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Hitting the recession "value wall".

Article Excerpt
"Always run your business based on the emotions of your customer, but never make business decisions emotionally!"--Steve Toburen

It is no secret that it is a brutal economic climate out there. And while the carpet cleaning industry is reasonably recession-resistant, even long-time successful carpet cleaners are getting slammed. But why?

For most homeowners, carpet cleaning is an emotional buying decision paid for with discretionary income. Less income, you say? Then the carpet cleaning gets "postponed," many times indefinitely.

And honestly, can you really blame your customers for putting the carpet cleaning way down their financial priority list? Even the tidiest homeowner will suck it up and sacrifice her next carpet cleaning if it will keep the electricity on or food on her family's table.

This financial prioritizing is simple, logical Economics 101. However, the current economic scene is anything but logical.

Without question, selected industries and certain areas of the country have been devastated by the current recession. But my guess is the vast majority of your customers are making the same salary (or more) than they were two years ago, and have the potential to enjoy the same exact lifestyle they did back then.

Yet many of these same people are cutting back on their home maintenance costs. Even worse, customers who have unquestioningly paid your premium prices for years are now asking for a 'discount" or are price-shopping you! Why?

Once again, carpet cleaning is an emotional buying decision and, interestingly, for many this current downturn is...

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