Turning Leads Into Loyal Clients

The majority of drycleaners I talk to do not focus on leads at all. They see people either as a client or a non-client. A client has come in and spent money on services, and a non-client has not. However, recently there has been more of a focus on warming up non-clients so they will become paying clients.
 
If you do focus on leads (which are non-clients who have shown some interest in becoming clients), you will be miles ahead of most of your competitors.  There is a lot of value in a lead. But the uncomfortable truth is that most businesses that do focus on leads treat them as a trophy rather than a potential client that needs to be nurtured.
 
Let’s say you presented an offer to target neighborhoods to give people a FREE trial of your Wash, Dry, Fold membership. You tell them they can fill a 13 gallon trash bag of laundry and you will take care of it absolutely free. This is a clever way to get non-clients in the door, but what happens next? The successful dry cleaners don’t sit back and hope that the clients who acted on the free offer will turn into paying clients. Instead, they take action.
 
They nurture the lead by:

• Sending a welcome email (ideally with video) as soon as someone signs up for the trial membership
• Offering complimentary pick-up and delivery
• Reaching out by phone to talk about the benefits of the membership
• Completing a special inspection of the free items to make sure they are perfect
• Following up after the free trial to see how it was, and when they wanted to start their regular membership

 
The dry cleaners that really win are the ones that see a lead as the beginning of a relationship. Most don’t see it as a relationship at all, and if they do, they think it starts with the first paid order. Creating a system that nurtures, converts, and enhances each lead is what makes your marketing dollars go much further. And it puts you in a class of your own.
 
Make sure the relationship starts when your prospect first raises his or her hand and shows interest. And then win them over by getting them to like and trust you. 
 
It is a great exercise to map the relationship on a white board and then look for the opportunities at each stage of the client journey. Don’t lose prospects / leads out of the marketing funnel right at the beginning by not showing them attention and nurturing them.
 
Have a great week!
-Dave