Canvassing

[mark1975]

Hey, I recently bought a decent WFP business and have some past experience so it's going well. I feel that a good number of jobs are a bit underpriced so I'm going to slightly increase prices over time. But I do also want to keep canvassing in case some customers don't continue with me or move etc.
What do you find to be the most effective way of finding new customers?
I'm about to get some sign writing on my van but I'm also considering leaflet dropping streets where I already have a few customers.
Any other suggestions?

 

[Lukeyprice]

Leaflet dropping is only partially effective in decently large numbers. I tend to find I get 1 customer per 200 or so leaflets.

Knocking on doors is effective, knock on every door in roads where you clean. Some roads you'll get none, other roads you'll get a few.

Keep it simply "I'm a local window cleaner, I clean sue at number 25. Would you like a regular window cleaner?"

Knock every door, not just the dirty ones.

 

[mark1975]

Ok great. Thanks for your advice. Funnily enough, I knocked on a door recently to ask for help finding an address I hadn't been to before and the elderly lady that answered is now a new customer. So what you are saying totally makes sense

 

[K in Kent]

I've said it plenty of times before but will say again, you can't beat a high ranking webite as a regular, continuous and ongoing source of new enquiries.
If you can get your website in front of people actively searching for your service in your location you will get regular new customers.
You can still have an online presence without a website by registering a Google Business Profile which qualifies you for ranking in the local pack (box of 3 results at top of page 1). If you're not in the top 3 you might rank in the expanded results.
Bing Places does the same thing.
Ideally you want to rank highly in the organic (normal) search results and in the 3 pack and then you've got 2 separate entries in the top half of page 1. Sorted.

 

[Lukeyprice]

I've said it plenty of times before but will say again, you can't beat a high ranking webite as a regular, continuous and ongoing source of new enquiries.
If you can get your website in front of people actively searching for your service in your location you will get regular new customers.
You can still have an online presence without a website by registering a Google Business Profile which qualifies you for ranking in the local pack (box of 3 results at top of page 1). If you're not in the top 3 you might rank in the expanded results.
Bing Places does the same thing.
Ideally you want to rank highly in the organic (normal) search results and in the 3 pack and then you've got 2 separate entries in the top half of page 1. Sorted.

I get an occasional enquiry via my website, but websites are much more effective if you live in a densely populated area. With those of us who cover small towns, it tends to be less effective.

In my personal experience I've got the bulk of my work via canvassing and meta advertising.

 

[K in Kent]

I get an occasional enquiry via my website, but websites are much more effective if you live in a densely populated area. With those of us who cover small towns, it tends to be less effective.

In my personal experience I've got the bulk of my work via canvassing and meta advertising.

What do you mean by meta advertising - paid facebook ads, instagram etc?
And yes of course canvassing cetainly works.
Flyers too have their value, albeit the return from flyers is notoriously low.

But all things have got their place and it comes down to what you personally are inclined towards doing and have got the budget for.
As for population density, yeah it follows that a smaller population equates to fewer internet searches. But even so, you're still targeting people who are actively searching for your particular services in your specific location.
My personal experience is that my website is the gift that keeps on giving, and it generates new enquiries week in week out all year round.
Attached is a screenshot I've just taken from my MonsterInsights plugin for the last 30 days site traffic. And bearing in mind December and January are the 2 quietest months of the year but I've still had 661 visitors and between Match and October I can add another 1000 to that.
I'm NOT saying a website is the only way to go, but a site and online presence can be a fantastic and inexpensive way to sustainably grow your business.

 

[Bell Pallisey]

whichever route you go down in marketing your biz be clear you need to Treble the effort to get a guaranteed great result.For example if you decide you are going to post on Facebook , also post on Twitter And IG . Or if you thought Facebook once a week is enough you need to make it daily-for 3 yrs . We built our rounds on flyers . I know a windy near me she put out 2500 professional flyers got not a single call ,i know we put out 10k, several years running.

 

[Lukeyprice]

What do you mean by meta advertising - paid facebook ads, instagram etc?
And yes of course canvassing cetainly works.
Flyers too have their value, albeit the return from flyers is notoriously low.

