Grease is the Word

Market the quality of your service and get to know the needs of your customers if you want to build a successful business pumping grease traps

Grease as a new revenue stream?

Question:

I am looking to get into pumping grease traps. Can anyone provide me with any information, such as what you should charge, marketing approaches, etc.?

Answers:

Your question is actually two real big questions in one. I’ll give you my take on how to get into the business first. It is my opinion and experience that in the grease trap part of our industry there are two main ways to go after the business.

The first is the way most companies go after it, by cutting prices, which may sound to some people like the thing to do. But in the event that you have never heard this, “there is no winner in a price war!” That’s because there is always someone willing to cut the next guy, and that next guy could be you. This leads to such minimal profits that it defeats the purpose of getting the work.

The way to attract business is to sell yourself and the quality of your service, things such as being there at the same time of day, same day of week, and these times and days being the times and days they prefer.

Especially important to the grease trap customer is being available for emergency service on nights, weekends and holidays.

The biggest thing is to build relationships with your customers so they know you by name and recognize you as more than just the “grease trap guy.’’

As far as price goes, my suggestion is that you don’t price yourself according to your competition. Figure out your expenses plus the profit that you feel you are worth, and don’t get caught up in how much cheaper the price-cutter is than you. I don’t know about you but I don’t run a nonprofit organization. If I’m not making any money, I can just as well sit at home and be broke.

Some use the excuse that competition forces them to charge this or that. I’m in an area with 18 pumpers listed in the local phone book, plus others that aren’t in the book. I have been the cheapest in my area before, and I wasn’t making any money, so I stepped up my price to the middle of the group and still wasn’t happy.

I finally hired a top-notch accountant. After he did my books for a year he said I would have to almost double my prices. I did what he said, thinking that I would be too expensive. But I have more business now than ever. I can afford and do have the best equipment available. The bottom line is there is a major difference between a businessman and a man in business.

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I agree with this post wholeheartedly. This sentiment runs true in any business. For some reason, the most common business plan of any startup is to undercut the price of the competition. Common sense should tell us that if the competition has already set an accepted rate for service, undercutting that rate only decreases profits. The public has already accepted an established rate as reasonable. Also of note, customers who only shop on price generally are not the best customers to service.



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