Well the first is obvious, the name address and phone number of your company.
Next, instructions to the applicant such as fill out in blue ink (blue is the accepted legal color, not black which can be later said to a copy or forgery, blue shows it is an original)
Not to attach a resume unless it is to become part of the official application, but that all information still must be filled out in total on the application even if listed on their resume. This way it is in the hand writing of the applicant and they cannot say later you attached a false resume to their application, or they did not know a mistake was listed on it.
You probably already know the things you can not ask on an application or in an interview like, marital status, age, whether they have children, or if a women, plan on having children, their religion etc…
But there are things you can ask for as ways around them:
You can't have them list their birth date but they can mark a box stating that they are of legal age (18 or 21 etc.) to operate certain equipment, for insurance reasons. Only once hired can you ask for a list of their dependents for reasons such as for insurance, not before hand on an application. But they might ask you in an interview about your insurance coverage and you should only state an individual policy price which might have them ask you ‘What would a family rate be?’ As long as they ask the question that gives you this information you are safe. But you must be careful not to indicate that any of the unasked information was used in the hiring process for that job. Never make notes on the application itself during an interview, use a separate piece of paper.
You can ask if they’re legal citizens, have a criminal record, ever plead guilty to traffic violation etc. these are part of public record and can be verified. You can ask if there is any day they can not work or would rather not work. For instance have a list of days, Sunday thru Saturday on the application with instructions for them to circle or mark all days they are available to work. Same with times of day they can work. Of course you can also include in the job description the days and times that are required for the job and if they will not work on a certain day (due to their religion) they are the one making themselves unable to be hired, not you.
Here is a list that was just posted on Grime Scene (a great pressure washing forum) please think about joining: guidelines-interview-questions-you-can-legally-ask
Ask them to list not only the standard past employers, business references as well as personal and education, but for industry specific certifications as well. You should also state that copies of the certifications are to be provided to be placed in their file if they are hired. These can be very useful tools for you as a business and in marketing. You can also state that they must be able to be bonded if you would like. This also can be good for you for insurance reasons as well as in marketing your business.
You need to include a statement at the bottom of the application just before the signature line that tells the applicant that all areas must be filled out completely, must be accurate and may be checked on and any lack there of can be used as reason not to except them as a candidate for employment, to hire as an employee or for termination at any time if they become an employee and statements are later found to be false.
Make sure your application is as detailed as you need it to be, do not worry about it only fitting on one page front and back like a store bought one. Some of the best jobs I ever had, had applications 4-5 pages long.
You might want to add a section next to each past job entry asking for a description of the work they did at that job, ask for the name of a supervisor or co-worker that is still there with phone number if different from the main number, and ask why they left. If there are gaps in education or employment ask what they were doing for that time even if it was not work in the current field they are applying for. Answers to these may give you a clue as to other aspects that could affect their job performance with your company or reasons why they would make the best fit. Any negative information you find that may cause you to not consider the candidate should be brought up to the candidate so they can challenge the information. If you don't and you do not hire them, and they later find out what you where told was miss information, they could come back legally against you in some instances.
For some of you that have businesses in a state like GA, with employer right to hire/fire laws, you may not have to give any reason as to why you did not choose someone so long it is not one of the illegal ones, but for many of you the employee holds more cards than the employer does in this process and you have to make sure you stay on the right side of the law. As with any of our blogs the information given here are general guidelines and you should check what the laws are currently in your state. Tomorrow the Handbook.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
What to include in your hiring proceedures?
Most of you never went to college to take classes on hiring, so unless you have earned a degree in Human Resources, everyone needs help in this area. Most of what I know I learned by having to learn it myself while running a business, managing other's businesses and working with very good HR people over the years. Here is the short version of what you need to know.
1. Your hiring procedures need to be written down somewhere, preferably in a handbook, which we will discuss in detail in the next blog.
2. Your procedures MUST be the same for EVERY applicant, so not to come under scrutiny by the Federal Fair Practices Act.
3. That this written procedure includes the end game as well as the beginning and that you have listed reasons and procedures for employee termination (firing) as well as hiring.
