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Thoughts on this marketing??

Doddy111

Active member
Messages
311
Location
Manchester
What’s everyone’s thoughts on this? I’ve just seen it on Facebook personally I think it’s a pretty dirty tactic although some would say it’s just business 

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What they gona charge for the remaning 18 months of the 24 month contract?
Good question. Also I wonder how they plan to enforce the 24mth contract?

Seems a bit dirty to be targeting people who already have a window cleaner rather than people who need one.

I wonder if they're trying to drive the competition out of the town and get a monopoly. Must be pretty big to take a hit of six months work for free.

 
If you have a good relationship with your customers & provide a good, reliable service this is absolutely nothing to worry about.

If some of your customers go for this kind of marketing & cancel your services they're probably doing you a favour TBH. You don't want customers like this!

 
TV. Insurance. Gym. Ect ect......  all do 'special offer new custys only-  switch to us for blah blah' 

2 years ago everyone was crying about UK Window cleanings 'first clean free' promotion we were all going to lose our rounds 'waahhhh'  

Where are they now?  

As for his teeth @P4dstar why are people so vain they assume the other person will be the one losing teeth and not you yourself? 

I've said it a dozen times before...... I dont give a stuff what other window cleaners are up to... just stick to my plan and plod on. 

This guys advert is going to bag him a few custys and if in a town where £20 + jobs aren't uncommon the locals can make a good saving. 

Reason names blocked out is cause @Doddy111 does not want you knowing his real identity. ?

The advert has 6 likes and 8 shares.  Hardly gone viral has it?    

Lastly..... targeting other windies custys is smart business...  monopolise but more importantly...... no first clean headaches. 

 
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And this will cause a kick off but I have said it a dozen times before.......  when another window cleaner starts paying my bills and feeding my family I will start to give a stuff about what he considers 'his round'

All this tree hugging hippy trash 'oh no I never knock if there's even the remotest chance they have had a windy in the last 10 years..... blah blah....' wish you all lived on my 'patch' 

Do me a favor!  They will knock yours quite happily!   

Only time I wont knock is if there is a windy LITTERALLY  on the job cleaning the windows.  I have enough respect to leave it a month before knocking that one. 

 
Good question. Also I wonder how they plan to enforce the 24mth contract?

Seems a bit dirty to be targeting people who already have a window cleaner rather than people who need one.


Moneyclaim online - once a deal is done it's enforceable in court.

As for the latter part, yes dirty tactic but other windys wouldn't think twice about taking your customers. Like Darren says, you won't have any first clean headaches either although 6 months of free cleaning... well that's quite a loss of income from my POV but each to their own. 

None of my business though if another windys customers switch to me (or away) it's a free market, we all know how it works.

 
I’ve got to admit I did feel sorry for the guy he’d lost 9 customers in a day which if your building a round would be heartbreaking. 

I feel there’s got to be a better way to build a round than cleaning houses free for six months not to mention the headaches it’s going to cause when people bin you off after the six months & you’ve got to go after them. 

Reason names blocked out is cause @Doddy111 does not want you knowing his real identity. ?


Haha I cant afford to offer any free cleans after buying that xtreme, the kids are on beans on toast for the next 2 weeks ?

 
No one does any free cleans.   You charge 25% more offering better levels /quality of service. 

Times the price by 24 (2 years) divide by 18 months to allow for the 'free' clean period. Then tell them the price is X Per month charged every month including the free period cause you already divided the total. .......  arrghh..    

Lets make it simple.  You think it's a £10 per month job.  So your price is £13.50 per month

Remember you want to come out with £240 for the first 24 months. 

So your original price is £13.5 x 24 = 324

6 x 13. 5 is the discount = 81

324 - 81 =  243 

243 / 24 monthly paynents = 10.125 round off to £10.12.  

So they must pay £10.12 for 24 months seeing you £2.40 better off than the you original £10 valuation and make sure they are all D.D. 

2 years down the road your price goes up to £13.50 (nice hike) you lose a small few but most cant be bothered cancelling a D.D. etc so most stay which counter losses and you still make exactly what you wanted to start with. 

Simple ????. 

I’ve got to admit I did feel sorry for the guy he’d lost 9 customers in a day which if your building a round would be heartbreaking. 

I feel there’s got to be a better way to build a round than cleaning houses free for six months not to mention the headaches it’s going to cause when people bin you off after the six months & you’ve got to go after them. 

