National Clothesline

ob owns one of the best cleaning operations in California. Correction. Bob owns one of the best cleaning operations in the country. It literally thrives. And after paying him a visit some six years ago, I know why.

Early in his career, he discovered that the secret to financial success in drycleaning is having reliable, predictable, consistent “systems” in place that affordably and efficiently bring him abundant quantities of quality prospects and customers. It’s a simple case of supply and demand, where the demand (customers in need of his cleaning services) consistently exceeds

the supply.

The key word here is systems. A system, by definition, is predictable and consistent. This simply means there’s no guesswork when it comes to advertising. In fact, before Bob ever runs an ad, he knows within a certain percentage what his results will be.

A system must also be affordable. You don’t have to spend a bundle to make a bundle. Spot radio ads may reach a large number of prospects but will this medium actually bring you the kind of return you need? The idea in developing a system is to try to achieve a cost per lead that is less than your past effort without seeing a decline in response.

Are you controlled by your business or do you put some things on autopilot? “Efficiently” means that the use of a system will free you from a lot of headaches and hassles. A true system is free from “hands-on” involvement and, to a large degree; the best systems are completely automated.

In addition, systems are put in place to control quantity as well as quality. Of course, you always want the best response possible, but it’s also good to have certain filters in place to help “sift” response. When establishing a system for contacting newcomers to the neighborhood, it’s not uncommon to place constraints on a list to exclude anyone earning less than a certain desired income level. This not only controls the cost, it also helps determine the

type of prospect your business will attract.

There are three components to any marketing system: the message, the target and the medium. Each of these three components can be many and varied and may be combined in countless ways to gain the best results. Media, for instance, includes telephone, TV, radio, newspapers, direct mail, newsletters, bulletins, card decks, fax, co-op ads, audio brochures, video tapes, mini-CD business cards, etc.

During my visit with Bob, I learned that he uses a number of distinct systems, which involve direct mail and co-op advertising media. Since he has multiple stores, co-op ads have become a cost effective way to reach a large geographic area. And if you’ve ever done co-ops yourself, you know how simple it is to manage such a program. Bob meets with an agent periodically to determine his offers (message) and verify the delivery areas and dates (target) and then with just a few tweaks, the system runs like it’s on autopilot.

Coming up with a system that works favorably may take time. Frequently there is a trial and error period, which is often referred to as testing. But if you suddenly discover that for every dollar you invest you see a return of $2 or even more, wouldn’t it make sense to repeat the process over and over?

A tale of two cleaners

Every couple of years we get a call from a local cleaner and we know it’s that time again. Time to do some prospecting. His story is always the same. Business has dwindled and he’s in need of new customers. So we do the mailing for him. It reaches 5,000 prospects, the results are extraordinary, he gets a flood of new business but… he never sends out a single card again for another two years.

Why? Does that make any sense? If you suddenly found a method to quickly add new business and grow rich, wouldn’t you try to duplicate it as soon as possible?

In contrast, a very savvy cleaner in California was nearing retirement and wanted to pump up his sales to the max. Together we devised two marketing systems, one, to prospect for new customers and the other to communicate with his preferred list. We settled on direct mail as the medium. Each program was mailed alternately, every other month and the systems ran uninterrupted for a period of two years.

Along the way, only the offers were changed. Everything else stayed the same. Those two marketing systems in combination more than doubled his sales in that time period. His preferred customer list (those spending at least “x” amount or more) grew from 700 to more than 1,600. The owner retired in style.

What was the difference between these two cleaners?

To be honest, the first guy is a very good operator. In fact, I think he’s technically superior to the second. He lives a comfortable life-style and makes a good living in a high-end neighborhood. He gets top dollar for his work. His plant is like a showroom. It’s always immaculate with a beautiful chandelier and automatic sliding glass doors. On top of that, the members of his staff are polite and pleasant and everyone is always dressed in company uniforms.

But here is the difference. He happens to be a success in spite of himself. His degree of achievement can be argued. The truth is, almost anyone could make it given the very same situation.

The second cleaner, on the other hand, had much less going for him. He never took his success for granted and always worked very hard to gain a higher level of achievement than the month and year before. He realized the long-term value of actively developing and deploying reliable marketing systems to continually attract and keep customers coming through his front doors. You could actually pull this guy out of his store by helicopter and drop him into any market in the country and he’d be a success regardless of the competition or demographic circumstances.

After working with hundreds of cleaners from around the country, I’ve discovered that you can have the most wonderful plant and give the very best service in your market and still starve. I’ve learned that you can be spectacularly personable and outgoing behind the sales counter and still starve. And now I’m more convinced than ever that you can provide greater value to your customer than your competitor does and still starve.

The fact is, unless and until you have an affordable, efficient, dependable means of attracting a sufficient flow of qualified spenders, you cannot grow rich, and you may very well starve, and you certainly won’t have peace of mind.

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.