This way, no unhired prospect, current or former employee can win in a law suit against you. This is not to say they can not file one, anyone can do that, but you just want to be sure they will not win and walk off with a big payday for it.
The things to state and have in your hiring procedure:
That your company’s application must be filled out in full and any omissions or discrepancies, found at any time, can be grounds for immediate dismissal.
That any attached resume becomes a part of the application and fails under the same above rules.
That even if a job offer is extended, excepted and work performed, passing of a MVR check (if they will be driving your vehicle), a background and/or drug screening must be completed and passed before the job becomes official, and not passing any part will be grounds for dismissal and only hours worked to be paid at minimum wage. (Or amount agreed upon, your call)
If a job is offered then copies of a drivers license, if they will be operating a vehicle, and any other form of ID needed to comply with the filling out of the Federal and State Tax forms will be made at that time, not when they turn in the application. Asking for copies before a job is offered and accepted is against the law in some areas and puts your business at risk for theft of applicant’s identity.
You can place an evaluation/probation period, say from 30-90 days to be sure they can perform the work, before you extend certain privileges, or final salary rate etc.. and state that a non passing performance is a valid reason for termination.
Have a preprinted form that will list all the information for the official job offer including: new hires name, address, job title, job description, hours work maybe performed, rate of pay for work including rate of overtime, length of probation period, changes that will occur at end of probation, sick time you are giving per year, time off or vacation time per year (and list of any other benefits such as use of a company truck). This should be signed by you and the new hire with a copy to both parties.
That the new hire has received and read the company handbook, initialed each page in front of a witness, have signed and dated the book to keep and returned the acceptance page also signed and dated along with the witnesses date and signature.
This may sound like over kill but believe me, the very first time you need something like this and you do not have it, may be the last time for your business.
The rest of the particulars can be spelled out in the handbook that we will review later. Tomorrow what needs to be on your company’s application?
1. Your hiring procedures need to be written down somewhere, preferably in a handbook, which we will discuss in detail in the next blog.
2. Your procedures MUST be the same for EVERY applicant, so not to come under scrutiny by the Federal Fair Practices Act.
3. That this written procedure includes the end game as well as the beginning and that you have listed reasons and procedures for employee termination (firing) as well as hiring.
This way, no unhired prospect, current or former employee can win in a law suit against you. This is not to say they can not file one, anyone can do that, but you just want to be sure they will not win and walk off with a big payday for it.
The things to state and have in your hiring procedure:
That your company’s application must be filled out in full and any omissions or discrepancies, found at any time, can be grounds for immediate dismissal.
That any attached resume becomes a part of the application and fails under the same above rules.
That even if a job offer is extended, excepted and work performed, passing of a MVR check (if they will be driving your vehicle), a background and/or drug screening must be completed and passed before the job becomes official, and not passing any part will be grounds for dismissal and only hours worked to be paid at minimum wage. (Or amount agreed upon, your call)
If a job is offered then copies of a drivers license, if they will be operating a vehicle, and any other form of ID needed to comply with the filling out of the Federal and State Tax forms will be made at that time, not when they turn in the application. Asking for copies before a job is offered and accepted is against the law in some areas and puts your business at risk for theft of applicant’s identity.
You can place an evaluation/probation period, say from 30-90 days to be sure they can perform the work, before you extend certain privileges, or final salary rate etc.. and state that a non passing performance is a valid reason for termination.
Have a preprinted form that will list all the information for the official job offer including: new hires name, address, job title, job description, hours work maybe performed, rate of pay for work including rate of overtime, length of probation period, changes that will occur at end of probation, sick time you are giving per year, time off or vacation time per year (and list of any other benefits such as use of a company truck). This should be signed by you and the new hire with a copy to both parties.
That the new hire has received and read the company handbook, initialed each page in front of a witness, have signed and dated the book to keep and returned the acceptance page also signed and dated along with the witnesses date and signature.
This may sound like over kill but believe me, the very first time you need something like this and you do not have it, may be the last time for your business.
The rest of the particulars can be spelled out in the handbook that we will review later. Tomorrow what needs to be on your company’s application?
Monday, January 18, 2010
What is the cost of your new employee?
