National Clothesline

Happy New Year everybody! 2008 was a wild ride.

Trillions of dollars were wiped out in the stock market. Money was lost in real estate investments. People ended up owing more money for their property than what they could receive for it. This situation has not appeared for 70 years, when the Great Depression occurred.

Nobody has a crystal ball and can foresee the future. Methods of marketing might have to change. Service levels have to improve so that you can win the consumer’s dollar. The consumer will be more selective in how their dollars are going to be spent.

I cannot stress product differentiation enough. I cannot stress professionalism enough. Do you have a t-shirt counter and route staff that does not speak understandable English? A t-shirt staff is recognized by its lack of a dress code.

Take a good look at your company and do not rest on your laurels. If your sales are dropping, it is even more important that you take the steps needed to make your business the best it can be.

If you do not take those steps, you can be certain one of your competitors will be taking your customers from you.

At a recent route seminar that I presented for the California Cleaners Association, I stated that route drivers should speak English.

One of the drycleaners in the audience who had routes questioned me as to the necessity of the route driver speaking English. He said, “Who cares if the drivers speak English, they only talk to the housekeeper?”

I took the liberty of using this question because of its importance to the industry.

Obviously, this drycleaner had no expectation of his route sales representative when it came to increasing sales. I did not want to get into an argument with the man. He might want to hire me when his route or counter sales start dropping.

There are differences in route philosophy. Pick-up and delivery person or route sales person? Which individual will do the most to increase your sales?

Personally, I prefer somebody who can be part of a sales team and increase my company revenue. Non-English speaking pick-up and delivery drivers are a dead end. What image do you want to present to the consumers?

If your routes are not growing, consider hiring someone who can actually carry on an intelligent conversation when he or she knocks on a door. That route salesperson will wear a shirt and tie along with a name tag that has the company logo on it. You want a professional look on the route and at the counter.

Supply your routes sales representative with printed door hangers. The hangers should be left at the five houses that are adjacent to your route customer’s home. Those five houses are the three across the street and one on either side of the client’s residence.

Every time your RSR calls on your customer, he will visit those five neighbor’s houses, knock on their doors and, if no one is home, leave a door hanger. The neighbors will get the message that you are in the area at least once or twice per week.

Speaking of hiring someone, with unemployment rising, there is no reason not to shop for better employees. If you have been carrying someone because you could not find a better person when this individual was hired, now is a good time for change.

Use Craig’s List or Monster.com to find a computer-literate, English-speaking person, who will be an asset to your company.

Do not hire somebody because the person is a warm body and you need to fill a slot. Paying more for a better employee pays off. A higher paid sales representative will actually increase your dollar volume at the counter or on the route.

When searching for a new CSR or RSR, be certain to do a background check on that person. A good background check will include the following: Criminal Courts, DMV, and credit.

Consider aptitude and personnel tests. You want the best possible employees because they will give your customers the shopping experience they are looking for.

I know I should not assume that you have a web site, but I will do so. Any company that is in business today must have a web site. If you do not have a web site do not worry. You will probably be out of business in the next five to ten years and wonder where the customers went.

Here are some of the most important statistics regarding shopping over the internet that you will ever read. These numbers are provided by The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization.

After conducting searches for products on the internet, 70 percent of the consumers purchased a product or service on line. Sixty-two percent found a local store location. Fifty percent bought a product from the physical store. Forty-two percent called the customer service number that was listed. Forty-two percent registered to receive a coupon or discount. Thirty-three percent signed up for an e-mail newsletter.

If you can find a reason not to have a website, please let me know. Excuses only satisfy the person who gives them. I do not want to hear any excuses. If you are not marketing on the internet, you are living in the 20th century, not the 21st century.

In addition to paying for search-word optimization, consider the following information. Your web designer has to make your web site as simple as possible for search engines like Google or Yahoo to find your business.

Even though most of the internet advertising dollars go for paid search, a larger proportion (70 percent to 85 percent) of search-engine traffic comes from what is called “natural or organic” searches.

Consider having a blog for your company. Visit the website www.twitter.com/freshbooks and look at what the company FreshBooks is doing to create communication between themselves and their customers.

The key is getting your company information out to the shoppers who will eventually become your customers.

When you receive an e-mail from the new customer, who responds? Personal relationships with clients are the most important.

When I received e-mails from new customers or existing customers, I always responded. I did not pass the email to the route or counter sales managers. I wanted the customer to know they were dealing with the owner and I was always accessible.

Customers love to know the owner. In case there is a problem, they can deal with the boss. I always gave the customer my private telephone number and my e-mail address.

Do not shelter yourself. If you cannot communicate with your current customers, or prospective customers, it is time for you to retire from the drycleaning industry.