Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Dear Sandrobkk,

There's nothing quite like the feel and smell of fresh sheets and towels, all crisp and clean and gleaming: delivered anew every day. Heaven.

If I run a hotel, here's what I want from a laundry service. And from this list there will be no deviations. None. Ever. Got that?

1. One set price, either per floor, per room, or per item.
2. Daily pick up and drop off: fresh in, soiled out and NEVER any mix of the two. Even if that means one truck for soiled and one for clean.
3. Ultra high temperature steam cleaning and bleaching.
My guests like their laundry whites WHITE, not yellow, NOT soiled or part washed. No exceptions.
4. If you want my business, prove yourself. Offer a free trial. Give me solid reasons to use your service. Give me discounts on bulk rates. Offer solid, compelling proof that you can and will deliver—on time, every time.

You do all this with risk reversal, with solid guarantees, and by gaining their trust through a one or two week trial. During that period you work your backside off to PROVE you are the best.

You do this with one client and then ask for their testimonial so that you can show other hoteliers that one of their own uses and trusts your service.

You then offer them the same deal and you keep repeating this process over and over. And every time you learn something, take advantage of what you've learned to IMPROVE your service and to fold that improvement into what you offer.

Do this again and again and your reputation will grow through word of mouth. But you must do what you promise. You can't just half promise and hope for the best. So your staff must all be on board here, they must all be pulling on your behalf.

Give clients results they can trust and rely on and, if they're honest, they'll stick with you. It's hard work but the view IS worth the climb.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

How do you define "very poor quality"? Is the laundry dingy? Are the guest complaining (either in person, on Yelp, or other tourist websites)? If so, you have the natural opening of your conversation. Start with the boutique hotels, and work on satisfying these accounts. If need be, start by taking on a few rooms/floors worth of laundry and do a side-by-side laundry test: compare the results, compare the price, and compare the longevity that professional laundry will extend the life of the laundry.

Gary's given you a great detailed plan to aim towards.

Yep, these guys are right on! Set up a whiteboard with the 100 resorts listed (either by name (prominence), size, by listing in travel resource guide, alphabetical or whatever criteria you decide on),then get out, call on the appropriate person, have samples, and aim for moving the suspects to prospects to clients!

Best
jag
MarketBase

Face to face is the way to go...for first impression. If you are using one of the big suppliers like Ecolab, talk to the rep. He will give you some good ideas.

Michael

A good way to get your foot in the door would be to have a friend rent a room at a facility that you want to target. After your friend checks in, visit the room and take a set of linens with you. If there is a difference (whiteness, softness, smell, or whatever) between your sheets and theirs, go to the front desk and ask to speak to the manager.

Tell them that you are visiting one of their guests and noticed how "unclean" the sheets were. Make a point that you are an expert in the field since you own a state of the art facility.

Ask him/her to join you in your friends room and show them what kind of product you can deliver. You are not selling him... you are helping him to solve a problem. You have established yourself as an expert and as a "friend".

People buy from those who help them solve a problem...

Good luck