The number one expense in a service business is your labor costs. So you need to be sure that the money you spend is for someone that is qualified to do the work you are paying your hard earned money for.
The first way to do this is to have a set hiring procedure in place before you every place that first want ad.
Second you should have a detailed application just for your company not some office supply store form.
Third you should have an employee handbook made, given to every new hire and signed for.
Fourth you should run a background check and if possible a drug screening as well.
Taking these steps will not only give your customers value that you can spot light in your marketing but will give you added value as well in the long run by knowing you have skilling, qualified, honest, drug free employees representing you and your company. The old adage 'You get what you pay for' can be attested to by anyone that has just hired someone off the street or because a friend of a friend said he was a good worker and knew what he was doing, only to have anything from major trouble to just routine annoyance caused by this person. Hopefully you have not been damaged too severely so far but by following these steps you will greatly improve your odds of never having to worry about it.
These steps can save you money by reducing employee absenteeism, possible reduction in insurance premium rates, reduce or eliminate loss due to theft, increase the quality of employees that should work faster and safer allowing you to do more jobs without increasing man power.
I will go over in the next four blog posts this week information on each of these points and where more information can be found, that you can go to, and use on your own.
The first way to do this is to have a set hiring procedure in place before you every place that first want ad.
Second you should have a detailed application just for your company not some office supply store form.
Third you should have an employee handbook made, given to every new hire and signed for.
Fourth you should run a background check and if possible a drug screening as well.
Taking these steps will not only give your customers value that you can spot light in your marketing but will give you added value as well in the long run by knowing you have skilling, qualified, honest, drug free employees representing you and your company. The old adage 'You get what you pay for' can be attested to by anyone that has just hired someone off the street or because a friend of a friend said he was a good worker and knew what he was doing, only to have anything from major trouble to just routine annoyance caused by this person. Hopefully you have not been damaged too severely so far but by following these steps you will greatly improve your odds of never having to worry about it.
These steps can save you money by reducing employee absenteeism, possible reduction in insurance premium rates, reduce or eliminate loss due to theft, increase the quality of employees that should work faster and safer allowing you to do more jobs without increasing man power.
I will go over in the next four blog posts this week information on each of these points and where more information can be found, that you can go to, and use on your own.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Hood Cleaners. Which will work best for you?
Here at Soap Warehouse we have many products, that to some, seem that they can do the same thing. And in some cases that may be true, but the subtle differences of each product is for certain reasons and we hope that focusing on product groups together will help our customers find the right one for the job they are doing.
We will also tell you what current or customers in the past have personally found when using a certain product. For this first installation we will explore Hood Cleaners.
With hood cleaning the main chemical ingredients used are potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide. Both need to be used with care and special cautionary actions taken when using them. Such as wearing protective eye wear when mixing and applying, protective clothing and gloves to cover exposed skin. These chemicals are very caustic and that is what makes them such great grease cutters and removers. The ingredient potassium hydroxide is more water soluble than sodium hydroxide but costs more which is reflected in product pricing.
Now our basic 'Hood Cleaner' contains Potassium Hydroxide which some people prefer to handle and mix rather than Sodium Hydroxide, but there is really not much of a difference in their use. 'Smoke House' is our Sodium Hydroxide product. Both are used at 1:100 chemical to water ratio. They are used the same way by applying to a dry surface starting from the bottom up using hot water, allowing a short dwell time and then being rinsed with clear water from the top down into proper collection devices for treatment and disposal according to local wastewater codes.
The 'Smoke House' has been said to work the best on 'Chinese' restaurant grease, which seems to be different that 'normal' cooking grease at other restaurants. 'Smoke House' does costs less than the 'Hood Cleaner' but I have some clients that will only use 'Hood Cleaner' even on 'Chinese' grease and when they only want to purchase and use only one product.
