National Clothesline

hen prospecting for new customers, it’s always wise to include an offer in your advertising. Why? Because an irresistible offer is the number-one reason people buy something. That said, you should know that many cleaners either minimize the importance of an offer or overlook it completely.

As a matter of fact, some drycleaners claim they can efficiently and effectively attract new customers simply by advertising their presence in the community. Sort of like dropping a bare hook in the water and having the fish bite. They feel they don’t need to make an offer to attract business because they rely solely on their image and reputation to get new prospects. If you happen to be one of these very special individuals, consider yourself extremely fortunate because most cleaners can’t pull that trick off. Instead, they have to make an offer in order to gain attention.

What you offer and how you offer it can be very compelling to both prospects and customers alike. If, however, you simply tell a prospective client about your service, you’re probably not being creative enough. The more creative you get, the better chance you’ll have to move someone into a buying decision.

There are a number of criteria your offer should meet.

First, it should be clear and unambiguous. Your prospect should be able to glance at it and realize instantly what the deal is. It should not be confusing in any way. A good test for clarity is to write your offer and have an eight-year old read it back to you and explain what it is they would get and under what terms (i.e., with a minimum of four items of drycleaning, etc.).

Second, make sure your offer is believable. People are often skeptical of offers that seem too good to be true. They wonder if there’s something wrong with you, your business or your service. If your offer is 50 percent off all drycleaning, explain why. For example: “valid on Wednesdays and Thursdays only… our two slowest days of the week.” Or: “valid only on orders of 10 items or more.” Or: “Grand Opening Special… limited time only.”

If you’re offering pick up and delivery service at no additional cost, explain why it’s FREE, i.e., “We’re picking up from your neighbor across the street and it will cost nothing extra to stop here as well.”

Third, your offer should have a high perceived value. The idea is to get the customer to lean your way. If your offer is going out in the mail and you want a direct response, try your best to make your offer as compelling as possible or don’t do the project at all.

You’re better off saving your money than making a lukewarm offer. What’s a good offer? Ask people at your next party. Ask friends at church or at civic meetings. Think like a customer (if possible).

Also, it’s important that you differentiate yourself from your competitor. You’re a cleaner and so is he. Explain briefly why the service you offer is better than what your competitor is giving.

Fourth, remove the risk associated with doing business. You should always offer a risk-free guarantee. It should be clearly stated, not simply assumed. If you don’t put it in writing and clearly state that you will stand behind all your work with a money back guarantee… nobody will know. And should the need arise, always make good on your guarantee quickly and without hesitation or argument.

The fifth criterion is the call to action. Unless prompted to act now, people will put things off. They will take action when they jolly well get around to it.

Your offer should include a time limit… a sense of urgency, such as, “Offer expires June 15th.” If you use a date such as this you can also sweeten the offer by making it even more attractive and more likely to be acted on right away. For example: “Early Bird Bonus — in addition to our offer, bring in this card by June 1st and get a suit or dress cleaned and pressed FREE.”

About bonuses and premiums:

As I mentioned earlier, it’s possible to move someone into a buying decision simply by being just a bit more creative… by crafting an offer that’s harder to say “no” to. Two ways to be creative include the bonus and the premium.

A bonus is generally added to the existing offer to make it stronger and more appealing. For example, you might want to offer a special incentive for referrals. Or how about giving a bonus in exchange for customer feedback, such as, “Take an additional 10 percent off for completing our short five-point questionnaire.”

The premium is arguably one of the most powerful marketing tools available to drycleaners, but it’s hardly ever used. Marketing guru and personal friend, Murray Raphel, suggests that when faced with a choice between reducing prices or giving away something free, you should always give something away free. Cleaners often give away $5, $10 and even $20 in free drycleaning thinking it costs them less. In the end, however, a $10 discount (regardless of its actual cost) is $10 that didn’t show up in your cash drawer at the end of the day.

A low-cost premium with high-perceived value is an effective way to get around discounting. Take that same $10 discount on service and apply it to a premium.

Let’s say you can buy an attractive premium item, valued at $10, for only $2. Let’s also assume that this item is something your average customer will want to have. Now, instead of giving away $10 in free service, say you offer a free premium… something that costs you only $2 instead of $10. You’re $8 ahead on every transaction. Now… ain’t that nice!

Premiums can be stand-alone offers by themselves or they can be added to an existing offer to make your deal even more irresistible.

Test, test, test!

There’s a common saying that goes, “You can’t argue with success.” But that’s not true. The fact is, you can’t argue with failure. Failure is failure. What’s there to argue about? On the other hand, it is possible to question success. After all, there are degrees of success. For example, what’s to say an ad you’re running right now couldn’t be improved to gain a better response? You should test everything. Test all components of your offer including your price, your guarantee, your bonus, your premium, your wording and even your layout.

Keep testing. Even though your ad seems to be working just fine, it’s possible to tweak it here and there and get an even better response. Keep in mind, too, that changing economic times and a new competitor in the market can have an impact on your offer. Test accordingly.

On a final note, if you’re interested in trying a brand new, low-cost premium, designed specifically for your industry, call us at the Golomb Group. We’ll see that you get all the details.

Bill Bishop has been a consultant with the Golomb Group for the past 12 years, designing marketing and promotional programs for drycleaners. He can be reached at the Golomb Group at (800) 679-5856 or by e-mail at billbishop@golombgroup.com.