Being REAL Beats Being Clever in Janitorial Business Marketing!

It’s fun to think up something clever. You can see a lots of clever writing in advertising.

Our local zoo advertises, for example, advertises on billboards from time to time. They will often highlight some clever or funny ‘play on words’.

For example, let’s say they’re opening a panda exhibit – the sign might say something like ‘Get Here Early
Because It’s Utter Panda-monium at the Zoo!’

Cute, right? Sure, we ‘get it’, but does it work?

Who cares, as long as it funny, interesting – clever, right?

Wrong.

Ok, hang on, don’t misunderstand – we love our zoo here in town. In fact, it’s hands down, one of the best in the country.

But, to be honest…

I don’t think it much matters if it works, or not.

Huh, why?

Well, our community loves and supports our zoo in big time, and in every way possible – including financially, so…

Whether the ad works or not, the zoo will still be in business tomorrow, but, if you or I spend a fortune on advertising that doesn’t work… well,

…we might NOT!Yeah, ouch!

Why am I being such a scrooge? Don’t I like things that are clever, funny?

Well, sure, I do – just as much as the next guy…

But, the philosophy that helped Tony and I survive and thrive in the cleaning business was THIS…

Being REAL beats being clever!

So, what exactly do I mean by ‘being REAL’?

Well, it’s clearly highlighting the tangible, practical benefits waiting to be enjoyed by your prospects if they ‘do
business with your cleaning business’ with you – that’s real, that’s what sells.

Benefits,like, …

-making them more productive because of the time you can save them, or

– giving them the chance to shine in the boss’ eyes because they FINALLY hired a cleaning company that can
consistently delight employees and tenants with the quality of the cleaning delivered.

That’s the ‘stuff’ that inspires people to act – to buy.

For example, what if the zoo ran an ad that promoted that they were offering a special to help families afford
bringing the whole family down to the zoo, and it was pitched something like this…

“We know gasoline is up this summer. But we don’t want that to keep you from getting your family down here
to make memories…so this Saturday, we’re announcing…

Take A ‘Bite’ Out Of High Gas Prices At The Zoo!
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For anyone arriving by 10 AM this Saturday, you can enjoy full admission for half off! That’s right, half off!

We realize how tough it is out there, but we’re in this together, and we don’t want anyone to miss the Zoo
this summer!

Now how does that compare to ‘Come On Down To The Zoo, Don’t Miss the Panda-monium’?
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By the way, you can still be clever… i.e. ‘Take A Bite’ line with maybe a photo of an alligator taking a “bite”
out of the price $ etc.

But the point is – it can’t only be clever – it has to start with something more – something real!

When prospects realize you have REAL, genuine empathy for them, they’ll respond more frequently and in
bigger numbers than to something that’s simply clever.

I hope I can REEL you in to REAL-LY think about this this week. Ok, not super clever, but I couldn’t resist.

Discover the Guru in YOU,

Dan