Speaking of that, our Brown Derby also contains mainly Sodium Hydroxide, and we have had customers over the years that will use Brown Derby for anything and everything, including hood cleaning. We had a customer that had used Brown Derby for almost 5 years to do kitchen exhaust cleaning and I finally convicence them to try 'Smoke House' instead. Even though it costs exactly the same, the formulation and percentages of ingredients are different and he could not believe what a difference he got with using the 'Smoke House'. That is not to say that Brown Derby did not do a fair job of cleaning but once the same restraunt was cleaned using 'Smoke House' the difference was clear. He now only buys 'Smoke House' for his kitchen work and leaves using Brown Derby for his fleet washing.
We also have supplementary products like our 'Oven and Grill Cleaner' to be used on flat grill surfaces and inside ovens. Our foaming agent, which can be added to any of our products when additional cling time for vertical surfaces, like exhaust flues are needed. But even with foam, a little goes a long way. If you create too much foam height you are just wasting money on your chemicals because so much of the chemicals are suspended in the foam that never comes in contact with the greasy surface. Using just enough to create a stiff foam to increase dwell time is all you need.
Now these hood cleaners can not be used on aluminum without damage, there fore the cleaning of any aluminum framed filters that may be in an exhaust system, must be handled and cleaned with a different product, like our Mighty Green. It is non-hazardous, non-corrosive and safe on skin, so you can soak filters in a flat tank of concentrated product putting them in and out with your bare hands with out any worries. It also has a great clean scent. Just rinse with water to remove the grease once the filter has soaked for a long enough period of time. If the filters are really bad additional soaks maybe needed or the filter completely replaced. I have seen some pictures of some pretty bad clogged filters that Mighty Green has brought back to useable life.
Hopefully this breakdown of our different Kitchen Hood Cleaning products has helped you.
We will also tell you what current or customers in the past have personally found when using a certain product. For this first installation we will explore Hood Cleaners.
With hood cleaning the main chemical ingredients used are potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide. Both need to be used with care and special cautionary actions taken when using them. Such as wearing protective eye wear when mixing and applying, protective clothing and gloves to cover exposed skin. These chemicals are very caustic and that is what makes them such great grease cutters and removers. The ingredient potassium hydroxide is more water soluble than sodium hydroxide but costs more which is reflected in product pricing.
Now our basic 'Hood Cleaner' contains Potassium Hydroxide which some people prefer to handle and mix rather than Sodium Hydroxide, but there is really not much of a difference in their use. 'Smoke House' is our Sodium Hydroxide product. Both are used at 1:100 chemical to water ratio. They are used the same way by applying to a dry surface starting from the bottom up using hot water, allowing a short dwell time and then being rinsed with clear water from the top down into proper collection devices for treatment and disposal according to local wastewater codes.
The 'Smoke House' has been said to work the best on 'Chinese' restaurant grease, which seems to be different that 'normal' cooking grease at other restaurants. 'Smoke House' does costs less than the 'Hood Cleaner' but I have some clients that will only use 'Hood Cleaner' even on 'Chinese' grease and when they only want to purchase and use only one product.
Speaking of that, our Brown Derby also contains mainly Sodium Hydroxide, and we have had customers over the years that will use Brown Derby for anything and everything, including hood cleaning. We had a customer that had used Brown Derby for almost 5 years to do kitchen exhaust cleaning and I finally convicence them to try 'Smoke House' instead. Even though it costs exactly the same, the formulation and percentages of ingredients are different and he could not believe what a difference he got with using the 'Smoke House'. That is not to say that Brown Derby did not do a fair job of cleaning but once the same restraunt was cleaned using 'Smoke House' the difference was clear. He now only buys 'Smoke House' for his kitchen work and leaves using Brown Derby for his fleet washing.
We also have supplementary products like our 'Oven and Grill Cleaner' to be used on flat grill surfaces and inside ovens. Our foaming agent, which can be added to any of our products when additional cling time for vertical surfaces, like exhaust flues are needed. But even with foam, a little goes a long way. If you create too much foam height you are just wasting money on your chemicals because so much of the chemicals are suspended in the foam that never comes in contact with the greasy surface. Using just enough to create a stiff foam to increase dwell time is all you need.
