Social Media Won't Fix A Broken Marketing Plan

Social media marketing. Just seeing the phrase elicits a wide range of emotional responses from today’s small business owner.

Probably the most common emotion is that social media marketing will SAVE your small business. You’ve heard time and time again that Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn can bring you loads of hot, new prospects ready to whip out their credit cards and do business with you.

Well, as they always say, “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.”

Here’s the problem.

Whenever there’s a new fad, technology or marketing tool, small business owners jump on the bandwagon hoping that this will finally be the answer to all their problems. This will be the marketing solution that they have been endlessly searching for. Not only that, it will cost less and bring in more sales. Hallelujah!

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but social media won’t fix a broken business model. Social media is a tool that only works in combination with a strong business philosophy, foundation and plan of action.

The truth is that you need to have a solid small business foundation before your social media marketing will be effective. You need to have a unique selling proposition, landing page, an enticing offer, sticky website and a blog. That’s when Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn will work for you.

You can’t expect Twitter alone to be the magic bullet for your business. You can’t expect Facebook alone to be your savior.

Now, here’s the thing. We’re the very first person to shout from the rooftops that social media is an awesome small business tool. We bring in dozens of leads every single month just from Facebook and Twitter alone.

But, you need to understand that there is never ONE marketing tool that will save your business. It’s the effective combination of a solid marketing foundation, tools and consistency that will grow your small business.

If you don’t have a solid business foundation, social media cannot help your business. In fact, it may even hurt your business. It can’t fix a broken small business and it’s certainly not a Band-Aid.

Social media is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. And, if used in conjunction with a strong business philosophy, foundation and plan of action, that’s when its power will be unleashed.

Sovran Communications Group is a marketing and business consulting firm exclusively representing the interests of carpet cleaners and the restoration services arena. For a FREE website evaluation please visit us online at www.SovranCommunications.com

Carpet Cleaners - Commanding The Best Prices For Your Services

As your carpet cleaning and restoration service company continues to grow your rates and value will continue to grow too. Many business owners are reluctant to raise their rates or to command higher rates because they feel they’ll lose clients and prospective jobs. However, the opposite is true. When you command the best rates, your perceived value will rise too.

Here are five tips to command the best rates.

#1 Be professional. This may seem like the most obvious statement imaginable however, you’d be surprised to find out how unprofessional your competition can be. Always, be on your most professional behavior. That means responding to email and voicemail promptly, using proper and professional correspondence, treating the customer like a valuable asset and not a nuisance, by taking great pride in your business and your service, and by always being on time. This very simple philosophy will set you above 75-80% of your competition and people are much happier to spend a little more to be treated well.

As a marketing agency for carpet cleaning and restoration service professionals I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been asked by clients to evaluate their business model in an attempt to discover why they aren’t realizing an increase in business or worse yet, repeat business. Recently I visited a carpet cleaning company that has been in business for over 10 years and observed how they interacted with customers and the community upon which they served. Here’s what I discovered:

Technicians reported to work past their 8am start time, technicians wore whatever they felt like wearing to work (including tank tops, cut off jean shorts, unkempt long hair and scruffy beards, dirty clothes worn from the day before, nose piercings, blood shot eyes from a night of partying, etc.) The trucks looks like they hadn’t been washed in weeks and the were a total mess (dents, paint falling off, unkempt interiors, etc).

The staff assigned to answer the phones didn’t have a clue about stains, pet urine, the cleaning processes involved in carpet and tile cleaning, etc. They simply read from a script. They weren’t pleasant on the phone when speaking with customers and there wasn’t an ounce of excitement in their voices. The office staff was more interested in texting, taking calls from boyfriends and shopping online than they were about customer service. I was thinking to myself, this is the kind of carpet cleaning company I would call if I needed services. Yea right!

After a day of evaluating this company’s operations I sat down with the owner and asked him what he thought the problems were to which he replied “I really don’t have a clue….” (I’m thinking to myself, you got that right!”)

To make a long story short, I pointed out the obvious, advised him to clean up his trucks and the appearance of his technicians, demand that the technicians report to work on time or terminate them, educate his office personnel on the services his company provides and require that each clerical person work in the truck one day with his best technician so that they understand exactly what it is their company does. I also sat down with his office staff and counseled them on how to answer the phones, how to be professional, etc. This client required a lot of work to break bad habits and in the end; I think they’ll turn their operations around and they learned a lot from inviting an outsider in to observe their business.

