How to Market a Dryer Vent Cleaning Business

Use creative marketing strategies and techniques to brand your business.

Developing a marketing program for a dryer vent cleaning business can lead to profitable business relationships and establish your business as a leading service provider. It is essential to market the strengths that distinguish your business from competitors. Use years of experience, customer testimonials, referrals and highlight large businesses you have a contractual relationship with to generate new customers. Execute creative marketing techniques and build business partnership relations to lower your costs and maximize the use of your marketing and advertising dollars.

Things You'll Need

• Define target customers
• Marketing and advertising budget
• Customer feedback and testimonials

Instructions

1. Identify your target customer base. Go for larger size businesses to increase revenue and develop an ongoing client base. Identify apartment complexes, condominiums and Laundromat facilities in your area that will need services more frequently than individual homeowners will. Develop a database of the business name, contact person, address and telephone information to distribute advertising.

2. Establish your marketing budget. Be careful to select media for marketing and advertising that is cost-effective and will reach your target audience. Explore rates for different formats from television to print to online advertising. Ask for statistics on how many people in your target audience will be reached. Conduct a test to see which media format generates the highest number of customers. Adjust your media buying plan and budget as you gain experience in knowing what works best for your business.

3. Get listed with home-repair referral companies. Referral listings often result in generating leads for new clients. This marketing strategy works well to get positive reviews so that prospects can read about experiences from others.

4. Offer free trial services. Most businesses will spark to the idea of free services. Use strategies like offering one free cleaning to a condominium property manager with a subscription for three months of services and create similar free trials for Laundromats and apartment complexes.

5. Explore presenting in-store demonstrations. Grocery stores and home-improvement stores often host in-store demonstrations that are paid for and sponsored by product manufacturers. Speak with store managers at grocery stores about conducting a demonstration about the need for dryer vent cleaning and opportunities to have your demo sponsored by a laundry products manufacturer. Talk to managers and buyers at home-improvement stores and do the same and get a dryer appliance manufacturer or duct manufacturer sponsor your demo. Distribute fliers and business cards to customers for future reference.

6. Partner with insurance companies. Contact homeowner's insurance companies to participate in a home safety workshop that could be held at fire stations, community centers and churches. Structure an educational demo on the fire safety hazards that unclean dryer vents can present. Pass out a sheet on safety tips that prominently display your business contact information, or create business card magnets that attendees can post on their refrigerator for reference.

7. Develop a barter or partnership relationship with the local media. Newspapers, television and radio stations like to feature expert opinions. Contact the marketing, advertising and public relations managers to offer safety tips for their news stories and programs on home ownership. Work with them to allow you to place free advertising in exchange for serving as an expert spokesperson.

References

• Home Business Center: How to Start Home Repair Business
• Business Know How: 10 Steps to Create a Successful Promotion
• Small Town Marketing: 25 Low Cost Advertising Tips