Now these hood cleaners can not be used on aluminum without damage, there fore the cleaning of any aluminum framed filters that may be in an exhaust system, must be handled and cleaned with a different product, like our Mighty Green. It is non-hazardous, non-corrosive and safe on skin, so you can soak filters in a flat tank of concentrated product putting them in and out with your bare hands with out any worries. It also has a great clean scent. Just rinse with water to remove the grease once the filter has soaked for a long enough period of time. If the filters are really bad additional soaks maybe needed or the filter completely replaced. I have seen some pictures of some pretty bad clogged filters that Mighty Green has brought back to useable life.
Hopefully this breakdown of our different Kitchen Hood Cleaning products has helped you.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2010. With one decade almost behind us already we have a lot to improve upon to end this first ten years in the positive and not the negative.
By now if you have been following along with us since 2008 we have informed you to get or upgrade your web site, improve your SEO, have great business cards, know how and where to advertise, and have introduced you to some of our great products.
This year we would like to hear from you to know what more you would like to learn? We will also explore some of our products in more detail each month, as well, depending on the time of year and when they are most often used.
For example, although we still have outside exterior maintenance cleaning going on in the Southeast and out in the Southwest, most of our customers are in the deep freeze of winter and either not working or have moved inside to other work such as commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning. Now for some this is an all year business but not for everyone. So my next blog will cover our Hood Cleaning products.
Others move to things like increased home carpet, air duct and window cleaning or inside car detailing. So in February and March we will cover products for that.
Once the spring starts to get here and we get back from Louisville KY and the Mid America Truck Show we will move into truck fleet wash products and then exterior home products for April and May.
Come June & July we will be in full swing of the outdoor cleaning season and will explore our car wash and deck products.
I plan in August to cover our new large laundry product line since by then we sould have many of the older Orenda customers on board by then.
September will bring us to heavy duty equipment products for the commercial contruction industry. By October we will discuss our aircraft cleaner Top Gun as well as 'Green Products' that we have or products we are converting over to being 'Green'.
November we will discuss our degreasers and how they differ as much as they seem they are the same. By December we will be running out of product lines so it will be on what ever we have missed or what will be new for 2011.
I hope these product line blogs will help you understand and choose the product that will work best for your own business applications and you will enjoy them along with the other informational blogs we will be posting.
Talk with you soon.
By now if you have been following along with us since 2008 we have informed you to get or upgrade your web site, improve your SEO, have great business cards, know how and where to advertise, and have introduced you to some of our great products.
This year we would like to hear from you to know what more you would like to learn? We will also explore some of our products in more detail each month, as well, depending on the time of year and when they are most often used.
For example, although we still have outside exterior maintenance cleaning going on in the Southeast and out in the Southwest, most of our customers are in the deep freeze of winter and either not working or have moved inside to other work such as commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning. Now for some this is an all year business but not for everyone. So my next blog will cover our Hood Cleaning products.
Others move to things like increased home carpet, air duct and window cleaning or inside car detailing. So in February and March we will cover products for that.
Once the spring starts to get here and we get back from Louisville KY and the Mid America Truck Show we will move into truck fleet wash products and then exterior home products for April and May.
Come June & July we will be in full swing of the outdoor cleaning season and will explore our car wash and deck products.
I plan in August to cover our new large laundry product line since by then we sould have many of the older Orenda customers on board by then.
September will bring us to heavy duty equipment products for the commercial contruction industry. By October we will discuss our aircraft cleaner Top Gun as well as 'Green Products' that we have or products we are converting over to being 'Green'.
November we will discuss our degreasers and how they differ as much as they seem they are the same. By December we will be running out of product lines so it will be on what ever we have missed or what will be new for 2011.
I hope these product line blogs will help you understand and choose the product that will work best for your own business applications and you will enjoy them along with the other informational blogs we will be posting.
Talk with you soon.
Monday, December 28, 2009
5 Smart Things you can still do in 2009!
This list will be short and sweet with a few reasons to do them.
1. Make a list of items, supplies and equipment you need to buy or replace for next year.
Why, because some may be small enough (a new roll of hose) that you can buy them now before year end and be able to write it off on this years taxes. Second you can see if any item might be on sale now to save you money next year. Third give you ideas and costs to plan and budget for during 2010.