But all things have got their place and it comes down to what you personally are inclined towards doing and have got the budget for.
As for population density, yeah it follows that a smaller population equates to fewer internet searches. But even so, you're still targeting people who are actively searching for your particular services in your specific location.
My personal experience is that my website is the gift that keeps on giving, and it generates new enquiries week in week out all year round.
Attached is a screenshot I've just taken from my MonsterInsights plugin for the last 30 days site traffic. And bearing in mind December and January are the 2 quietest months of the year but I've still had 661 visitors and between Match and October I can add another 1000 to that.
I'm NOT saying a website is the only way to go, but a site and online presence can be a fantastic and inexpensive way to sustainably grow your business.

View attachment 29535

Yea Meta is the company that owns Facebook and Instagram.
That's an amazing amount of web visits, I only hit 50 web visits and 20-50 Google business interactions on a good month. I might have to have a play with it to improve my results.

 

[K in Kent]

Yea Meta is the company that owns Facebook and Instagram.
That's an amazing amount of web visits, I only hit 50 web visits and 20-50 Google business interactions on a good month. I might have to have a play with it to improve my results.

I'd just like to add that I didn't show that screenshot as a boast (I'm not Scottish mk 2), it was only meant to demonstrate the value of a site.
Where do you rank locally in search results? It's a fact that the top ranking result gets as much as 40% and the top 3 combined get two thirds or higher of total clicks and numbers of clicks decreases with each ranking downwards.
So it really pays to spend time creating a site that beats the competition, i.e. relevant, useful, infornative, authoritative etc. It doesn't mean paying for overpriced SEO professionals. It's stuff you can do by concentrating on improving the content.
Are you registered with Google Search Console? If not you should be and it's completely free. It will give you a monthly breakdown of your best performing pages, most popular keywords used to find your site etc. Shows you what's working and what isn't.
If you offer more than one service, e.g. windows, conservatory cleaning, solar panels, f/s/g and anything else - each service needs its own targeted page relating to that particular service and optimised for a specifiic location.
If you cover more than 1 town or other areas that are clearly distinct from each other with their own separate identity then you need a page for each location. And it is definitely in your best interests to write unique pages for each rather than re-using the same page and just changing the place name. Also, vary your target keywords e.g.

1. Location A - window cleaner in A
2. location B - window cleaning in B
3. C - w/cleaners in C

It does take time and effort but it pays off. Basic SEO really isn't difficult and focus on better content - Google rewards it.
Things to always bear in mind with content is Google values - Relevance, Usefulness for the user, i.e. is it informative, does it demonstrate expertise, authority, knowledge within your niche.
Of course there's other stuff you can do but all the above is factual and accurate. You could also think about adding a blog page if you can think of relevant useful subjects to post about..
Take SEO for example - why do all the top sites provide so much free information on the subject? It's not out of the goodness of their hearts. It's to demonstrate expertise and improve user experience with all this free information. Blogs done well can certainly help with a site's ranking and attract more search traffic.

 

[Iron Giant]

What do you mean by meta advertising - paid facebook ads, instagram etc?
And yes of course canvassing cetainly works.
Flyers too have their value, albeit the return from flyers is notoriously low.

But all things have got their place and it comes down to what you personally are inclined towards doing and have got the budget for.
As for population density, yeah it follows that a smaller population equates to fewer internet searches. But even so, you're still targeting people who are actively searching for your particular services in your specific location.
My personal experience is that my website is the gift that keeps on giving, and it generates new enquiries week in week out all year round.
Attached is a screenshot I've just taken from my MonsterInsights plugin for the last 30 days site traffic. And bearing in mind December and January are the 2 quietest months of the year but I've still had 661 visitors and between Match and October I can add another 1000 to that.
I'm NOT saying a website is the only way to go, but a site and online presence can be a fantastic and inexpensive way to sustainably grow your business.

View attachment 29535

I didn't know about this plugin I'll have to get it installed, a lot more of my enquiries come through my site via a Whatsapp plugin I had the FB plugin removed I might have it reinstalled.

 

[Bell Pallisey]

watch out for an ex window cleaner in Ireland whose now a websiter , can set you up a pro website .Indeed he can but youll pay dearly that guys a charlatan. Talking of charlatans Yell are rogues too with their websites , youll pay thru the nose there too.I know a long established windy with employees he almost went under after Yell set up a website for him .
Ive had a vistaprint site years recently its migrated to Wix,very reasonable price and good results

 

[Chris33]

Good to see your still going strong @K in Kent

Especially for extra jobs I find a good website is amazing. These jobs do not need to be so grouped together so a site is great for this and if your in a busy town or city then it does very well for window cleaning too.