#2 Specialize. People respect and are willing to pay more for specialists. You wouldn’t go to a general practitioner if you had cancer, right? You’d go to a cancer specialist and probably someone who specializes in your particular type of cancer because you want the best, the most knowledgeable person. The same holds true for carpet cleaning and restoration service companies. People are willing to pay more if you’re a specialist.

How to “specialize?” Perhaps you want to be known as specialists in pet stain removal. Educate your staff on the best ways to remove pet stains and urine contamination and then start advertising this service via your website and Facebook. You should also include an article in your newsletters about the damage pet urine can cause if left untreated and your solution for taking care of the problem. Include your “specialty” on every piece of communication your company makes available to the public. Also make sure that you have the appropriate equipment to effectively deal with pet urine (Xenon or speciality pet urine detection lighting, a moisture stick, effective chemicals).

You can also specialize in bleach repairs, stain removal and dyeing, environmentally friendly cleaning, wood floor refinishing and repair, oriental and area rugs, etc. Become a specialist.

#3 Commit to professional development. Just because you’re an expert today doesn’t mean you’ll be an expert tomorrow. The world changes quickly and in order to be able to demand the best rates, you need to be on the cutting edge of your industry and always learning. Your prospects and clients will happily pay more to tap into your knowledge. Attend IICRC and other vendor sponsored classes. Your local Interlink and Jon-Don (just to name a few) offer a wide variety of classes and are an invaluable source of information.

#4 Over deliver. You’ve probably heard the phrase, under promise and over deliver. While under promising may not be the best idea, delivering more than you promised is. People will remember that you went above and beyond and will be willing to pay for such great service.

#5 Know your competition. It’s important to know who your competition is so you can position yourself accordingly. Know not only what they charge for their services but also where they have weaknesses and where they are strong. Then you can position yourself apart and above them to demand higher rates.

When our company, Sovran Communications Group, takes on a client the very first thing we do is analyze our clients competition. As specialists in marketing and business consulting for carpet cleaners and restoration service companies our goal is to exploit our client’s competitions weaknesses to build a platform of strength upon which our clients can build upon. Knowing your competition is a “good thing.”

Commanding the best rates is really about offering the best business service you can offer. When you accomplish that, people will be lined up to pay for your expertise and your service.

Sovran Communications Group is a full service marketing, branding and business consulting group for carpet cleaners and restoration service companies nationwide. For more information about our services please visit us online at www.SovranCommunications.com

Carpet Cleaning Marketing - Stand Out From The Crowd

Sovran Communications Group - Carpet Cleaning and Restoration Service Marketing

With 550 million users around the world, and counting, Facebook is one of today's leading destinations influencing online identity, entertainment, and content distribution.

Social Media is no longer just a fancy word for a whole bunch of people gossiping, sharing photos or planning their weekends. Social Media, by far, offers the most cost effective means of advertising your carpet cleaning or restoration services company to “real” people.

Social Media is the only platform that allows businesses an opportunity to engage customers that are active participants as opposed to passive observers. Conversations are happening around your company and Facebook friends whether you participate or not. Simply having a Facebook page with a lot of “friends” will not generate a measurable revenue stream.

Success with Social Media is determined by how you manage your online presence that ultimately determines the long term reputation of your brand AND the number of clients/dollars generated through a successful presence.

Wanna ramp-up your “Brand?” Here are a few tips that are easy to implement and if done correctly, will lead to increased leads and jobs.

Join Related Groups

No, do not join your direct competitor’s Facebook page and start a flame war. Join the special interest groups of your industry, professional associations, charities of interest etc. and be visible. Engage in meaningful conversation and do not be a chatter box.

Offer Exclusive Facebook Discounts

Lot of brands offer exclusive discounts to their Facebook friends. This helps generate new customers and that all important referral base. At Sovran Communications Group we don’t advise clients to “discount” their services. What we do encourage, and what seems to work the best on Facebook, is to offer a special such as:

Purchase 4 or more rooms of carpet cleaning and we’ll clean your favorite easy chair FREE OF CHARGE. A promotion like this allows your company to showcase your upholstery cleaning skills and once the customer see’s how clean you’ve made their chair; they may just schedule you to clean their couch, love seat, etc. Of course there’s always the opportunity for additional sales such as fabric protector, mattress cleaning, etc.

FREE and Discounts Attract Attention

Sponsor giveaways at regular intervals and place your brand at the center of attraction. Giveaways spread like a wildfire and you will benefit from word of mouth and positive attention. A “Giveaway” is something as simple as giving away a bottle of spotter or a $25 Gift Certificate for cleaning to the first three customers who can correctly answer a question about your company (such as name all of the services you offer, how long you’ve been in business, the advantages of a truck-mount vs. a portable, etc. – anything to get them to think).

