Business

Why should you be doing Online Estimates?

Maid Service Software - Cleaning Supplies ImageIf you own a cleaning business you likely do all of your estimates by visiting the home. This concept seems normal, and the standard for not only cleaning businesses but other types of businesses that perform home services as well. However the concept of homeowners waiting for someone to come to their home to receive an estimate is changing.

Think of Blockbuster Video. Years ago everyone who wanted to watch a movie would make a trip to the local movie box store to pick out a movie. With advancements in technology, and the need for wanting movies on demand this dynamic has drastically changed. Anyone who is interested in a movie would rather purchase or rent the  movie right from the comfort of their own home, instead of venturing out into a box store to pick one out.

This is also true with wanting quotes and prices for other items as well. Potential Customers want the instant satisfaction of know what something costs, and the ability to schedule that repair, service, or purchase that item right away. Think of any online shopping website, or stores that offer purchases online.

So you may ask, Why should you be doing Online Estimates? The answer is simple, a Potential Customer wants to know how much you would charge to clean their home before they even reach out to you in the first place. Potential Customers are going to shop around, and why shouldn’t they? This is a competitive period of time where businesses compete for potential customers. Potential Customers also want the instant satisfaction of know what different companies are going to charge for a home cleaning.

You might also say that you’d rather speak with the customer on the phone to close the sale. With an Online Estimate Tool anytime a Potential Customer goes through the tool you will receive an instant email notification with their contact information (Name, Address, and Phone Number). With this information you can reach out to the Potential Customer directly, and also have access to details of what you might not normally know with a cold call, or without first doing an in-home estimate (Square footage, Number of pets, Number of Bedrooms, Number of Bathrooms, How many times they entertain, and more!).

The Online Estimates might not be for every Potential Customer, but it does target a specific audience. That audience consists of the “Easy People”. This group of people are going to be the ones that utilize the tool and provide you with as many details to get the most accurate estimate possible. So even though not all of your Potential Customers are going to go online to get an estimate, why not atleast reach out to the Potential Customers who will? After all having a few extra homes to clean can only help increase your businesses bottom line, especially if those extra homes are the ones that are easy to schedule, and keep track of through an online estimate program that is always at your finger tips.

Check out our Compass Wave Sample Tool or visit our Online Video Tutorials today to find out more about how Compass Wave can help your Cleaning Company join the others that are on the “Cutting Edge” and don’t let those “Easy People” get away!

Supporting your business one application at a time,

Mark Lane
President
Compass Wave

Business

Compass Wave Moves Forward

Maid Service Software - compass wave redesign 2013

Redesign and now an ARCSI Industry Partner

Compass Wave Moves Forward in 2013. In the past year Compass Wave has gone through a number of changes. As of April of 2012 Compass Wave is now owned by Eco York, LLC, a Web and Software Development Company located in Central Pennsylvania. Since the acquisition, Compass Wave has been revamped and recently went through a re-design. In the re-design we wanted to make it easier to find our Online Tutorials, as well as explain what our product was about right from the landing page. Our Color Scheme was also changed slightly to catch the readers eye and encourage users to dig deeper into what our tool is all about.

After our Redesign we also found it suitable to finally become an ARCSI Industry Partner. As an Industry Partner we wanted to give back to other ARCSI members, and that’s why we are offering 10% off for all ARCSI Members. All a member has to do is browse to our Industry Partners page from the ARCSI Website and obtain an ARCSI discount code. By using this code they’ll receive 10% off, whether that’s for a Monthly Subscription, or a Yearly Subscription. And don’t worry, you can still try our product for 14 days at no obligation. Cancel anytime during the 1st 14 days and you’ll have no charges applied to your account.

In 2013 Compass Wave is going to continue to grow and Move Forward. Stay tuned for further developments in our product, and how we continue to help the Cleaning Industry as well as other Service Based Industries.

Supporting your business one application at a time,

Mark Lane
President
Compass Wave

Business

Uncomfortable with Estimating Online?

1 Comment

During a recent conversation with the owner of a household cleaning business, they revealed, “I am just uncomfortable with providing a customer with an estimate online.” I have to admit that this was not the first time I heard this concern when discussing Compass Wave’s Online Estimation Tool. Typically this apprehension stems from the fact that a service is best priced by speaking with the person that is requesting the service and/or seeing the place where the service will be performed. However, having the ability to provide prospective customers with an ESTIMATED RANGE for your services can open the door for you to move forward with a prospective customer in developing a more precise quote.

To further explain, we must consider the difference between an estimate and a quote. An estimate is an APPROXIMATE calculation of the price of a service to be provided while a quote, on the other hand, is a SPECIFIC calculation of the price of a service to be provided.

It is made clear on all Compass Wave estimates provided to prospective customers that the estimate is only an estimated range. All our estimates have a statement that says, “Note: The prices listed above are estimated based on assumptions about your residence and your service needs. We will be contacting you to make an appointment to walk through your home and provide you with a quote for your desired services.”