2. Reconnect with friends and collegues that are in the business.
Why, because they might have something you need that they want to sell or get rid of (again saving you money). You might have something they need that you want to get rid of (making you money). Discuss what worked or did not work for them this past year, might clue you in on changes for yourself next year. Make sure you share your sucesses and failures as well so they will be more apt to help or send you business.
3. Look for places to find free or nearly free information for your business, like blogs and product websites.
Why, because these places can give you ideas on how to do your buiness better without having to leave your house (or where ever your computer is). Information is always changing and being in the know can sometimes make or break your business. Even go to look at sites of products you do not currently use, say a stain brand you know of but costs too much for your normal clients. These site's information could still be worth while no matter what brand of stain you use.
4. Add content to your website. Why, because adding content will improve customer loyalty, impress new customers, and move your site up in searchablity ranking so new customers can find you. And if for some reason you still do not have a website. GET ONE NOW! Many you can start are free for the asking.
5. Create a list of CRAZY goals for 2010. Why, because if you write down goals you would like to happen in the next year, say get 20 contracts over $10,000 each, have 5 crews working for me, etc... rewrite and revist this list once every three months, you might be supprised how many of those crazy goals you closed in on in 2010. Create your own reality for a great 2010 now before 2009 ends.
Happy New Year.
1. Make a list of items, supplies and equipment you need to buy or replace for next year.
Why, because some may be small enough (a new roll of hose) that you can buy them now before year end and be able to write it off on this years taxes. Second you can see if any item might be on sale now to save you money next year. Third give you ideas and costs to plan and budget for during 2010.
2. Reconnect with friends and collegues that are in the business.
Why, because they might have something you need that they want to sell or get rid of (again saving you money). You might have something they need that you want to get rid of (making you money). Discuss what worked or did not work for them this past year, might clue you in on changes for yourself next year. Make sure you share your sucesses and failures as well so they will be more apt to help or send you business.
3. Look for places to find free or nearly free information for your business, like blogs and product websites.
Why, because these places can give you ideas on how to do your buiness better without having to leave your house (or where ever your computer is). Information is always changing and being in the know can sometimes make or break your business. Even go to look at sites of products you do not currently use, say a stain brand you know of but costs too much for your normal clients. These site's information could still be worth while no matter what brand of stain you use.
4. Add content to your website. Why, because adding content will improve customer loyalty, impress new customers, and move your site up in searchablity ranking so new customers can find you. And if for some reason you still do not have a website. GET ONE NOW! Many you can start are free for the asking.
5. Create a list of CRAZY goals for 2010. Why, because if you write down goals you would like to happen in the next year, say get 20 contracts over $10,000 each, have 5 crews working for me, etc... rewrite and revist this list once every three months, you might be supprised how many of those crazy goals you closed in on in 2010. Create your own reality for a great 2010 now before 2009 ends.
Happy New Year.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Changing advertising trends for 2010!
To continue on the topic of our last few posts; I follow a number of advertising gurus and web marketing folks and here is what I have been hearing about the trends that will be going into 2010.
1. The Internet, especially Google will still hold the highest return of homeowners and businesses that search for cleaning services. The numbers of these searches far exceeds any other service including those by phone book companies such as yellowpages.com, and does not come close to the hard print phone books. So you need to not only be on the internet with a well equipped web site but keep up with SEO to improve your placement and search ability for customers to find you. Affiliate sales opportunities may also be worth looking into for your buiness.
2. Social Media will continue to increase significantly throughout 2010 and companies that can incorporate things like Twitter, Facebook, MerchantCircle, YouTube, Hot Frog, LinkedIn and others will bring you new clients at little cost. Like I have mentioned before try to spend at least a few hours per week blogging, linking and changing content on your site to drive search engines and new customers to your business.
3. Direct Mail, is not dead, this media will be abandoned or greatly curtailed by many which will make it more profitable for those that continue to use it. Your message will start to stand out instead of being buried by similar companies. Especially to existing customers, postcards, newsletters and sales special flyers may be the most important thing you do in 2010 to keep your repeat business. Also printers and marketers may run more deals and specials as so many other companies cut spending in these areas.