Add Fresh Content

Just like a blog, your Facebook page needs to have fresh content too. There is no point in setting up a great Facebook page and letting it gather dust. Post regularly, make comments on friends postings, post a favorite recipe around the holidays, include “before and after” pictures of jobs you’re working on, etc. Stay engaged and you’ll stay in your customer’s minds whenever they need a carpet cleaner.

Post Testimonials

First hand accounts by existing customers are a great way to market your services. Ask customers who have Facebook accounts to provide testimonials by posting from their account. You can also reach out to customers that may not have a Facebook account and ask them to provide you with a testimonial and then you post the comment on your account.

The posting could look something like this: Another satisfied client writes: “I want to thank your company for the outstanding service you provided in cleaning our carpets. The stains are now gone and we’re no longer embarrassed to invite friends into our home.” Angela R. Naples FL
Testimonial work!

There’s a world of opportunity out there and companies that provide GREAT customer service, utilize Social Media to their advantage and employ web sites that are engaging with correct SEO optimization are the businesses that will continue to grow and thrive.

Sovran Communications Group is a marketing and business consulting agency exclusively representing carpet cleaning and restoration service companies nationwide.

For more information on our company and to receive a FREE website evaluation (fill out the form on page 1 of our website) please visit us online at http://www.sovrancommunications.com/

Carpet Cleaning Marketing SEO

Carpet Cleaning Marketing and Website Development

Anybody can have a website but having one that works well is a different story. It’s all very good to have a flashy intro and lots of features and functionality that can wow the audience on every single page. But what if they can’t find you? What if you’re not visible on the first page of search engine results? If they don’t know your web address (which most users don’t), many members of your potential audience are going to try to find your site (or a competitors) by typing in a keyword or phrase, and if you don’t rank on those return results, you may as well not have a Web site at all. It’s that serious.

Making your web site “search engine friendly” or employing Search Engine Optimization techniques or SEO, as it’s known in the trade, at your earliest convenience should be a priority.

To ignore Search Engine Optimization is folly. Without quality SEO, well, if we were a betting company (which we are), we’d say your dead in the water. Your Web site, if it is to be relied upon as a catalyst to bring new customers to your company, is nothing if it isn’t optimized for the web. In fact, ignoring SEO is tantamount to placing a brick wall against your front door; you’re actually blocking potential customers from reaching you. You’re web site is destined to become part of the “noise” of the Internet rather a viable choice for likely customers.

Search Engine Optimization, to be successful, has three components. If your website is lacking in any of the three areas, you’re leaving money on the table:

Quality content linked to your site’s title and keywords

Site optimized for all major search engines (not just Google)

Quality backlinks and tags

Recently Sovran Communications Group was hired by a large carpet cleaning and water restoration service company to increase their customer base via the internet. Even though this company ranked on page 1 of Google and Yahoo for the search terms “carpet cleaning” and “water damage” (we then included the city they operate in as the third keyword in the search terms), they ranked on page 5 with Bing. While this company also offers tile and upholstery cleaning, mold remediation, reconstruction services, etc., when using these additional services in search terms, they failed to rank anywhere near page 1 of any search engine. Basically their “competitors were killing them if the potential customer did a web search and used any search term other than “carpet cleaning” or “water damage.”

In the above example, this client’s “SEO” person (purportedly an “industry expert” that dabbles in SEO) made several major SEO errors. This “industry expert” failed to take into account the client’s market area, competitors, services offered, site structure, and web copy. This “expert” convinced the customer to invest heavily into “Google AdWords” while failing to address or even understand the underlying problem the client was having in the first place.

Over the last couple of months Sovran Communications Group has cost effectively restructured this client’s web presence. We’ve taken into consideration their competitors strengths and weaknesses and “one up’ed them.” We’ve changed copy where appropriate, changed keywords, added meta data, created backlinks and made their site inviting and search engine friendly. As of this morning, we’re happy to report that this client now ranks Number 1 with Google, Number 1 with Yahoo and Number 2 with Bing. Their traffic has increased (based on Google Analytics) threefold and they’re landing new clients.

Sovran Communications Group is a marketing and consulting agency exclusively representing the carpet cleaning and restoration services industry. For more information on our company and a FREE website evaluation, please visit us online at www.SovranCommunications.com.

Thirty-three percent of Internet users perceive a company in the top search engine rankings to be a trusted source. Where do you rank?

