Do you have a location where customers can pick up and drop
off their rugs? Take a critical look does your business has curb appeal? Now obviously
we are not trying to flip houses but what does your customer see when they pull
up? Here are some basic questions:
Is your property clean, orderly, and in good repair?
Do you have that rusty car you mean to get running one of
these days?
Is their scrap, junk, or clutter in the view of customers
when they bring their rugs to you?
Are their weeds growing up between the sidewalk or drive and
the building?
I think you get the idea. You are selling cleaning and your
services to put things in their proper order. I know you are swamped and you
are meaning to get to it but your building is where you say who you are and a
junky cluttered mess in need of care is the wrong message. The better it looks
the better you look and if you are building your high end Rug Washing Boutique
you need every edge that you can get. Clean it, fix it, paint it, and get it
done.
Now my eyes are not that good any more so how easy it to
find your place? We are not dealing with maps and pictures on the web here I am
speaking about signage. Can I see your business easily driving by? Maybe you
have good eyes and you can see that 1 by 2 foot sign in the window from a block
away but ask yourself are customers over 50 important to your business and your
future? Make it easy to find you. Also you need to keep your exterior display
changing. Sign boards work well for many people. Can you dry or dust rugs where
it is visible from the street? Any sort of activity draws attention. If you can
keep some aspect of your signage changing every 10 days it will be far more
effective.
From the front door to the counter or whatever apply the
same sort of examination inside that we just covered for outside. But clean and
orderly is just the beginning; Does your interior say “Rug Expert” or Hack. What
about your interior says Rugs to the newcomer? Do you have any rugs on display?
Some display rugs, tribal trappings, maps of the weaving areas and novelties
like a miniature Navajo loom helps create an image that draws your customer in.
Rug book and a magazine such as "Carpet Collector" attract customer interest and
these things build your image as a Rug Expert. Dirty, smelly soiled rugs don’t
look good or smell good. Don’t keep piles of rugs in your display and selling
area. Keep moving them to the back. I think it is best keep the display and
selling area separate from the cleaning area but I do believe in welcoming
customers to visit your cleaning area anytime they want. Now that I think about
it why not invite everyone to see you clean. Getting the local 5th
grade class to stop by and see a display of chemistry in action could send 20
or 30 little sales people home to tell their parents about what they saw.
These is just the start but take what I have
given you and see how it applies to your business. To some of you this is old
hat but to some of you the ideas here can make your business far more profitable. 