4. E-mail offers, will start to lose its luster next year. With the expansion of many businesses that have finally heard the word that e-mailing is fast, inexpensive, and labor reducing especially through third party facilitators, e-mails will start to get lost or buried in the in box. This does not mean you should stop using them but try to cut back to only really important messages that your customer will want to open and do not depend on them to bring you the bulk of your new customers.
5. Yellow page phone books, as stated above they will continue to lose a large part of the market share and you should not be spending large amounts here. If you have an ad, think about downsizing, moving those dollars to the internet, yet keeping yourself visible to the older, over 50, customer that still tends to rely on phone books and print ads. You may have to keep what you have only if you are in a very competive market where you are still getting a large number of your leads and new customers from using them.
6. Newspapers and other print ads, although the numbers for these have declined somewhat over the past few years there is still use and value to be found in them. Again older customers tend to be the ones that are reading the newspaper and print ads like in local publications and direct mailers like Valpak will continue to work. You just need to gauge your past success with current ones and make changes accordingly.
7. Billboards, Radio and Television are all big ticket items that may be marketing opportunities this year. Check your area for special deals they may be giving to small business to make up for the losses they are feeling from big business cut backs. Look for a company that has a presence in all three medias in your market to find the best deals. This may only work for those in large city markets but keep your options open. One month of well combined media advertising can win big, especially if right at the beginning of your target season.
Now is the time to make sure you do not lock your business into spending money that will not give you enough of a return or chance to make you money in 2010. Happy New Year.
1. The Internet, especially Google will still hold the highest return of homeowners and businesses that search for cleaning services. The numbers of these searches far exceeds any other service including those by phone book companies such as yellowpages.com, and does not come close to the hard print phone books. So you need to not only be on the internet with a well equipped web site but keep up with SEO to improve your placement and search ability for customers to find you. Affiliate sales opportunities may also be worth looking into for your buiness.
2. Social Media will continue to increase significantly throughout 2010 and companies that can incorporate things like Twitter, Facebook, MerchantCircle, YouTube, Hot Frog, LinkedIn and others will bring you new clients at little cost. Like I have mentioned before try to spend at least a few hours per week blogging, linking and changing content on your site to drive search engines and new customers to your business.
3. Direct Mail, is not dead, this media will be abandoned or greatly curtailed by many which will make it more profitable for those that continue to use it. Your message will start to stand out instead of being buried by similar companies. Especially to existing customers, postcards, newsletters and sales special flyers may be the most important thing you do in 2010 to keep your repeat business. Also printers and marketers may run more deals and specials as so many other companies cut spending in these areas.
4. E-mail offers, will start to lose its luster next year. With the expansion of many businesses that have finally heard the word that e-mailing is fast, inexpensive, and labor reducing especially through third party facilitators, e-mails will start to get lost or buried in the in box. This does not mean you should stop using them but try to cut back to only really important messages that your customer will want to open and do not depend on them to bring you the bulk of your new customers.
5. Yellow page phone books, as stated above they will continue to lose a large part of the market share and you should not be spending large amounts here. If you have an ad, think about downsizing, moving those dollars to the internet, yet keeping yourself visible to the older, over 50, customer that still tends to rely on phone books and print ads. You may have to keep what you have only if you are in a very competive market where you are still getting a large number of your leads and new customers from using them.
6. Newspapers and other print ads, although the numbers for these have declined somewhat over the past few years there is still use and value to be found in them. Again older customers tend to be the ones that are reading the newspaper and print ads like in local publications and direct mailers like Valpak will continue to work. You just need to gauge your past success with current ones and make changes accordingly.
7. Billboards, Radio and Television are all big ticket items that may be marketing opportunities this year. Check your area for special deals they may be giving to small business to make up for the losses they are feeling from big business cut backs. Look for a company that has a presence in all three medias in your market to find the best deals. This may only work for those in large city markets but keep your options open. One month of well combined media advertising can win big, especially if right at the beginning of your target season.
Now is the time to make sure you do not lock your business into spending money that will not give you enough of a return or chance to make you money in 2010. Happy New Year.
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