Canvassing for window cleaning remains what I feel is the best way to build a window round unless your happy with more spread out and stop start work. The feeling when you park your van in one street and know you'll be there for a good while suits me and many others well and this is best achieved by speaking to the locals via door knocking.

 

[Iron Giant]

watch out for an ex window cleaner in Ireland whose now a websiter , can set you up a pro website .Indeed he can but youll pay dearly that guys a charlatan. Talking of charlatans Yell are rogues too with their websites , youll pay thru the nose there too.I know a long established windy with employees he almost went under after Yell set up a website for him .
Ive had a vistaprint site years recently its migrated to Wix,very reasonable price and good results

I thought it was Xmas, not April Fool's Day

 

[spruce]

@mark1975
Ask your existing customers for referrals from friends and family in the local area. You don't need to incentivise them to do this.

If you get a new customer in a local area you haven't worked in before, knock and surrounding neighbours. If the neighbours are out in their gardens, don't be afraid to greet and talk to them, even if they have not taken up your offer to clean their windows earlier. When they do need a window cleaner, they will automatically think of you.
We have experienced this; like 10 years later.

Eat, drink and sleep window cleaning. You haven't got time to waste arguing about football etc.

If you see a lady cleaning her windows, stop the van and ask if she needs a window cleaner. She/he can only say no. I got a customer that way who we cleaned for many years until he moved away.

 

[mark1975]

I've said it plenty of times before but will say again, you can't beat a high ranking webite as a regular, continuous and ongoing source of new enquiries.
If you can get your website in front of people actively searching for your service in your location you will get regular new customers.
You can still have an online presence without a website by registering a Google Business Profile which qualifies you for ranking in the local pack (box of 3 results at top of page 1). If you're not in the top 3 you might rank in the expanded results.
Bing Places does the same thing.
Ideally you want to rank highly in the organic (normal) search results and in the 3 pack and then you've got 2 separate entries in the top half of page 1. Sorted.

That sounds like a great idea as well. It obviously takes a bit of time and expense especially are there a good number of websites already at the top of the Google natural listings.

 

[K in Kent]

That sounds like a great idea as well. It obviously takes a bit of time and expense especially are there a good number of websites already at the top of the Google natural listings.

There will always be plenty of websites in the running because Google will always find the websites....but how good those sites are is another matter entirely.
Overhauling a website, if done well, can have immediate results and it's perfectly possible to jump up multiple places in the rankings instantly. It will happen the next time Google crawls the website or it can be resubmitted via Search Console for indexing after edits and a site can move from pages 2 or 3 to page 1. Quite literally.
Although of course the size of the jump will depend on the quality of the sites in competition and the quality of the revised content and SEO.
There are other factors that have a bearing on ranking but none as significant as quality content.
As the saying goes in the SEO world 'content is king' ..... but of course, as we all know, actually Elvis is.

 

[K in Kent]

I didn't know about this plugin I'll have to get it installed, a lot more of my enquiries come through my site via a Whatsapp plugin I had the FB plugin removed I might have it reinstalled.

This link tells you more about it.. There are paid pro versions available but for basic site info and data the free one is good enough. Just go into plugins from the dashboard and enter it into search field. Installing and configuring is very simple as it does it all for you and just follow onscreen instructions.

 

[K in Kent]

Good to see your still going strong @K in Kent

Especially for extra jobs I find a good website is amazing. These jobs do not need to be so grouped together so a site is great for this and if your in a busy town or city then it does very well for window cleaning too.

Canvassing for window cleaning remains what I feel is the best way to build a window round unless your happy with more spread out and stop start work. The feeling when you park your van in one street and know you'll be there for a good while suits me and many others well and this is best achieved by speaking to the locals via door knocking.

Hello mate, flad to see you're still ranking right up there at no. 1 (for keywords that I searched for & location). And site looking good too and nicely updated content...but whorvrt did thaat originally obviously knew their stuff. Merry Xmas mate