National Clothesline

Would you like your employees to feel more committed to your company? Why not share with them your vision of where the company is headed… if you know.

If you don’t know, maybe it’s time to write a marketing plan. Companies often undervalue the impact that a marketing plan will have on their own people.

Actually, your employees want to feel like they’re part of a team and that they are engaged in a joint endeavor. They’ll appreciate being involved.

Of course, no plan is perfect. After all, who knows what will happen 12 months or five years from now? So, for some, putting together a marketing plan might be seen as an exercise in futility… a waste of time better spent dealing with customers or fine-tuning production. That is possible, but only in the narrowest sense.

If you don’t plan, you’re doomed, and an inaccurate plan is far better than no plan at all.

In short, a marketing plan is a full evaluation of where you and the industry are and where you are both heading. It’s an extremely valuable tool that provides insight and strategic direction to all your efforts. But it’s such a comprehensive, exhaustive, time-consuming document that very few cleaners ever get around to actually putting a plan together.

The answer to this problem is the Mini-Marketing Plan, a brief, easily constructed plan that saves you time by keeping you on top of your marketing efforts.

It’s really a campaign plan — an outline of all the steps necessary to put together a single successful sales campaign. The mini-marketing plan is important because it:

• Prevents things from falling through the cracks by helping you keep track of important details.

• Insures that you plan your follow up for maximum effectiveness and timeliness.

• Protects you from embarrassing and sales destroying mistakes.

• Helps you think through the entire process before you commit yourself to it.

• Keeps you organized.

• Helps you delegate responsibilities.

• Promotes accountability.

A key feature and selling point of the mini-marketing plan is the fact that it can be laid out in just two pages.

Before you can create a marketing plan of any sort, it’s helpful to know four things about your business.

First, what is your company’s mission? In other words, what do you do and for whom? This may seem obvious, but the details are important and will serve to give direction to your marketing efforts.

For example, if you are a discount cleaner, your mission might be “To provide top quality wardrobe maintenance at guaranteed lowest prices and to ensure customer satisfaction with each transaction.”

For obvious reasons, this mission statement would not be adopted by a high-fashion couture drycleaner.

Second, what is it that makes your business unique, different or better than the competition? This unique selling proposition should clearly state in just a few words why someone should bring their clothes to you instead of the guy down the street.

For example, “All orders brought in by noon will be ready the same day.” Or, “Automatic 10 percent discount given on ALL pre-paid orders.” Or, “It’s ready, it’s right, or it’s FREE!”

A third consideration has to do with your target market. Who will be the focus of your efforts? Single-family homeowners? Every household with a minimum annual income of $75,000? All prospects living in key postal carrier routes within a given radius of your business? Or all white-collar professionals aged 28 to 45 who reside at least seven miles from the store and require pickup and delivery service only?

Fourth, the question of which services will be offered and which will not must be addressed. For example, years ago Stan Golomb started an Executive Suit Club which catered strictly to businessmen. The new cleaning service accepted only men’s suits and dress shirts… nothing else.

Most of the orders, however, were dropped off by wives, who insisted on having an item or two of their own wardrobes done at the suit club. In a very short time, the Executive Suit Club expanded its services, confused its niche market and lost its unique appeal.

Pick a goal that will help you achieve your mission. The goal should be attainable, measurable, and have a deadline. Instead of “Make more money,” say, “Increase sales by $3,000 by July 30.”

Then examine various ways to achieve that goal. There are many vehicles you can consider such as newspapers, Yellow Pages, telemarketing, co-op advertising, news releases, the Internet and direct mail to name just a few.

Try to determine which of these vehicles will help you meet your goals. Past experience plays a big part in this.

If you are new to the cleafing business, ask others for advice on what might work best for you. Also, trade organizations such as the IFI or NCA will be able to give you the names of successful owners (non-competitors).

In addition, outside marketing experts as well as industry marketing firms should be able to give direction along with hands on assistance in the fulfillment of your marketing plan.

Look for multiple ways to get your message out. Be creative and try your best to find no-cost and low-cost ways to achieve your goals.

Implement your plan as if your life depends on it — because it does!

Do frequent evaluations so you can learn from the experience. Determine what worked, what didn’t and why and then make plans to improve on it the next time around.

A long-term marketing plan is certainly desirable for any cleaning business, but in the meantime a mini-marketing plan will help to get you on track.

If you’re interested in setting up a mini-marketing plan of your own and would like to receive a two-page Mini-Marketing template free of charge, simply send an e-mail to bish8@comcast.net. Important: In the subject of the e-mail write “Mini-Marketing Template.” This template can then be used as a guide for setting up your own mini-marketing plan.