’d also like to add that rich people don’t necessarily, don’t do deals on an everyday basis & I know that they probably run their own firms at a maximum profit status, but they don’t actively look for groupon typical type sites to get a maxi deal for window cleaners to come to their house & perform work. The ones that do, I have no interest in - not my target demographic. It devalues my work.
Just because there are variables involved, such as trustworthiness, doesn’t mean it’s not a commodity. My direct competitors are all trustworthy professionals who thrive on serving the middle/upper class. My point doesn’t rely on the strict definition of commodity anyway. I might be able to articulate the differences between my company and each of my competitors, yet any given customer may never see them. My point is that most customers will assume that most service industries are similar by nothing more than simple Google local or citysearch query. If they have decent reviews, the best price wins . . . especially for the type of person who uses Groupon. If one New York style pizza place offers a rockin’ deal, buy a pie. If another one has a great deal three weeks later, go for it. Choosing a window cleaner may be somewhere on the spectrum between choosing a kitchen remodel contractor and choosing a pizza place, but I would suggest that to the Groupon crowd, it might be closer to the pizza place than most of us would like to admit.
The best way to sercure marketshare is to put my company in the face of the public regularly. If you watch a Sam Adams commercial, you’ll see that they describe a lot of the details of their brewing process. Interestingly though, they don’t differ much from their competitors. But the guy sitting on his couch doesn’t know that. He might think Sam Adams is distinguishing themselves from their peers when all they are doing is explaining how everybody does it. Nevertheless, he thinks about when he’s on the beer isle in the grocery store and might pick up a case of Boston Lager just because of their commercial. Point being, setting yourself apart from your competition is sometimes as simple as letting people know what you do.
Because I can’t stand there & take it from a guy leaving his $20 million house in a new Ferrari & talking to me from his car seat telling me I’m too expensive when he runs a slave shop in the smoke & wants to pay me the same.
groupon is a fad that I’m sure most businesses will realize they are loosing too much money to keep participating in. it might work to draw in a few new customers for a short period of time, but in the long run I don’t see anyone continuing to keep offering these kinds of discounts.
If you believe your service is a commodity, there isn’t any words that I can say that are going to change your mind. Have happy times in the price competition.
