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+--- Thread: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! (/showthread.php?tid=1077)
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Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - AusCapper - 06-10-2014
While you sit back and "Cherry Pick" your customers, your competitors will clean up the rest. I believe adapting to your prospective customers needs is the key to expanding your business.
If you like living hand-to-mouth, be selective about your business and customers. But if you have bigger goals for your business and your life, look at each potential customer as an exciting new opportunity. Listen, learn and adapt. That’s the path to success. (IMO)
Ned
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - leofry@1966 - 06-16-2014
DISAGREE-respectfully that is - many way to be successful.
Your business will become whatever why you mold it.
if you go clean nasty apartments then that's what your business will become AND there is nothing wrong with that if that's what you want.
if you want to clean 1/2 million dollar homes then that's what you business will become AND there is nothing wrong with that..
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - lee@deepclean.us.com - 06-16-2014
Have to agree with leofry! McDonalds and the most expensive restaurant in town both serve food but the price and service are very different. I have found it best to determine who you wish to serve and focus on their wants and needs. Hard to please everyone!
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - AusCapper - 06-16-2014
Lee, let's use your McDonalds example to leverage my point here-
"Learn to adapt" exactly what maccas has done. Take their coffee.... At some point there was probably a starbucks opening up across the street from maccas, sucking much of their coffee loving customers over to starbucks, because their reputation for high end, consistent, delicious coffee was very well regarded. Did maccas say "well we can't cater for the coffee market as well as them so we'll just go back to burgers"?- No, they didn't. They opened and promoted the ***** out of McCafe, and included not only gourmet style coffee but all of the gourmet treats to go with it. They adapted- and I think they're doing ok.
Why hone your business in on one portion of the market? Why limit yourself/ your business? Thats a recipe for non-growth.
Ned
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - lee@deepclean.us.com - 06-16-2014
Hi Ned, I see your point. I am looking at it from the perspective of a single owner operator like myself with a limited amount of time, energy and resources. I enjoy staying small because it fits me. I find If I try to do to many things equipment costs, training costs, supply costs, insurance, employee costs and marketing expenses soar and my real bottom line suffers. I have to be an efficient hunter to survice. Thats just me I guess. I do wish you great success with your business! It sounds like you have a good plan that fits you!
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - jtmellon - 06-17-2014
Well, here is my 2 cents. I do mostly office cleaning (janitorial), but when I want a few extra bucks I place an add on Craigslist (my son hates when I do it). The jobs I get off of CL are trash, oh and trash people, I have been to some jobs from CL where it looks like a crime scene. Now jobs I get from customers where I office clean (staff of the office) their homes are well kept and clean also they pay what I ask. CL is price and trash, so it is true where you aim is where the arrow lands.
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - encapman - 06-17-2014
(06-17-2014, 07:55 AM)jtmellon Wrote: where you aim is where the arrow lands
Well said Joe! I agree.
I think its a very good idea to determine which segment of the market your company would like to fit. And there's no set rule on that. It's a matter of what you're most comfortable going after. Then build your company from the ground up to match your market segment. I believe there's an advantage that comes from finding a niche and trying to stay relatively close to that business model.
Using the example above, McDonalds builds their entire customer experience to fit a price point with food quality that matches. You don't expect to get a fine sirloin steak at McDonald's They have beef, but it ain't sirloin. And heir McCafee is NOT the same quality coffee you'd expect to find at a "real" espresso bar. But their model works for McDonalds - no one could ever argue that. Their entire business is built around their model - and that makes tremendous sense for them!
There's a price point for Kia. There's a price point for Ford. There's a price point for Acura. And there's a price point for Aston Martin. Each of those companies does well at their price point. Each company has their own rationale. They build their product for their intended market and they price accordingly.
There is room at the bottom (Kia pricing) if you can create enough volume. It takes a LOT of low profit sales to cover costs and make a profit. On the other side, if you're at the high end (Aston Martin pricing), you only need a few jobs to fill your pockets. And in fact you will only be able to do a few jobs, because these customers rightly expect all the extra perks. If you head more toward the middle you might look at (Ford pricing). If you want to look at the upper middle you might compare (Acura pricing).
The middle is a large segment with the greatest number of "quality" customers. But you will have to work against the highest number of competitors because this is where carpet cleaning companies normally target their marketing efforts. This is the largest segment of the market. The middle market segment also crosses over into the upper end of the low-priced market and into the lower end of the high-priced market. So it's a popular place for your competitors. It's a crowded room. It can also be harder to differentiate your company from the competition in such a crowded room.
It all comes down to finding a business mode that fits your company. Frankly I think it is best to lock into and work to build your company to fit the segment you're most comfortable with. A Kia dealer could never sell a Kia at an Aston Martin price. Likewise an Aston Martin dealer can't pass off a Kia to their customers and try get them to think it's an Aston Martin. Just as an Acura customer is expecting an Acura experience, and is prepared to pay accordingly. Each company has a product, a customer experience, and particular pricing that matches their overall game plane.
Find what works for you - and run with it. Crossing over between different segments of the market will only serve to confuse and alienate your customers. Find your niche. Determine what what works and what your comfortable with and build your company to support that model.
