Hello everyone! And welcome to another addition of “Ask T Squeegee”
Paul Grishko asks: How has the COVID pandemic affected how you charge? Have you gone up in price? Or went down?
Credit: Sprangler’s Window Cleaning
Well as I’m sure we are all aware everyones businesses and markets are different. But unless you’re doing a “COVID Related Service” I don’t personally see why this would change your pricing. If you’ve raised your prices in these troubled times I personally feel this could be viewed as taking advantage of a situation beyond the customers control and thusly effect your relationship with said customer. I know I’ve personally changed some prices for a few of my weekly customers but that was only due to the scope of work changing like something I normally do inside and out every week only going out only due to their dining rooms being closed and me still wanting to maintain that relationship and still generate profit in a time where there aren’t many opportunities to do so. As far as my residential cleanings I’ve only raised prices on my new customers my regulars the prices have stayed the same. Most of those regulars kept me busy while everything was locked down and I show that appreciation by keeping the price the same and the service top notch. IT can be very easy to fall into a paranoia in times like these but a level head and some patience will go a long way. You can sheer a sheep a thousand times but you can only skin it once. Hope this helps and good luck to you sir!
Troy Donet asks: “So I’ve been building social media accounts for my business. I wanted to know if it’s underrated or overrated to have accounts for your business or is just a website fine?”
Well it can go both ways actually in my opinion. Having a social media presence nowadays I feel is a good thing. People are spending more and more time on the internet and social media. And if used correctly it can be a beneficial tool. Having a Company Instagram connected to a Facebook business page can do a lot for your internet search views. With the proper hashtags and geotags using the proper keywords and mentioning your website can organically bring your search engine results up further to the top. You can do this without spending any money so its very affordable. All it takes is the time to shoot a couple pictures or a video of your work a few hashtags and a geotag and boom done!
I personally don’t spend money on Facebook ads myself because I don’t feel they are as helpful as being vigilant on being active on your own on social media. If you do spend money on ads be sure to check your target audience before throwing money at it. Nothing worse than seeing an ad for window cleaning in Vermont from a window cleaner in California. Also I feel it’s imperative for a company to have a website these days it doesn’t have to be 10 pages or super extravagant just a simple “johnswindows.com” with a list of services contact information hours of business and some nice shots of your work.
I’m not saying having a price list or packages for cleanings is a bad idea I just don’t think it’s absolutely necessary. You can always start simple and go bigger as you grow when it comes to a website. There are old well established companies like Marc Tanners that don’t do any social media or have a website and still do well but the key word there is older and established. New companies it’s just part of the game to have a presence online so people know you’re out there. Hope this helps and I will see you all again next month for another round of “Ask T Squeegee” if you have a question about anything industry related or not industry related please feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected] and don’t forget to watch the Squeegee Life Podcast live on YouTube.com/Tsqueegee every Wednesday night 8pm eastern standard time!
Peace!
-T Squeegee