Ask a House Cleaner, Car Magnets, Savvy Cleaner

Car Magnets – Do They Work?

Car magnets are on the cars of lots of house cleaners. Some will argue it’s brought them new business and is great advertising. Car magnets are not a good solution for all cleaners though. 

Today on #AskaHouseCleaner we ask Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru about car magnets and do they work? Are they a great broadcasting tool to grow your cleaning business?

We want you promoting and marketing your cleaning business. But the publicity works best when focused.

Today’s sponsor is https://HouseCleaning360.Com

#HouseCleaning360 is a database that connects home service providers with homeowners.

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Listen: Car Magnets – Do They Work?


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Watch: Car Magnets – Do They Work?


Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer.

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Question: Car Magnets – Do They Work?

 Today’s question comes from a house cleaning business owner. She asks, “Does it make sense for my company to get car magnets to advertise my house cleaning business?”

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Answer: Car Magnets – Do They Work?

Alright, that’s a trick question. The answer to the question depends on the size is your company.

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Car Magnets Do Not Make Sense for Small Companies

If you are one person, my answer is no. Do not have car magnets.

Let’s say you have a car magnet on the side of your car with your phone number on it. And you’re driving all over town. Then people from all over town are going to see that number and they’re going to give you a call.

Yay for marketing! Right? Actually no. We don’t want people from all over town calling you. 

Let’s Think About What You Need

Car Magnets housecleaning with the mopIf you are one person how many accounts do you need? Now, let’s think about this for a second.

If you are a solo house cleaner, you are cleaning houses by yourself. You are cleaning two or three stories of a house. How long does that take?

The average home takes two and a half to three hours. And a larger home takes 4 hours. And so you’re talking two or three houses in the course of a day. That’s it.

And so, if we do the math you can clean 10-15 houses in a week at the most. That’s it. That’s all the business you need.

Target Your Business

Car Magnets advertising planYou don’t need people from all over town to be those 10 or 15 houses. You can narrow your market and go into one neighborhood.

And you can run flyers or you can advertise or go out knocking door-to-door or whatever your method is.

But you can work in that one neighborhood and find 10 or 15 houses.

Take a Lesson From Franchise Businesses

Car Magnets busy workdayNow, we learn from the big franchises that have house cleaners all over the country. 

Their employees only work their specific territory. It’s a brilliant idea.

Why would you spend a whole bunch of time, money and energy marketing to another area? Because then you have to leave and travel and go to that other area.

Traveling is a Waste of Your Time

Car Magnets Suburban NeighborhoodWhen you go to another area that’s what 10-40 minutes away, you are wasting time. You could be spending this time cleaning and earning money. 

But instead, you’re wasting that time by traveling to someone’s house.

Now you might factor in a travel fee that’s part of your package that you sell to that customer. But it’s just not time effective.

If you can, do ten or fifteen houses all in the same neighborhood. Cleaning in a consolidated area is perfect. Do that. It will save you a whole lot of time and a whole lot of stress.

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Car Magnets Attract Random Calls

If you are driving all over town, lots of people will see your magnet.

You will get random phone calls. Is this what you want?

Some people will be looking for a house cleaner, others will just be wasting your time. If someone calls who lives 40 minutes away, are you going to take their business? 

This wastes time too, taking the calls or listening to voicemails later. 

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Car Magnets Used in Targeted Area Only

If you have a magnet or want to use a magnet, here’s how to use it.  

Keep the magnet inside your car. Then when you get to a person’s house to clean the house, get out and put your magnet on the car then.

And then the neighbors that drive by and see the magnet. They say “Oh look, there’s the house cleaning lady and that’s her phone number.”

And they can call you from that magnet because it’s in that neighborhood. Then when they call you can say “I only service this neighborhood.”

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If You Get Calls from Outside Targeted Area

So, let’s say someone is just passing through the neighborhood. Maybe they are visiting with a friend, but they live in another area of town.

Maybe it is the mailman who sees the magnet and calls you. You can say to them in a polite manner, “I’m sorry, I don’t work in your neighborhood.”

Because like the franchise we’ve picked a territory.

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Car Magnets for Larger Companies

So, I do not recommend car magnets if you are a one-person company.

Now, what if you have more than 5 people in your company? And you’re traveling all over town does it make sense to have magnets?

My answer again is no. Here’s why. A magnet can peel off. it can rip off,
and it’s not specific.

Consider Car Decals If You Are a Larger Company

Car Magnets window decalSo, if you have more than 5 people what I recommend are car decals. You’ve seen them on the window or it’s stuck on there for a good.

You want to advertise for good.  And so then you would want to put that on your company cars on the windows for example. So that people can call you because they see that on your windows.

But the car magnets, again they peel off.

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Competitors Can Steal Car Magnets

Somebody can even steal them.

I’ve heard of competitors that have ripped off other people’s magnets. They wanted to cut the competition in the area. 

It’s crazy I know. I wish that didn’t happen. But that’s the world that we live in.

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So I am Not a Fan of Car Magnets

So, magnets. I’m not a fan of them at all, for a variety of reasons, but those are a few.

If your business is growing, use a permanent window decal but not a car magnet.

And if you’re only one person stay away from the car magnet. Because that’s just going to invite a whole lot of people from a whole lot of different areas to call you.

Alright, that’s my two cents, and until we meet again, leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.

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During the shows we recommend services, sites, and products to help you improve your cleaning and grow your cleaning business. We have partnerships with these companies to provide you with discounts, and savings. By clicking on and buying from the links in the show notes, we may receive a commission which helps pay for the production costs of the show.

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Resources For This Episode

Badass Your Brand: The Impatient Entrepreneur’s Guide to Turning Expertise into Profit – http://amzn.to/2urfB1Y

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine – http://amzn.to/2vDBYjB

Your Move: The Underdog’s Guide to Building Your Business – http://amzn.to/2tUQIsc

The Start-Up J Curve: The Six Steps to Entrepreneurial Success – http://amzn.to/2uvnhyQ

The Value Driven Business: The Simple Strategy To Create A Business You Love – http://amzn.to/2eJu9EF

Facebook Marketing for Small Business: Easy Strategies to Engage Your Facebook Community – http://amzn.to/2urUbSg

Duct Tape Marketing Revised and Updated: The World’s Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide – http://amzn.to/2urgdEO

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