For example at Excellent Supply we primarily focus on "commercial carpet cleaning supplies". We even have a tagline OCCD... we have Obsessive Commercial Carpet Cleaning Disorder. Other supply companies target the entire gamut of carpet cleaning products, some even dip into janitorial, etc. But we try to stick to a specific niche that fits our overall game plan. Granted, it's a smaller segment. But it's where we want our business to be positioned, and it works for us.
In my old carpet cleaning business too - I specifically focused on "commercial" carpet cleaning. When customers would ask me if I could clean their house I kindly turned them down. I explained that our systems are designed for commercial carpet - that's why we're the best at it. They understood. Why would I pass up their residential business? Simply because it didn't fit my business model - it would've muddied the water. Just as McDonalds isn't going to cook up a sirloin for you - even if you brought it to them from the butcher. It's not what they do. And even if they agreed to do it for you, they couldn't do it well.
The logic of finding your niche can be seen in many different spectrums of the business world: Nordstroms, compared to Wal-Mart; Apple, compared to Asus; Hyatt, compared to Holiday Inn, compared to Super 8; etc. Each company has identified their target market and they try to stay pretty close to their mark. Find what fits your your style, build your business accordingly, and run with it
Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - Blue Ridge Floor Care - 06-18-2014
Want a recipe for living hand to mouth? Don't target your desired customer base and end up cleaning restaurants, apartments, and motel rooms...
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - lee@deepclean.us.com - 06-19-2014
Blue Ridge is correct!!!!!!
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - AusCapper - 06-20-2014
To Blue Ridge- I love cleaners who have the same attitude as yours. Makes for a successful business for those of us who dont fear those types of jobs. You see its all about "hassle premium", the more hassle a job "appears" to be, the more we can charge, and the more out there to do because businesses like yours fear them. I also clean the "high end" of the market, its all about adaptation. Look into partitioning your business to accommodate those types of jobs and you may find your horizons may broaden a little!
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - AusCapper - 06-20-2014
What is a "real" espresso bar Rick?
Does McCafe not make "real" espresso? You mean to tell me I have been consuming fake espresso? Their coffee beans look pretty real to me- and tastes great. Quite good quality if you ask me, (up there with "real" cafe's). Just my opinion of course.
McCafe is an "espresso bar" within their restaurant. The staff are all barista trained, their coffee machines and other equipment are top shelf.
My point is, they adapted to their prospective customers needs, they didn't fear the challenge set by their competitors across the street. They didn't limit the possibilities of their business potential.
Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - Blue Ridge Floor Care - 06-20-2014
(06-20-2014, 04:11 AM)AusCapper Wrote: To Blue Ridge- I love cleaners who have the same attitude as yours. Makes for a successful business for those of us who dont fear those types of jobs. You see its all about "hassle premium", the more hassle a job "appears" to be, the more we can charge, and the more out there to do because businesses like yours fear them. I also clean the "high end" of the market, its all about adaptation. Look into partitioning your business to accommodate those types of jobs and you may find your horizons may broaden a little!
Let's be clear. I don't FEAR those jobs. I choose not to target them. If you want to move 60 tables and 250 chairs in a greasy restaurant in the middle of the night for less than a dime a foot, knock yourself out. If you want to clean 5 hotel rooms at $9 each, have a ball. If you are forced to clean rat nasty apartments for $60 per unit, I feel for you. Sounds like you just don't have ENOUGH high end clients. If you want to feed on the bottom and have a job instead of owning a profitable business that has value to a potential buyer, that's your perogative. But I learned 30 years ago that it's no fun working at the bottom of the price scale. Perhaps your market is different. Maybe restaurants, hotels and apartments are willing to pay you top dollar and work under your terms. Each market is different.
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - AusCapper - 06-20-2014
(06-20-2014, 07:04 AM)Blue Ridge Floor Care Wrote: Each market is different.
Exactly. The most significant sentence in your whole paragraph.
So adapt.
Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - Blue Ridge Floor Care - 06-20-2014
(06-20-2014, 07:22 AM)AusCapper Wrote:(06-20-2014, 07:04 AM)Blue Ridge Floor Care Wrote: Each market is different.
Exactly. The most significant sentence in your whole paragraph.
So adapt.
Cleaner please...
RE: Don't Cherry Pick, just GO FOR IT!! - encapman - 06-20-2014
(06-20-2014, 06:16 AM)AusCapper Wrote: What is a "real" espresso bar Rick?
Does McCafe not make "real" espresso? You mean to tell me I have been consuming fake espresso? Their coffee beans look pretty real to me- and tastes great. Quite good quality if you ask me, (up there with "real" cafe's). Just my opinion of course.
McCafe is an "espresso bar" within their restaurant. The staff are all barista trained, their coffee machines and other equipment are top shelf.
My point is, they adapted to their prospective customers needs, they didn't fear the challenge set by their competitors across the street. They didn't limit the possibilities of their business potential.
Well then, they must be serving better espresso Down Under than they are in the USA. What they have here is OK - just OK.
And I do agree with you - they made a solid attempt to up their game in the coffee department. It was a wise move on their part.