Grow Your Residential Air Duct Cleaning Business
Posted by Peter Haugen on Thu, Dec 22, 2011 @ 10:19 AM
As you think about ways to grow your business your first step is to take a minute and evaluate your current business plan and practices. You need to know where you are before you can move forward and grow. Ask yourself: What can I do better? How can I better serve my customers? How can my customers better serve my goals? What new or different growth options are available for me?
Here are four ideas that can help you grow your business:
- Get more referrals from your existing customers.
- Expand your marketing to reach a larger audience.
- Network with other trades.
- Expand your service offering.
1. Get more referrals from your existing customers: Your existing customers are one of your biggest assets. You have already won their business and trust. The challenge is to take this trust and make it work for you in the form of getting more referrals!
- First, you make it so easy for them they can’t help but do it by doing a great job every time. Many people do good work and there is nothing wrong with good work. You need to aim higher so your customers think the world of you and the service you provided.
- Second, create a customer referral reward program that is easy and rewarding for both your customer and you.
2. Expand your marketing to reach a larger audience: Look at the geographic area you currently serve. Can you expand it? Are there areas that offer greater potential than others? Pick out a new area and then market to them. You can:
- Offer something these new potential customers would like.
- Distribute your direct mail piece to that new area.
- Use direct mail packs that go to the zip codes of that new area
- Put door hanger flyer on the homes in the new area.
- Use radio and local television, they generally covers a large geographic area.
Try different things but keep track of what works best so you can use that strategy again.
3. Network with other trades: You can increase your business by networking with other trades that can use you as a subcontractor to provide their air duct cleaning services. These trades can include:
- HVAC contractors
- Fire Restoration contractors
- Water/Mold Restoration contractors
- Carpet cleaners
- Chimney sweeps
- Home inspectors
- Janitorial service contractors (that service apartments and condos)
You first have to sell these other trades on your ability and the quality of your work. Take them to one of your jobs or give the owner a free HVAC system cleaning. Once they agree to use you and you have negotiated their compensation, you need to provide quality and timely service. If you do they should continue using you and help you to grow your business.
4. Expand your service offering: Look at your current service offering. Are there things you can add to make you more valuable to your customers? Are there services you could add that would set you apart from your competition? Listed below is a list of some things you may want to consider adding:
- Coil cleaning
- Furnace cleaning
- Dryer vent cleaning
- Filter upgrades
- Carbon monoxide testing
- Duct leakage testing and sealing
- UV lights
Expanding your service offering will enable you to better serve your customers (which helps generate more referrals), increase your revenues per job and help set you apart from your competition.
If you have questions or want to discuss these four ideas please contact Peter Haugen at 800-597-3955, 952-808-1619, or phaugen@vacsysint.com. You can also read a longer article on this same subject by clicking this link.