30 Nov The Squid Marketer: Marketing For The Slow Times
With all the talk of an upcoming recession and in light of the recent tragedies our Nation has faced, I know many carpet cleaners are concerned, if not downright worried, about the future of their firms. On top of all of this, Winter 2002 is fast approaching.
Well, my article this month will not offer a magic pill for you, but it may just plant a seed or two in your mind on how to help offset the slow times ahead.
Property Management Companies
While commercial work typically keeps us busy all year round, my favorite type of commercial account has to be Property Management Companies for a variety of reasons.
These firms are in charge of handling the over-all YEAR ROUND maintenance of a myriad of businesses. Apartment complexes, office buildings, condominiums, etc. Needless to say, there is a huge amount of carpeting involved and Property Managers need to have it maintained, regardless of the time of season or current economy!
This steady, year round work has been a Godsend for my company for many years now. We maintain several apartment complexes as well as the hallways and stairs of a large condominium complex. This work comes in very handy in January and February!
Offering additional services such as carpet repair (power stretching, seam repair, replacing metal, etc.) and spot dyeing will go along way in helping you land one of these prime accounts! They are always looking to save money and in tough economic times, these add-on services just may save them a call to the carpet retailer.
A little legwork coupled with some imagination can go along way towards helping offset the economically tougher times, which may or may not lie ahead.
Develop a letter of introduction, use the telephone, or better yet, pay a personal visit to the offices of these companies. You can find a listing in the yellow pages under ‘PropertyManagement”.
Until Next Time!
Armand Taddeo