What are some good ways to market rug cleaning? At this point, I'm just getting back into the CC business, so I don't have much of a customer database to market to. I'm thinking of approaching local flooring companies and dry cleaners to start with. My plan is to find a couple dry cleaners to use as drop off points for my customers. What have you found is a good price to charge them so that both parties are happy with the arrangement? I'm thinking of charging $3 for my retail customers and $2 to my 'wholesale' customers. (dry cleaners, flooring stores, interior decorators, and other restoration companies and cleaners) How do you approach them? How do you make this attractive to them? Is this worth my effort, or would I be better off marketing directly to retail customers? I just fear that finding retail customers with good rugs that they really care about might be difficult without using other channels. Any advice, tips, warnings from you guys with some experience under your belts would be appreciated.
Right now I'd focus on adding rug cleaning to your current carpet cleaning customers - that would be the cheapest acquisition cost per job, and you would make more profit because you are not chasing around wholesale work (which is a pain in the butt). Make sure you know what you are doing with rugs. Otherwise you can easily, even at $3, lose money if you are not careful and ruin rugs, and are only surface cleaning and have to clean multiple times to make it acceptable, and lose money in time and supplies. If you do not REALLY enjoy rugs - to where it does not feel like a CHORE to do - then go this path, and if not, just find a rug plant and subcontract and add a $1 per sq ft to the price and make profit for providing the service of taking the rugs to a reputable rug plant. Lisa
One of things that Lisa said to me (and one of the few things I ignored) was to stay away from dry cleaners - she was on the money! They get the worst rugs (anybody that gives a crap about their rugs ain't bringing them to a dry cleaner). They don't inspect or pre-qualify (some of the ones I deal with can't even figure sq footage!). I got one in last week that had so much piss soaked into it that I almost puked! Had a backing so it was soaked into the latex as well. The best to handle it - get them to recommend you and give them 10%. Rug stores can be good - visit often and B S with them about biz in general (we are in the same type of biz kinda after all).
Thanks Rugman. Good advice. Lisa, I appreciate your input too. Like I said, I don't have a customer base yet to market to. I'm just getting started back in this industry. And Lisa, there isn't another rug plant to bring rugs to in my area. That's why I want to start offering this. I can't say that I LOVE rugs. I love my family, I love God, I love my friends. But I don't love rugs. I'm interested in rugs though and would like to learn more about how they are constructed. And I enjoy bringing them back to life and making the colors pop again. So it's satisfying to me. And I'd rather stay in the 'shop' and clean rugs than drag equipment through someones house in the rain and snow. So I could see myself using this as a niche eventually if there's a real market for it here, of which I'm not sure yet. I know that most rug cleaners will say I can't do this, or shouldn't do this. That I need to have cleaned rugs for years and years or spend $10,000 on a super secret class, or have been born into rug royalty. If not, I shouldn't be cleaning rugs. I just don't buy that. I do value education. Don't get me wrong. But I think a lot of this is common sense and knowing your own limitations. Barry mentioned in a post yesterday that chemistry has changed things for the better for rug cleaners. Some of the new products take away some of the fears that rug cleaning brought in the past. So I think this is a good time for someone to jump in and get their feet wet. Will I make mistakes? Of course. Will I have to keep learning? Yes. I'm glad to have insurance. Hey Rugman, so do you work more on referrals than 'subbing' you work out? Is 10% enough of an incentive to get people to send work your way? Or are you the only shop in your area cleaning rugs the correct way?
10% for dry cleaners should be good - remember they get $.50-1.00 for shirt. You WILL get the worst of the worst from them - trust me on this one! Maybe focus on high end dry cleaners if you have them. Maybe go %15. Keep in mind that you will be driving to a house to pick up a small piss stained rug all the time. That is the only plus to the dry cleaners - they get the rugs brought to them. For my others wholesale cust I clean for $1.25 sq ft. Includes other carpet cleaners and rug shops - too low but hard to go back and change. Maybe give them %30 but they have to get them. My rug dealer in town gets most of the rugs brought in to them and if I have to go and pick up I charge for that. Keep in mind - the end user will NOT become your customer for the most part. I live about 60 miles from NY City - close to some of the largest rug cleaning companies in the country. I keep a good mix of wholesale and retail. Biggest thing in rug cleaning - test the rugs for potential problems before you clean them. eventually you will be able to spot lots of these when they come in.
