There are a few Certifying Bodies in the Rug Cleaning Field. The biggest is Clean Trust but RIA and now ARCS certify Rug Cleaners. One that has been very quiet is the ICR. Ed York founded both the ICR and the group that became the Clean Trust and now the ICR has a new training certifying program for Rug Washers. Rather than broad and general Certs the ICR has created very focused and specific programs to deal with the things Rug Washers really need. Since 80+% of rugs to be cleaned have bodily fluids and waste, urine, feces, blood, etc… they are now offering BCS Biological Contamination Specialist course to train washers in dealing with these. Since knowing what a rug is helps with cleaning and is a very effective marketing tool they have asked me to teach a Rug ID course focused on what most washers will normally see. There will also be non-certified courses in marketing. This is where we are starting and will hold the first classes in the new program Feb 10 – 12 in DC. The first instructors are Nathan Koets, Paul Lucas, Dusty Roberts and me. Now we are open to ideas. What would you like to see offered? Also how important is marketing. We will have a marketing outreach to the consumers to let them know how to find local qualified experts. Since I have a sizeable web presence in Oriental Rugs I will be working with them to get the names of their certified cleaners in front of potential customers. We feel that by tailoring the Certifications to Consumer Needs we can create a powerful tool to help the cleaners MAKE MORE MONEY. Lisa Wagner says that in 7 years she never got an IICRC referral, we want to drastically change that for ICR cleaners. We look to all of your for guidance. How can we train, certify, and help you make money? By the way the DC Rug Tour is almost sold out so I do not mean to solicited business, I just need ideas. No criticism of Clean Trust is intended, we just want the ICR to be something different. Best wishes, Barry O’Connell
The largest complaint I hear/see about The Clean Trust has always been that no customers have ever heard of the organization. I think that would be a great problem to solve, although an expensive one. Aligning such an organization with the insurance industry would be a close second on that "to-do" list. The only time my certification has been asked for was when bidding local government buildings, and when dealing with some insurance companies for cleaning or water restoration. Never has a residential customer asked. An organization like this should be integral in educating customers about what separates certified cleaners from the "other guys" in their community.
Hi Tron, If the ICR actually got their certified cleaners work from consumers would that make a difference? Barry http://www.SpongoBongo.com
Yes it would, but as you know we are ****arded with "I will get you work" advertising schemes all day every day, I have no doubt in my mind what ever you are working on is a honest program that you have nothing but great intentions for, but I would need to see some real common sense strategies that I could get behind. Since I know you are a true professional I am very open minded and eared to what you are working on. Please let me know what you may have in mind. My info is here in the signature, feel free to call or email me.
Although I already clean rugs and probly have a bigger better setup than most that perpetrate to be rug cleaners I am some what new and open continuing my education in this area, as I know this will be helpful in my quest for industry/world domination! Will there be any good classes in my state or surrounding states?
Thanks MrCarpet, The Clean Trust marketing approach is not effective for anyone but themselves, They designed their website so as to make it not useful with Google. If you don't show up in Google you are at a real disadvantage. Without the Internet marketing becomes very expensive. Maybe they will figure it out some day. with the ICR we have a new approach and with our first class of rug professionals we think we can make a difference. Best wishes, Barry
We will keep you guys up to date on what happens. We are going to take the first class of certified rug cleaners and start the marketing for free. It will take a few months to get it going and see how it works. We are starting with the best training we can offer at a price which is way under the going rate. Just for the heck of it I decided to try an experiment on the marketing. I am in the marketing and SEO business so it is easy for me to set it up. 6 months down the road we can review if the guys are getting any business. Since this is way beyond what we promised I am not going to charge anything for it until we can prove it makes you money. So if it is effective we will offer a paid version. If the results are not good then why bother. My only goal in this is to have some fun with friends and try to help them be more profitable. What is going to be a challenge is a small part of it is lead generation and a much bigger part is making your own website more competitive in Google. When I work with marketing managers it is easy but with small one man shows like most rug washers I am not sure how this will be received. But as my Dad used to say; Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained. Best wishes, Barry O’Connell http://www.SpongoBongo.com
