Is Window Cleaning A "Luxury"?

Wow…I can't believe it's been over a week since my last post. Time flies. I did however post a newsletter last week which you can click on in the right column: "Put ALL your eggs in one basket". Let's get into a question asked by a window cleaner wondering about the "wants" or "needs" of our ideal prospects.

Steve,

As you discussed in your window washing program, you have experimented with a number of advertising approaches and provided samples of flyers, postcards, etc. in the package. These samples present having your windows washed as a luxury (i.e., "treat yourself to sparkling windows"). Have you found that this approach - presenting window washing as a "luxury" - is superior to presenting window washing as meeting a need (i.e., "Need to have your windows washed?")? Would appreciate your feedback!

Thanks,

Dale

My Response:

Hi Dale:

Good morning to you. Excellent question.

My experience with advertising for window cleaning customers has taught me that the folks who will respond aren't the ones who "need" the service done. in my advertising mistakes section in the manual, I talk about what happened with my flyer distribution in a general publication newspaper. I also tried the usual coupon advertising vehicles like Valpak. They didn't work.

This was a real eye opener for me. Because I was thinking that since everyone has windows, every homeowner is a potential customer. Not the case though. Getting clean windows is at the very bottom of a person's "to get done" list or "to pay for" list if they are middle income or below. Of course there are always exceptions, but the vast majority of my customers were either upper income or retirees. I learned that although there is a ton of glass out there, it takes a certain kind of person to pay for a professional to clean it.

With all this said above though, it never hurts to test in your particular area for "need". I spoke to a window cleaner not too long ago who put in a little $40 ad in his service directory section of his newspaper. He said he got $1500 in business from it. Not a bad return.

But there is a difference between our two businesses. He makes price the focal point of his business. I didn't. So there are two schools of thought. I preferred to be a higher end window washer for customers willing to pay for piece of mind and the assurance that I'll treat their home as my own. The window cleaner above goes in and tries to be the cheapest. I don't agree with it and I think he's taking a very short term approach to his business, but to each their own. As much as I explain to folks that you can't make it about price, that tendency will be there for many people because that's what they're used to.

Anyway…I hope this provides a little direction. I think the best thing you can do is to test the "need" in your area as mentioned above. This has worked for window cleaners, but again, generally it's because they focus on price. So they might offer for example a whole house window cleaning for $99. Pick yourself a neighborhood where the homes are pretty similar and you can do the same thing. Try it and see what response you get. And this would be something to also test with a vehicle like Valpak, although it would be risky. You may get a call from someone with a huge house which you normally would want to bid $400 on. So if you do use a whole house special kind of thing, make sure it's in a neighborhood that would fit that pricing.

Another idea is to approach townhouse and condo communities. Stop by the office first and say that you put together a special deal for all the townhouse owners in the community. $66.00 for a thorough window cleaning in/out. I'm just throwing a number out there. And this assumes also of course that you want to test for "need". If not, then stick with the marketing materials in my program and focus more on the "want". There are a whole lot of customers who "want" you to come by and clean their windows, and have plenty of disposable income to pay for it.