Carpet Cleaning Marketing and SEO Services

Carpet Cleaning Marketing SEO

Where do you want your business to be in six months or one year? Are you a small carpet cleaning company looking to grow or a medium-sized restoration services company wanting to dominate your market?

To significantly grow your business online, you need to have top search engine rankings. 90% of users click listings on the first page of results. If you reach those top spots, and have compelling copy within your website, you will receive significant traffic and gain new customers.

Good search engine marketing will drive buying-focused consumers and businesses to your website and convert more of those visitors into loyal customers. As consumers ditch phone books in favor of internet searches, it is imperative that business owners have an optimized web presence or get left behind. Over the last three years Yellow Page advertising has seen ad revenues drop by more than 50% as people rely on the internet for telephone numbers, business reviews and website content.

Businesses that do not appear on the first page of a search result stand little chance of being discovered as consumers lend more creditability to top ranked websites.

Why does SEO deliver the best bang for your buck?

When it comes to marketing savvy website owners know that it takes more to reach top page ranking than “just a pretty website.” We’ve seen hundreds of flashy websites where the owner has paid thousands in development costs that fail to rank on page one. We’ve also seen and developed websites for $750.00 that either rank on the top page of Google, Bing and Yahoo or they rank Number 1 in their market.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization is defined as the use of various techniques to improve a web site's ranking in the search engines and thus attract more visitors. If a website owner does not stay on top of their website and make certain that it stays “optimized” they will lose traffic. A properly optimized website targets customers at the exact moment they’re ready to buy.

How Long Does it Take to Rank?

There are no guarantees when it comes to rankings. I’m sure you’ve read e-mails that promise “top listings” in a matter of days. The truth is, Google, Yahoo and Bing clearly state on their website that no company in the world can guaranteed inclusion on their websites let alone placement. Each search engine has its own set of logarithms when determining page rank and no one – for any amount of money - can tell the search engines where to place your website. Depending on the competitive nature of the keyword(s) you’re using, it can take 3-9 months to reach page one in the search engines.

For example: There are 20 carpet cleaning companies in a particular city and each wants to appear on page one of Google for the search term “carpet cleaning Dallas Tx.” Google only allows 10 “organic” listings per page therefore all 20 carpet cleaners can not show up on page one. Realizing that there are only 10 available spots, our job for a potential client who is not ranking in the top ten is to knock someone off of the front page and replace that position with our client. We accomplish this task in a variety of ways and one of the techniques at our disposal is to analyze our client’s competition, expose their online weaknesses and then fully optimize our client’s website to out produce their competitor.

Sovran Communications Group is a marketing agency exclusively representing carpet cleaning and restoration service companies in Search Engine Optimization, Business Consulting and Website Development.

For more information on our company and for a FREE website review, visit us online at www.SovranCommunications.com and click on the free website evaluation tool.

Carpet Cleaning Marketing - Overcoming Price Objections

Carpet Cleaning Marketing

How many times have you heard a prospect utter those dreaded words “Can you give me a better deal? The other quote I had was cheaper”. Or how about the “What’s your lowest price?” line, that always puts a smile on my face! Or not!

Don't be the low price guy!

In the last few years I guarantee you’ve heard it more times than you care to count or remember. Am I right? Now a day’s everyone is trying to save a buck and cut corners, understandably so, but this can’t be good for everyone’s business.

So, if you’re like most of our clients don’t discount on your pricing. It’s important you show value to the potential customer so they can easily understand that just by hiring you they are getting a much better “deal” rather than a “cheaper price”. If you’re licensed, insured and have the track record that proves you can do the job right the first time around then let them know it and don’t be afraid to show off your credentials or examples of your work on your website. We all know the “cheaper” quote is more likely to cost twice as much in the end because we all get what we pay for.

Here are a few small business tips you may want to have handy for this situation; a value comparison chart – with the documents to back it up, listing some of the following facts.

How long you have been in business – Longevity Matters

The high limits of insurance you have to protect them

If you are open on weekends and after hours for their convenience

Years of combined service and certifications of the employees who will be performing the work

Testimonials work! Your website should outline several testimonials of satisfied customers and if you convenience the person who’s giving the testimonial to also allow you to include their picture, this adds additional creditability

Have a website that “tells a story” instead of screaming – “we’re the best in the world.” Consumers are used to everyone saying their company is the best there ever was.

If you offer “green” cleaning services tout the benefits on your website and to the consumer calling to ask for a quote.

If you give away free bottles of spotter, tell the customer this as you have them on the phone for a quote. We have carpet cleaners that close the deal simply because they are giving away something FREE

If you’ve only been in business a couple of years instead of touting longevity focus on your industry certifications, cleaning systems, technologies and guarantees.

