How to chose neighborhoods

[odysseyelite]

What do you look at when looking at a neighborhood to target for marketing?

I mean I have seen alot of neighborhoods that need cleaning but know the people there wouldnt pay to have it done. I am new in the business doing it on my own. I worked under a friends and he has a nice set of customers set up so he gets the word by mouth advertisement. How does a new guy get some business?

 

[CCPC]

Direct mail in gated communities is prime. If you don't have any around you, choose any upscale neigborhood that has a H.O. that strickly enforces property maintainence. Also, believe it or not, the dirtest neighborhoods and houses are usually the ones you don't want to target. If they haven't felt the need to clean there home in the past 10 years, they probably don't plan to in the next ten. It also means there is no H.O. enforcing exterior maintainence. Most of the houses I clean, would be one's that you wouldn't think need much cleaning, hence why they all look so good. These are also great because it means regular work. I would rather target customers who will plan to have there home cleaned twice a year vs. customers who might call you every 5 years.

 

[coffeebread]

i agree to that. and most if not those who don't clean regularly don't have the means to pay. or of short budget that they might as well do it themselves. target an area where all are working and don't have anymore the time to do the things that should be done.

 

[Everett]

I got this from Mike Highes about 4 years ago. He had a program on his computer to print postcards. He set it up so that he could get the street and enter the numbers of the homes from the beginning and end of the street and it would produce all the postcards in between. He had real sharp before and after pictures. He was able to target just the homes or areas he wanted. He said it worked well, I still use the ADVO or ValPak for direct mailings. This is one area I have wanted to explore and never have.