Haha I cant afford to offer any free cleans after buying that xtreme, the kids are on beans on toast for the next 2 weeks ?


I'm texting your Mrs pics of puppies as we speak!  ?

 
Seen this and i think its an excellent bit of marketting.

Of course nothing is free, they will just charge more for the 18 months that are paid.

Its great because it gets them on a 2 year contract for a start plus getting them on go cardless.

But the best bit is it targets people who have already got a cleaner, we can all pick up work from people who havent got one but this is a way to prise them away from others.

Window cleaners need to get away from this "my patch" and "gentlemans agrement" type mentality. Undercutting, advertising, marketting, offers like this etc IS business.

Thats how it works in any other industry, we are not friends we are rivals, if you are in my area then you are my competiton and i will take your work, i dont care, i do this for me not you.

I think its genius actually, thinking outside the box, i like it. I might try it.

 
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Seen this and i think its an excellent bit of marketting.

Of course nothing is free, they will just charge more for the 18 months that are paid.

Its great because it gets them on a 2 year contract for a start plus getting them on go cardless.

But the best bit is it targets people who have already got a cleaner, we can all pick up work from people who havent got one but this is a way to prise them away from others.

Window cleaners need to get away from this "my patch" and "gentlemans agrement" type mentality. Undercutting, advertising, marketting, offers like this etc IS business.

Thats how it works in any other industry, we are not friends we are rivals, if you are in my area then you are my competiton and i will take your work, i dont care, i do this for me not you.

I think its genius actually, thinking outside the box, i like it. I might try it.


Thought you had won the lotto or got hit by a bus. ?

 
As for his teeth @P4dstar why are people so vain they assume the other person will be the one losing teeth and not you yourself? 
It wasn't actually that difficult to find out where the guy was... There's a massive clue in the picture. I'm not making a personal threat to the guy, partly because I'm not that kind of guy but mainly because he is the other end of the country to me. My comment was mostly tongue in cheek but I seriously think he wants to watch himself. There's nothing wrong with offering X cleans for free but IMO targeting customers who already have a window cleaner is underhand. You think competition and I think hard working sole trader trying to provide for his or her family. There is plenty of work out there for everyone.

6 x 13. 5 is the discount = 81
So £81 for a customer... Could have just used a service like lead generation and paid much less than that without putting peoples noses out of joint... I'm sure I know a guy who could help him ?

 
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Seriously, I reckon there would be a good chance their vehicles would be sabotaged etc. Remember the ice cream wars in the 70s was it? Healthy competition fair enough, but is there no line to draw? Could end up like a kind of war of attrition, and the customers loving it. Probably one day all be f'n cleaned by Tesco or Aldi  :coffee:

 
Some ridiculous replies. These sort of gimmicks only send one message to customers... window cleaners should be cheap. Where in the advert does it say anything about the quality of his work?? 

I'll bet it's not the first 6 months of the contract he's offering for free, it'll be the last 6 months and guess what, he'll have packed up by then!!

Why is he targeting people who already have a window cleaner only??

If I pulled a stunt like this the first thing I'd be doing every morning would be going outside to check that my van was still in one piece. 

 
I’ve got to admit I did feel sorry for the guy he’d lost 9 customers in a day which if your building a round would be heartbreaking. 

I feel there’s got to be a better way to build a round than cleaning houses free for six months not to mention the headaches it’s going to cause when people bin you off after the six months & you’ve got to go after them. 


9 customers in a day? Wow.. how the heck did that happen?

I agree with your latter part about being a better way. I done a bit of door knocking the last couple of days, got a lot of no's but also a few yes's. I was well chuffed and it meant I hadn't knowingly taken work from other windys. It also means that AFAIK I've not picked up switchable customers. Sure they might switch but they're not KNOWN to switch.

Lets make it simple.  You think it's a £10 per month job.  So your price is £13.50 per month

Remember you want to come out with £240 for the first 24 months. 

<snip>

243 / 24 monthly paynents = 10.125 round off to £10.12.  

So they must pay £10.12 for 24 months seeing you £2.40 better off than the you original £10 valuation and make sure they are all D.D. 

2 years down the road your price goes up to £13.50 (nice hike) you lose a small few but most cant be bothered cancelling a D.D. etc so most stay which counter losses and you still make exactly what you wanted to start with. 