Value will close more customers than price. Most carpet cleaners fail to close consumers who are looking for the best price simply because they don’t know how to close the deal over the telephone.

Dishonest carpet cleaners involved in “too good to be true” pricing and “bait & switch” tactics play a large part in devaluing honest and fair pricing by legitimate carpet cleaners. Consumers are used to seeing carpet cleaning coupons advertising an entire home cleaned for $79 or $8.95 per room pricing. When they call a legitimate cleaner and hear an honest price they first thing they want to say is “so and so” will do it for $79. Explain your differences – offer value - and if they want you to match the bogus price, let them go. They’ll learn.

Be ready for price objections, it’s normal. Don’t take it personal because many consumers don’t know what legitimate carpet cleaning should cost, be patient, stay positive and remain calm. Trust in your service and understand that money may be tight and some people just like to catch a “deal”. Use these tips outlined in this blog and you’ll get results!

Believe in your services and practice with someone concerning how you handle yourself on the phone when dealing with price shoppers and you’ll start to close more deals. Most consumers are impressed when they contact a “professional company” and quickly realize that you are the better deal and not just the better price.

One last tip – if you feel you may still not be able to close based on the information you have given, try to add on a service, this is a great way to add value without confronting that nasty price objection. An inexpensive giveaway would be to offer a free easy chair cleaning when you clean 4 or more rooms of carpet. You land the job – the customer receives a free cleaning and who knows, when you show them how clean you can make their upholstery, you just may land more work too.

I hope this was helpful, and as always let me know how it works when you try it.

Sovran Communications Group is a marketing and web development company exclusively representing the carpet cleaning and restoration service industries. For a free website evaluation, please visit us online at http://www.sovrancommunications.com/ and click on the form located on our home page.

Carpet Cleaning Mareting - Don't Make This Mistake.

Social networks can be great marketing tools­­--but make a misstep and you could end up doing your company more harm than good. Perhaps the biggest mistake businesspeople make is posting on a company blog or Social Media site personal views on politics or religion. If you want to voice your opinion about a particular political party, brag about getting a DUI over the weekend or share your religious views, do it somewhere else – unless you don’t care about losing customers.

Recently Sovran Communications Group was retained by a company that is well established in the field. This company has been in business for more than 10 years, they consistently “enjoyed” increased year after year sales and are known for quality and service. Beginning in 2008 this company’s revenue dropped 19% from the previous year. In 2009 their revenues dropped another 8% and they were forced to lay off two technicians. In 2010 revenue remains flat even though they increased their advertising budget by 20% over the previous 12 months.

As part of our reputation review process we analyzed this client’s reputation via the internet, public records and through print media and professional contacts. Within hours we identified the problem and flew out to meet them at their home office.

Approximately two years ago (2008) our client, the owner of the company, decided he was going to loudly involve himself AND his company in politics. He’d made a decision that he didn’t like who was running for President of the United States and he was going to do everything possible to make sure his candidate won. In his enthusiasm, he placed bumper stickers on all company vehicles “name calling” his political parties opponent. He also decided to start blogging in his company’s name about his “disgust” concerning this candidate. And just to make certain everyone in his market area knew his opposition to the candidate; he decided to send letters to the editor of his local newspapers which were promptly published.

This owner – he sure impressed the members of his political party – at his own peril. As he was walking around town with his chest stuck out he was alienating 50% of his potential customers. The “potential customers” who didn’t agree with his political views simply called on his competitor. On top of this, a percentage of his previous customers who were now made aware of his political views and didn’t appreciate his “over-the-top” grandstanding simply stopped inviting his company back into their home and called on somebody else.

To make a long story short, this client lost over $450K in two years and to top things off, his candidate lost the election handedly. He’s lost a percentage of his previous clients forever and he’s tarnished his company image for years to come.

Lesson learned – don’t allow your personal political or religious leanings to affect the growth of your company. Keep the political bumper stickers off your vans, don’t post on Facebook, blogs, etc. your distaste of one’s political leanings, and certainly don’t tout religious values in any company communications.

Currently we are working with this client and in time we should be able to reverse the damage he’s caused his company.

Never forget - your political leanings or religious views aren’t shared by everyone. And just as you have the right to make them “loud and clear” your market has a right to reject them and shop someplace else.

Sovran Communications Group is a marketing and business consulting firm to the carpet cleaning and restoration services industry. For more information on our company and the services we offer, please visit us online at www.sovrancommunications.com