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Replies
Hi Stuart.
I quite agree with the article you have linked to.
If you can imagine a ladder in front of you that you wish to climb, and each rung on the ladder represented an improvement in your business such as a qualification, then you can use that as a USP (unique selling point) which makes you different and/or better than all the rest.
You can now use that USP (ours are being a "Which? Trusted Trader" + others) to increase your rates.
I agree wholehartedly with the article, the only hard part is alot of customers are rather "stuck" I shall say, in their attitude so can not come along for the ride and get a better service for a bit more £.
A good lesson is how to sift the appropriate customers to take with you on your price increases.
the down side is you spend more getting (trusted trader,approved contractor etc) spend twice the time in a garden then loose 90% of your customers and end up with a lot less income if you employ staff you end up going bust
I disagree - but their is a point to your point -
Their is no point trying to retain customers who already make noises about cost, and no point trying to retain those who want to buy by time - they will simply leave anyway, so best to part with them in the long term - I've increased prices by 80% in 18 months, and the clientel has changed, larger, higher quality gardens, people who pay for results, not for hours - You do loose some customers - typically elderly women I found, who are at home and dont like the fact that what used to be 30-40 mins with one man for £20, is now 10 with two, despite the fact that the job is as good or better than before - they would feel the same if 30 men rebuilt their garden in a day - they equate the £ to minutes on the clock, not man hours, or quality of work and output.
Only you can judge your area and clientel - think carefuly and try it, every catchment is different, so the improvement you make will vary from area to area.
David Benson said:
Some good points David, but I am always wary of giving too much advice as some have no options regarding moving more upmarket and to coin a phrase or two, we all have to start somewhere and not walking before you can run. This site is a real mix of the experienced, inexperienced and new start-ups. Although we have been going for many, many years, the (as you put it) 'elderly women' are not a major, but still an important part of our customer base - you just have to 're-train' them! To be honest a lot of what the article says is probably 'stating the bl**ding obvious'.
David Cox said:
true - and if the case is you are in an area with alot of small properties, or the area is not particulally affluent and that is caping your potential earnings ( I Appreciate that their are areas where this IS the case) - Then you need to think about specialising - Think mow only serviecs (their are plenty round me) - You can be in and out quickly, and still get good returns per hour - I have several blocks of lawns which on the face of it seem suicideal business wise - £10 per visit - but broken down, 4 houses on one street, all sub 100sqm lawns - The lot take less than 30 mins to do - and you get a fair rate for your investment in equiptment and tools - despite many competators overlooking them.