National Clothesline

Once you’ve cleaned a garment to the maximum soil removal possible and the finishing is the best that can be achieved, why are your services worth any more than any other cleaner?

It would stand to reason that if any two cleaners are both performing the exact same quality of cleaning and finishing, then they both should be charging the exact same price — unless there are other factors.

Some other factors that would justify higher pricing might be a more convenient location, picking-up and delivering the clothes, a more attractive store front, a more attractive call office, friendlier counter staff, a more environmentally friendly cleaning process, or even a better presentation of the finished product.

In addition to the quality of your work and the appearance of your stores, packaging can be what differentiates you from all the other cleaners. The presentation of your product can be what makes “your” cleaning and pressing worth more.

Consider a box of Hershey’s Finest Chocolates. These normally retail for $7.95. They are packaged in a gold-foil box with their name and logo prominently displayed. When the shrink-wrap is removed and the box is opened, a layer of corrugated-waxed paper, emblazoned with the Hershey’s logo, cover a plastic tray of their chocolates. That layer is followed by more logoed wax paper protecting the bottom layer of chocolates.

So why all of this packaging for the same candy they could be selling in a clear plastic bag? The answer is, all of this packaging enhances their product far beyond the typical selling price of their candy.

How much would you pay for a pound of chocolates in a clear plastic bag? Would you pay $7.95? Definitely not!

Would you pay $5? Not much chance.

Would you pay $2.50? I doubt it.

Would you pay $1.60? Maybe.

That’s right! Hershey’s knows that their product is worth up to 80 percent more when properly packaged.

Hershey’s chocolate bar became a powerful brand, and it’s packaging a trademark, without any advertising. (The first Hershey ad was done in 1970!)

Consider the added value you can give to your work by up-grading your packaging.

Whether the quality of work is good or bad or anything in-between, the consumer expects every cleaner to use some form of packaging. Even a low-priced cleaner, like say, a “$1.75 any garment,” will have to use a certain amount of packaging to protect a customer’s clothes after finishing.

As the chart shows, Generic Packaging For 1 Suit would cost a minimum of 17 cents.

By contrast, if a cleaner provides deluxe packaging by using premium supplies imprinted with their name and logo, not only would the customer feel they were getting a better product, they would be getting more value for their money because the work they paid for would be better protected until they were ready to wear the clothes.

The Premium Packaging For 1 Suit shows a sample of what good packaging might cost. This example cost 33 cents.

Yes, that’s nearly double what the generic packaging would cost.

On the other hand, charging $17.50 per suit for this product is as reasonable as is the $3.50 being charged by the $1.75 drycleaner.

Doing what you say you are going to do, every time, is a terrific trademark. Reliability is the basis upon which trust is built. And deep-rooted trust is an essential part of building a brand. If you prove to your customers that you are trustworthy and value their trust, your customers will be back again and again.

Always use the customer’s name. People love to hear their own name. And more than once. Remember the song from “Cheers”? The last line was: “Where everyone knows your name.” People like to be in places where, and do business where, everyone knows their name. It makes them feel special and offers a degree of comfort in an increasingly fact-paced and impersonal world.

How you treat a person’s name can be a reflection of how you will treat their clothes. The concern you show for the spelling and pronunciation of a customer’s name is an indication of the concern you will show in the performance of the service you are selling.

If your CSRs only ask for phone numbers, and never use the customer’s name during a transaction, their belief will be that their clothes are treated with the same impersonal treatment, and that no special care will be given.

Many cleaners have a high turnover of young people and other employees are, for the most part, low-paid workers. If a customer needs advice, or has a problem, sometimes they get someone who really knows their stuff. And other times they don’t.

How do you react when you go to a store and get these people who give you a blank stare — people who have no knowledge of the merchandise or service they are supposed to be selling? Do you feel inclined to return to that store? Probably not.

The truth is that customers really don’t expect you to know everything, even though it may seem like it at times. In fact, admitting that you don’t know something, but promising to find out and following up on that promise, can be just as an important brand builder.

When packaging, branding, and advertising are used together, the impact is greater than the sum of the parts. Branding is a cleaner’s guarantee of their particular level of service. Whether it’s a high level or a low level, the customer should know what to expect.

Consistency is the key. Provided your pricing reflects the level of service given, your customers will brand you as you’ve branded yourself. Packaging is both a physical protection from soil and dust and an expression of identity. Advertising lets people know what a cleaner promises and can make them familiar with your packaging and logo.