Frequency Savings/Discounts for Residential

So what I have found in my market is this. People do not want to sign up for a window cleaning contract even if they are happy with your service, some people might call you 2 months after having them cleaned and then six months later and then four months later and then nine months later etc. A lot of my customers cannot guarantee that they want to be on a schedule where I come the same amount of days apart. They also seem turned off by the commitment when you give them a price for quarterly twice-a-year etc. With this program here you are still offering a discount within six months and three months but the way that you are wording it you are putting the ball in the customers court which is less intimidating, the downside to this style of a maintenance plan is that it’s easier for customers to put you off. I know there is threads on discounts because I have researched them so please do not get upset. What do you believe is the best way to encourage residential repeat business? One Price where you’re lower than the competition? (could encourage repeat business but if those same customers still call you at the same frequency then you just lost money plus you might get the tire kicker clientel) discounts throughout the year on different forms of advertising, Facebook, post cards, paper ads etc, a contract for x number of cleanings per year, a simple phone call every 90 days saying you would like to have their business again. What is the best way to get repeat consistent business? In closing I am known for high quality, middle pricing, good personality and communication with scheduling, I am also known for giving back to the community. People couldn’t be more happy with my service yet I can’t get them on schedules.

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we offer 10% off if you get on our quarterly plan or approximately 16% off if you do monthly cleanings. the way we try to keep people coming back as I send out reminder postcards every month to the people we did three months 6 months 9 months 12 months 15 months 18 months 21 months and 2 years ago. it always seems to stir up some business

I used to offer 20% off for quarterly cleans (inside and outside only) but stopped that discount last year. I still have a few regular customers that benefit from that discount, but not many. I now offer $25 off for quarterly maintenance clean inside and outside, no discount for exterior only. If they take it great I have a four time a year clean; if the decline then it is full price each time.

I live in a small city and my minimum is $60 because I can be anywhere in about 15 minutes and sometimes do only 30 min of work. If I do 10% on some of my accounts it’s going to be like 6 bucks 12 bucks not really enough to encourage signing up quarterly in a lot of people’s eyes. I like your post card idea except as a one man show right now the sounds extremely time-consuming but I understand that part of running a business. Do you believe that sending postcards on the schedule you suggested would have a higher return rate than an email or a phone call because something about physically having something in your hand might encourage them? It’s a weird psychological thing but I feel like if somebody physically has a postcard with maybe a percentage off their more likely to call then if they have an email with that same percentage off.

I like the dollar amount because I feel like it speaks to people more than a percentage the problem is it doesn’t take into account the size of the job somebody. If somebody has a $550 window cleaning 25 bucks might not be very enticing for quarterly. Is this why you chose to do a fixed dollar amount over a percentage?

Yes, some of my quarterly’s were over $800 - $1,000. 20% off is $160-$200 off. Great for the customer, but not so much for me at the end of a long hot day. $25, that’s fair. If need be I could bump it to $50, based on if the job is about to decline or not. But lets not forget this is a luxury service, and most people realize that.

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As business owners we deal with percentages all day long but our customers probably don’t have the enthusiasm or proficiency to process percentages as we do. If you want to do discounts it is probably more user friendly for the customers to just offer them a flat rate discount, as @Garry does with the $25 discount.

it takes a couple hours on a Saturday once a month.

not necessarily, we call those peope who asked to be called and mail a post card to the rest* that didn’t explicitly ask.

*i only send reminder cards to homes that we WANT to do again, not everyone is our target customer, in only send cards to homes over $175 and especially if the windows were easy/enjoyable to clean.

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Good advice on the bottom thank you! As far as the time consuming part lol a couple hours on a Saturday seems like a lot honestly. When you’re trying to be a father, mow the grass, buy groceries, go to the gym, pay bills, clean house, clean out a truck a trailer and a car a couple hours on a Saturday is not always the easiest to find.

My first year I sent out cards once and made very few calls as I was logistically…STUPID… I mean inexperienced.
Similar to @leavingnc I’m sending cards twice this year to clients that did not respond last year and to those that I want to clean (we’re in a luxury business and I am choosing to pick my clients) and making calls/emails on Friday mornings to confirm and fill the next two weeks of work. If I’m filled, I’ll go for three.

As for the discount for frequency I offer every client an outside price 5% lower than regular if they schedule the next appointment right away and if they do quarterly maybe 10% (are they friendly enough for me to actually want to see them that often :slight_smile:) and if they will do monthly outside I do 25% off. I am really pushing the back windows only thing for monthly and total clean twice annually. It is like building a store front route but more lucrative. I hit a house that takes me 20 minutes for $60-75.

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If two hours on a Saturday seems too much, being in business probably isn’t for you. Most of the marketing you do is going to take time in one fashion or another. Being a business owner isn’t a 9-5 job. As a business owner you are ALWAYS on the clock.
But the hope is to build it to something you are proud of that can be whatever you want it to be. If you want free time, you need to get away from being solo/solo +1 employee. You need crews. To get there takes work and sacrifice.

If post cards seem too expensive, then look into a CRM that will email/text clients are intervals you set. If you don’t ask, you aren’t likely to receive the business.

To be honest, because of the responses you have already given, I don’t know what you are looking to find for an answer. You seem to have already made up your mind about what you should do, and what you are willing to do to grow.

I have all the same time constraints you do, i actually find it kinda relaxing. On saturdays i’ll hang out with the fam, i’m addressing postcards, the boys are playing video games or watching cartoons, my wife is makeing breakfast, then around 10 am the boys have to go clean their rooms and my wife and I get on to other things. Make it apart of your rythem and it won’t feel like a chore.

also it’s necessary to do on sat at this point since we are working 8-5 m-f, as we continue to grow and we can shift more of the work to employees i’ll free up some time during the week for me to do it at the office.

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Absolutely not, I like the suggestions given and understand there us no clock out period as a new business owner.

Yes I’m pretty scattered with everything I do. My 2019 resolution is actually more organization in life as a whole. I guess you are right if I just made it a routine thing it would become habit and not seem like such a chore.