$120 to detail a LIMO!

[mirrorfinishman]

Actually, maybe a few others would like to share how they go about targeting their prospective high end clients.

[phamkl]

I wouldn't know but have you considered an option for the cheap? It's probably bad business but a low-end dollar package for vacuum, wash, dry, and a cleaner wax might save a little grief?

I don't detail as a profession but I figure if my friends ask me to do their cars I can just wash/dry and use my machine to polish/apply Zymol Cleaner Wax.

Sorry, I wouldn't know how to achieve your market, short of doing like a door to door in an afluent neighborhood.

[Scottwax]

What are you doing now to attract customers? How are you marketing yourself? Yellow Page ads served me well initially getting established but the last several years it has been nothing but a steady stream of price shoppers or people who just want their carpets or seats cleaned. I ended up dropping my business line because of that.

Back in the early to mid 90s, I was putting out flyers in the nicer neighborhoods and out at DFW Airport and Love Field in Dallas...don't try putting out flyers at an airport now, with terrorism concerns they won't take too kindly to people hanging out in the parking garages. Concentrate on the high end neighborhoods and you'll probably need a nice brochure instead of a flyer. You can also do direct mailers to those areas as well but it can get pricey.

I'd also hit up the golf courses in the area. Talk to the management and see if they'd let you detail cars and maybe even market you to their members for a small percentage. A round of golf takes a good 3-4 hours and they aren't using their car so it is a good market to tap. Professional service buildings (doctors, lawyers, etc) are also a good place to go to and solicit business.

Look into offerning an exterior detail as a door prize at PTA meetings at a couple of the schools in nicer areas. Gets your name out and positions you as someone who cares about the community.

I was lucky enough to have a friend of a very rich guy see the sign on the back of my old Celica when I was first starting out. Detailing his Rolls and 560SEL out in his circular drive got me a lot of exposure from the right people. All you really need is a few quality customers to impress. You do good work for them and they will be more than happy to refer you to their friends. Plus, those people will already know your pricing and will be calling to set up appointments, instead of wasting your time asking how much to clean two seats in their '89 Cavalier.

[brwill2005]

In most service businesses, the operations who charge the most and do the highest quality work, rely almost exclusively on word of mouth. Unfortunately, this takes years to build. I have been detailing full time for nearly two years. Just recently has the word of mouth business started to pick-up. In addition, I have enough people in my customer database that I can market to them and remind them about the value of detailing. Remember, it is much more expensive to gain new customers than to retain the ones you already have. A simple post card twice a year will remind them you still exist. Most of my new customers come from my yellow page ads and internet ads. I am always thinking of ways to reach the people who see the value in detailing. As you have stated it is difficult to reach that crowd because they usually rely on word of mouth for recommendations. The other way to increase profits is to increase your efficiency. Instead of raising prices, refine your process and buy equipment that makes you more productive. I have decided to set prices that are attractive to most people in my area. To increase profits I have refined my process and purchased the best equipment to decrease my details times and costs.

[Scottwax]

Originally Posted by brwill2005

Remember, it is much more expensive to gain new customers than to retain the ones you already have.

Absolutely! Plus, loyal customers will advertise for you.

Also, if you are on any other message boards, make sure your profile includes that you are a professional detailer and have your location filled in. Any discussions on detailing, jump right in. If you know what you are talking about, people will notice. They might not be in your area, but if they post on a board where people are in your area and the subject somes up, they will remember you and post your information. I post a lot on another board (44,000+ posts since 2000) and they all know what I do for a living because I moderate the detailing forum there. They post on a BMW board for example and someone asks if anyone knows someone in Dallas that does detailing and they put my information out there. As long as you don't blatantly spam your business and are just helping people out in threads about detailing, most boards don't mind. I do the same for my fellow detailers here. Someone asks me who to use in SoCal, Memphis, etc, I know people here who I can put them in touch with. Several detailers here can tell you that I have sent them business. I don't do it with the expecation the favor will be returned (although I appreciate when it is) but because the people on the other boards are my friends and I want to put them in touch with detailers who have high standards like the ones here.

Same thing in real life. You do good work for people and they are going to want to send their friends to you.

[mirrorfinishman]

From the comments posted you can clearly see how important it is to connect with the right people. The way I see it, marketing a detailing business should almost never be aimed at a mass market. You have got to do things to focus in on the type of clients you have identified as your target market. Always dig where there is the most gold. Go after the professional people, such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc. The people who own small business are also a good targets. After all, they know what it is like to run a small business and they just may be tuned into keeping a nice car. Go out and make things happen. Talk to the people in your target market.

The other thought about keeping in touch with current customers is an important point. You should plan to doing at least four mailings a year. Of course, the more you here from an individual customer, the less they need to see any of your mailings. Those quarterly reminder post cards work well. Another idea is to put together a newsletter every once in a while. Remember, everything you do creates an image of who you are and what your business is all about.

Also, it is a good idea to plan on giving your customers some type of reward for sending you a new customer. For example, I send out a twenty dollars of certificate (to be used for their next detailing), to every customer who sends me a new customer. It's a good way to let your current customers know that you appreciate them spreading the word about your services. And it's a small price to pay for their efforts.

