PEMBROKE, Mass. — Every person could be a wash/dry/fold customer. Not just apartment dwellers without washers and dryers. Not just seasonal folks who don’t have a full complement of appliances. Not just families in transition. Not just those with a broken machine.
Everyone. That’s 320 million people, or 115 million family units.
Let me explain. You’re not selling machine time. You’re not selling a place to process your clothes. You’re selling convenience with a capital C. You’re selling the luxury of having clothes delivered clean and neatly folded. You’re selling the release from doing the boring, repetitive household chore. You’re selling freedom from drudgery.
Once you’ve identified potential customers—as described in Part 1—it’s up to you to get the word out about the service.
MAKING THE PITCH
How do you market the offering? The pitch might go something like this:
You don’t have to do the laundry every week. We could do it for you. You could drop it off in the morning, and go to work. Before you return home, your laundry would be there in the hallway, all neatly folded. This would save your family about three hours every week. Or, if you do laundry twice a week, about six hours.
You will love our processing. Perfectly folded, soft-feeling, pleasantly scented garments. Our processor actually knows how to make clothes soft. Our folding provides a crisper look. We remove stains through washing or by using chemical treatments. We transform the drudgery of cleaning into a pleasant experience.
Here is a variation:
Everyone assumes you have to do your laundry. But that’s not true. We can do it for you and save you time and effort, not to mention back pain. Give your spouse a break. Let us do the clothes. He or she will appreciate it.
Still another variation is:
You’re busy, right? You have a cleaning lady. You hire someone to mow the lawn. So, why not make life easier by turning over the weekly laundry to us?
How do you get the message out? You must be selective. This customer is a different breed from your walk-in wash/dry/fold customer, and his/her wants are different.
A mass mailing is not the appropriate strategy. One approach is to talk to everyone you meet, qualify prospects, and try to break down barriers of objections.
Some other strategies:
- Select an upscale neighborhood or building and put up posters in the area
- Offer to be a speaker at club meetings or the local senior center and tout the service
- Introduce yourself to an apartment or property manager and work with him/her to solicit work
- Place a small newspaper ad and run it for a month
Never forget: you are really selling convenience. That’s the bottom line.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].