Requesting successful Franchise Express Ads

Steve and Lori,
I know you asked about percentage off deals. Mine doesn’t use percentage. However, there are some other aspects of my coupon that may be useful as it is not all about the price.

I have used Franchise Express flyers 8 – 10 times. At first I had typical coupons such as 3 rooms for $129.95, 5 rooms for $179.95, etc. and I did alright.

After I ran them several times, I worked up a different kind of coupon to try. I used the entire coupon area for one large ad rather multiple coupons. I’ll paste it here.

*********************AD Begins************
“All Inclusive Service…”
Includes cleaning, deodorizer, and stain protector.
In addition to our exclusive 12-step process, our customers receive:
– FREE Aftercare spotter kit – FREE “Happy Healthy Home” newsletter
– FREE Lifetime spotter refills – FREE Aftercare spot removal assistance
– FREE Bonus gift (You won’t forget this gift!)
– 100% Money back guarantee!
Call today for complete details and to schedule your
Spring Cleaning Special
3 Rooms/Areas – $129.95 Additional Rooms/Areas – $39.00
Additional Upholstery Cleaning – 25% Off

Mrs. Elsie M. says, “You did the best job of any carpet cleaner I’ve ever had!”
Mr. Carrol J. says, “You removed stains that had been there through a number of cleanings…I rate the job as the best carpet cleaning we’ve ever had. THANK YOU!”

Early bird bonus – Call by Apr 10, schedule your service, and we’ll clean 1 additional room/area or a chair FREE. Call today! (Code # RR-FX-03)

(3 rooms/areas special limited to 450 sq. ft.; additional rooms/areas limited to 150 sq. ft.; additional upholstery cleaning must be performed during carpet cleaning service in order to receive 25% discount. Early bird bonus limited to the first 20 callers. Coupon expires 04/20/2006)
**********Ad Ends***************

The ad looks better using MS Word. I sent in my input in MS Word format and it came out well on the flyer. Some of my text is centerd in my actual coupon, but I can’t figure out how to make it centered in this post, so it all stays to the left.

I was already doing most of what the coupon says, but I decided to highlight the value to the customer. I got some of my inspiration from the Devlins in Denver. They have a nice trifold that they give to customers and it lists all their extras, which gives the customer a better sense of the entire value they receive rather than only focusing on the cleaning and the price.

This coupon has done very well for me compared to the previous ones. It is hard to say exactly what in the coupon appeals to the customers. They all asked about the early bird special, so I know that helped.

I hope this can help you.

Good luck!

Mike

Gordon,
Thanks. That coupon ad represents a lot of reading about marketing on my part as well as a lot of time formatting it to squeeze in what I wanted. The space is limited on those flyers.

Looking back at it some more, my coupon has a few things I wanted:

– It shows the additional value we provide rather than focusing on price

– It has a strong call to action, including the early bird special

– It includes testimonials, which I’ve read are supposed to help

– It should eliminate any risk in the potential customers mind due to my 100% money back guarantee

By the way, there has been some prior discussion on our forum about 100% money back guarantees and the risk to us that someone will take advantage of it. That is certainly a valid point. However, I’ve never had anyone ask for their money back. My overall volume has been modest, so I expect someone may eventually use it to scam me as I serve more and more customers. I think the benefit outweighs that risk though. I recall several customers commenting on the 100% gurantee, so I probably booked at least a few jobs because of it that I might not have otherwise.

I started out knowing virtually nothing about advertising and I still know very little. This coupon ad includes a few things that I read about and it did improve my response, so I’m happy with it.

I am going to run some FX flyers again in August. I’ve decided to mention in the fine print that furniture moving is excluded at the quoted price and mention that a modest additional charge may apply if they need furniture moved. I am curious to see what effect that will have.

Mike