One last thought. Try sending out 'thank you' post cards about a week after every detailing job. These cards should simply give a few words of thanks to let your customers know that you sincerely appreciate their business. Just another way to help create that positive image.

[brwill2005]

Yes, 'Thank You' cards work well. I send one to each customer after a job. People comment on how it is a 'nice touch'. In addition, make sure your customer's walk away with something such as a receipt or invoice. Just another way for them to remember you and your business.

[Danase]

What you need to do is cater to those cheapos if you want to make money from them. You could of done the limos for say $120 a pop and just did a one step on them and a quick vacuum and been done.

To be honest, I do a ton of one steppers. Nobody wants to pay me in this area for a 3 step polish and paint correction.

[mirrorfinishman]

Image is everything. And catering to those cheapos does nothing for your image. Of course, there are detailing businesses out there who think they can be all things to all people. Maybe that is why someone invented mass marketing.

[evilWagon]

Here's a suggestion: (note; I'm not a pro detailer but rather someone willing to pay for their services.)

Get on local car club boards, IIRC there is a very strong Kentucky Corvette club (since they're made there) amongst other Marque’s. Find out when there are local meets and go with a stack of cards. Strike up conversations with owners of cars that might need a little TLC. They have the money to afford the car and the enthusiasm that goes hand in hand with being in a car club. From what I've seen this is a good target to start off with. Owners that take pride in their vehicles and are already involved in a network of like minded people. Another suggestion is to post a contest on their forum in advance of their big yearly meet and offer a free detail (to be performed at the meet in the morning so people can watch, or just in advance with lots of pictures so people can gawk over the results, online AND in person). As the others have mentioned the value of word of mouth I won't get into it. I'll leave it that as a car enthusiast when I was looking for a detailer I started asking amongst the local clubs I'm involved in as it was a reliable way to filter the people that can do a good job from those with just flashy websites.

I think everyone else has hit the nail on the head; Many wealthy people don't respect their vehicle enough to maintain it, many 'average' people couldn't justify paying what a full detail is worth. So it comes down to perceived value; who would find value in a $200+ detail, someone who loves their car enough to see the difference.

There is a big BIG annual Corvette meet in Bowlinggreen Kentucky, it might not help stir up a ton of local business as people come from all over North America, but it would help get the word out and it would likely filter back to potential local customers. Get a golf shirt embroidered with your company name and logo so you're easily identifiable as a detailer and present a memorable professional and confidant image, one that will cause you to come to mind in a month or two when their friend mentions that they need someone to detail their car.

Another method that I’ve seen work very well, and not just for detailing, is to host local club meets. Get the people that are interested in detailing themselves as well as members that just want to meet, to come out and detail their cars en masse, offer advice and pointers. If you’re good at what you do, you’re not only going to establish a reputation for being friendly and approachable (someone they would want to bring business to) but also knowledgeable.

But hey, what do I know, I only work in Marketing because I was accidentally good at it.

Cheers!

[mcc]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions

I really like the idea of mailing cards out to my customers, that is a very nice touch. That does mean that I'll have to start asking for people's home address since I often do their vehicles at their place of employement, but that is a really good way to keep my service in their minds.

I'm going to be approaching some golf courses, especially since my wife cleans the house of the manager of 2 very nice country clubs locally. Hopefully that will give me a way in.

Car clubs seem like a great way to market. My only concern is that, from my experience, those are typically the guys that do everything themselves and won't let anyone touch their cars.

I guess I could try mailings in more affluent zip codes, however I'm not sure if I would get a good enough return on that investment. I'm not averse to going door to door in such neighborhoods, but most have a strict no soliciting policy, many including no distribution of any type of flyer. I'm not exactly sure how to reach them.

At one point in time, I offered excellent rewards for my customers that referred me to other people. However, it never really produced any good results for me. I find that the people that really like me and appreciate my service will tell people anyway, and others that kind of take it for granted aren't going to put any effort into telling anyone regardless of what I offer them.

There is another company locally that is running an advertisement on a local station for advertising, and I was approached by a guy the other day while filling up my truck about it. He thought I was that guy. I told him that I wasn't, but I'd be happy to detail his Harley Davidson, and went into what I could do for him. I lost him at the price. Then I had another guy approach me in a parking lot while I was eating lunch in my truck, and he too thought it was a great idea, asked what I charged for a full detail, and then practically ran after hearing the price.

I guess what I'm taking away from this thread is that I can't really change the perception that people already have of this business, but what I can do is take advantage of targeting those that may already have a better perception. Up to this point, I guess my marketing was just aimed at anyone that would be interested, and in being all-inclusive, I may have alienated those that were looking for something more "special", or catered to them. So, I will look harder for those that would be able to afford my services by tailoring my marketing to them and going where they go to do so.

Thanks again!

[LangMan37]

instead of sending a "note of thanks", try calling them a few days after the detail. Now that's the personal touch.
Also if you are slow (not enough work) call up your just detailed clients and offer a free quick wash & wax. Tell them it's included in the price of the initial detail service. It puts you back in the neighborhood/office park and gives you a chance to offer them a maintenence program/service.
This works out really well.
Remember, everyone likes something for free, whether it's a free wash, a free MF to dust their interior, or any other inexpensive item that you could give them.
I gaurantee they would remember you and your business.