Man that's faff, why not just multiply your X by 24 and divide by 18 and be done with it?

As a sole trader quoting a price off the top of your head and then making out you're giving them a free 6 months by running some confusing numbers and then getting them to pay for 24 months looks a tad dodgy. Where's the free 6 months if you're paying all through them?

But I do like your DD idea and customers being too busy to cancel / switch - that's mega awesome.

All the customer has to do is say they weren't happy with the quality of service and they wouldn't have a leg to stand on.  


Doesn't really work in a court of law and besides, not many would dream up that dreary excuse anyway. If you got signed paperwork then a deal is a deal. Obviously if you don't turn up / damage stuff and fail to sort it etc then the court will tell you where to go but if you've done your bit and they try to take the P the court will enforce it.

Trust me, I've watched a lot of Judge Rinder LOL

But the best bit is it targets people who have already got a cleaner, we can all pick up work from people who havent got one but this is a way to prise them away from others.


Something tells me you're the devious type who deliberately likes to sabotage others for some twisted reason.

Reality is there's work out there. You don't need to send some other poor sod down the sewer just so you can overwork yourself trying to keep up.

Why is he targeting people who already have a window cleaner only??


Cos they're known to want their windows cleaned unlike many who clearly don't get them done for years and then tell you "I've already got a window cleaner" like they think we're thick cos we're windys..

 
9 customers in a day? Wow.. how the heck did that happen?

I agree with your latter part about being a better way. I done a bit of door knocking the last couple of days, got a lot of no's but also a few yes's. I was well chuffed and it meant I hadn't knowingly taken work from other windys. It also means that AFAIK I've not picked up switchable customers. Sure they might switch but they're not KNOWN to switch.

Man that's faff, why not just multiply your X by 24 and divide by 18 and be done with it?

As a sole trader quoting a price off the top of your head and then making out you're giving them a free 6 months by running some confusing numbers and then getting them to pay for 24 months looks a tad dodgy. Where's the free 6 months if you're paying all through them?

But I do like your DD idea and customers being too busy to cancel / switch - that's mega awesome.

Doesn't really work in a court of law and besides, not many would dream up that dreary excuse anyway. If you got signed paperwork then a deal is a deal. Obviously if you don't turn up / damage stuff and fail to sort it etc then the court will tell you where to go but if you've done your bit and they try to take the P the court will enforce it.

Trust me, I've watched a lot of Judge Rinder LOL

Something tells me you're the devious type who deliberately likes to sabotage others for some twisted reason.

Reality is there's work out there. You don't need to send some other poor sod down the sewer just so you can overwork yourself trying to keep up.

Cos they're known to want their windows cleaned unlike many who clearly don't get them done for years and then tell you "I've already got a window cleaner" like they think we're thick cos we're windys..


Its not a faff and of course you don't do the numbers in front of them you have it pre-planned upon arrival there for you know exactly what you're quoting regular price would be xx so that's 18 cleans at x and you pay it over the 24 month period so simply divide that by 24.

When you've been doing this for more than 10 minutes you realise you don't turn up and just come up with the price of the top of your head you more or less know exactly what you're going to charge before arriving.

As for Adam being devious he is almost anything but I say this as I've met him personally. However more to the point you as in you a different window cleaner to me does not pay my bills or put food on my table so hence I really do not care in the slightest about you and your customers I care about me my customers and feeding my family. If I have to take your customers to do so that is just business. 

The rep for Coca-Cola walks into a cantina and they say oh we already sell Pepsi do you really think he says well you can't have Coca-Cola in that case and walks out?

 
You do raise good points there but again I would never deliberately chase after customers from another windy. If i knock another windys patch / drop flyers, that's fair game but I would never deliberately advertise deliberately mentioning to switch away from another windy - that IMO is just underhand and asking for hassle.

Again I still can't quite see how 6 free months ends up in the customer paying over 24 months - I think many customers would also see that as odd but i suppose if that works for you then so be it. I don't think i could swing it personally as many folks round here are switched on but i'll keep it in mind and appreciate the advice.

 
Us windies should be sticking together and helping each other out not stealing work. I’m all for advertising your business as on many occasions my custys show me leaflets that have been dropped etc and i never bat an eyelid. If your doing a good job then you’ve nothing to worry about and if your not and lose work due to this then it’s fairgame. Patches died long ago but this is something different and is taking the p1ss. 

 

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