Phillip, Here is something that I did with area rugs, being a complete newbie. I was terrified of touching an area rug. I did not want to ruin a customers rug. I went on craigslist and bought a few area rugs that people were selling, anywhere from $50.00-250.00 and used them for practice. This helped me a few ways. I was able to just plunge right in without fear of ruining a customers rug. I was able to educate myself on what I could do or couldn't do. So I gained some experience without fear. So what happened? Not one rug blew-up or caught fire! I then re-listed the same rugs back on CL. I charged people whatever I paid for the rug, plus cost of cleaning. So it paid off in two ways, I was able to gain experience and made money for the cleaning. Ross
Bob - nice to know you finally listened to me about dry cleaners and wholesale accounts. =) Phillip - you don't have to LOVE rugs - you just need to enjoy them. And you don't need to spend $10K-100K to get the job done. In fact, if you go to my blog, there is a post on "rug shop set-ups" that lays out all the steps in the cleaning process and all the equipment options from low-budget to high. CLICK HERE => Rug Shop Set-ups And yes, you will make mistakes. That's why we all carry insurance. =) If you go to my blog, opt in for my Rug Disasters Report - it's got the top mistakes I see cleaners make that lead to them buying rugs. That also puts you on my list (don't worry, I only write you maybe once a month if that) and when my next group of Textile Pros opens up, you will get word on it in case you are interested in the full training program - or if you want to start smaller on your education. I teach all practical... and all profitable. =) Good luck! Lisa
Hey Lisa Thanks for that rug set up post. I actually started sifting through all that a while back. Lot's of good info. I will sign up for your information too. Phillip
Phillip Marketing is the first step to take action on, right after you figure out how to clean your clients rugs yourself or set up with an experienced rug cleaner that will give you a discount. Lisa's advice to jump start off your list of happy carpet cleaning clients is very good, however in your case this may not work as you are just getting started (again) and don't have much of a list. I do need to point out that most clients of a carpet cleaning service will not trust you with their fine rugs, and sometimes not even their less valuable rugs as they perceive that rugs (especially natural fibre) need someone with extra skills that ordinary carpet cleaners may not have. This reminds me of years ago when I decided that I wanted to start specializing in caring for fine rugs in my shop. I was in a client’s home that trusted me to take care of his carpeting and furniture on a regular basis. I mentioned that I could now take away his wool rugs and give them special attention and he said “No way, you can't touch my good rugs”. I asked him why and the client asked me if I knew what the rugs were made of and I told him that I was not sure. He then asked me if I knew where they came from and I said no. Next thing he said to me was that these were valuable family heirlooms and I had no business touching them. He told me that I was going to have to learn a lot before he would ever let me touch his rugs. This client actually did me a favour and did start me on my mission to really learn to be the most knowledgeable person in my town for rugs. Cool thing is now the rug dealers ask me to come in and help ID rugs for them. Dry cleaners,, it is funny how so many ppl getting started in rug care think they are going to turn a bunch of dry cleaners into depots for them. I have yet to meet anyone that has done this successfully. I have tried myself and failed miserably. So many probs, with the top issue being that the dry cleaner can not tell the client what to expect for results and unless the dry cleaner is going to give up the name and contact info of the client so that you can communicate directly with the client to go over expectations, damage issues, extra services etc then just stay away. Of coarse most drycleaners are not going to give up the names/contact info of their clients to you as they know the next time that client needs a rug cleaning service they will be cut out of the profits. Fact is that we do get a LOT of business from drycleaners, but we are set up as a referral source and do not wholesale to DC’s. I do have a report that I sell online and I will offer it up to anyone that sends me a private message till then end of the week! http://rugbadger.com/drycleaner-referrals.html