Also, we allow service companies to set a range for their estimates. This gives them a big target to hit when attempting to estimate the price of a service provided.

We feel that by clearly indicating to the consumer of services that they are only receiving an approximate range of the price of the service to be provided, business managers can feel comfortable utilizing the estimate tool.

Gives your consumers what they want – an instant estimate for the services they desire.

Business

Death of a (traditional) Salesman

Maid Service Salesman

It has been a difficult year for many of us.  Sales revenue is down, margins are down and the companies that were once dumb, fat and happy are now cash-strapped, frustrated and, well….still dumb.  Yes it’s a crappy economy and unemployment is at an all-time high, I will give you that.  But so what? Yeah, I said it – so what?!  Your market has shrunk, but so have the number of competitors.  Many businesses folded because they did not or could not find ways to add value to their core products and services.  They did not accept the fact that change was necessary.  It is not too late for your company to evolve its identity in this industry.  Here are thoughts to consider as you re-identify your company in today’s sales atmosphere.

What worked for your sales team last year, won’t necessarily work this year

The landscape is always changing and you need to adjust accordingly.  Hitting your sales projections last year was a great accomplishment, Continue reading Death of a (traditional) Salesman →

General

Save Time | Automate Estimates | Increase Sales

In any business Sales are the most important function as they can determine how successful your business may become. Compass Wave’s Online Estimate Tool can get you there and more.

With Compass Wave you can sign up in a quick 3 step process, set a few Cost Drivers & Questions, and be on your way to increasing your Sales. Our online Estimate Tool is easy to customize, and allows you to place it on your website with Ease.

A contact form isn’t always enough to help you get to where you need to be to close a sale, but with our Online Estimate tool you can easily close a sale by contacting the customer right away and providing them with a fairly accurate Estimate without even leaving your office.
Continue reading Save Time | Automate Estimates | Increase Sales →

eBusiness Tips

Using Google Analytics to Improve Website Design

Having a website without using an analytics tool is like trying to drive somewhere new without a map or GPS.  There is no way to know where you want to go or how you can get there.

As a business trying to create a web presence or a company just trying to better utilize its existing online presence it is very important to find ways to make improvements.  One way that we at Compass Wave suggest doing this is by using an analytics tool.  An analytics tool is one of the many methods that exist to figure out exactly what your visitors are looking for on our website. Google Analytics is free to use for anyone that has a Google account and is the most commonly used example of such a tool.  Google Analytics is a very user-friendly way to track your visitors’ behaviors. The reports provided by Google Analytics give information on where your visitors came from, what pages they visited, how long they stayed on each page, how deep into the site they navigated, where their visits ended, and where they went after visiting your website.


Continue reading Using Google Analytics to Improve Website Design →

Tutorials

Compass Wave’s Online Estimate Tool Video Tutorial

Check out Compass Wave’s Online Estimate Tool Tutorial Video!
It’s easy to use, and a valuable tool for your cleaning business. Have you ever wanted to use an Estimation tool for your cleaning business, but were never sure how to use it? Here at Compass Wave we want to be sure you understand our product, which is why we’ve created tutorial videos to walk you through each feature of our software. Check out our Maid Service Software tutorial video below to see how our tool can easily work on your cleaning business website today!

We also offer many other User Guides which will help you in learning the benefits of using our Online Estimate Tool for Residential Cleaning Companies.

General

About Compass Wave

Maid Service Estimate Software
Compass Wave Estimate Tool
Compass Wave’s goal is to provide service companies with an easy to use customer relationship management tool. The first tool we have developed is our automated online estimation tool. Companies can place this estimation tool on their website and receive estimates from prospective customers with no additional effort. In the future we hope to provide service companies with the ability to create electronic quotes, work orders and invoices. Compass Wave will also give companies the ability to create or enhance their online presence.
The online estimation tool is a valuable way for service companies to reach prospective clients. For the customer of service companies, this tool makes it easy for them to receive an instant online estimate. It is important to note that the Compass Wave estimation tool is not simply a promise to a prospective customer that they will receive an estimate in the near future. Instead, the tool uses company provided cost drivers and customer provided inputs about the level of service required to carefully calculate an instant online estimate.
General

Welcome to Compass Wave

Residential Cleaning Software
Compass Wave Home Page

Thank you for taking time to visit the Compass Wave blog. We know how valuable time is these days and we hope that your time spent here is valuable. For our opening blog entry, we would like to share our mission and a bit of information about our product. In the future, we look forward to using this blog to communicate with you about everything from product features to how customers are utilizing our tools to current events in the industry.

The mission of Compass Wave is to provide a valuable product to help your business save time and money. By utilizing our Maid Service Estimating Software, you can sit back, relax, and let the potential leads come in!

Online estimates made easy