The interminable political talk about taxes and the middle class during the past election season caused me to take a hard look at our best markets. We have always been strong in the "old" middle class and even stronger in wealthy abodes. Now the "old" middle class has been politically split into the "upper," "middle" and "lower" middle classes. A good portion of what was once the "old" wealthy class has receded to a middle class status.
Meanwhile the "old" upper end of the middle class has dropped to the central middle class. The center component has moved lower to form a new lower middle class and the lower end of the middle class has dropped out of the category altogether. Now politicians are talking about an "under" class which does not bode well for the economic future. Much of this economic turmoil was created by the recession, the housing bubble and the resultant crash.
To complicate things further, the wealthy top end of the market for carpet cleaning and its related services has become even more elusive during the past few years. There's a dry cleaning firm in Indianapolis whose motto is, "We can't do all the cleaning, we only do the best." Besides being clever, this slogan obviously has a double meaning that makes no bones about the particular segment of the market in which they are interested in working.
Market movements such as these require an adjustment in advertising. Essentially our plans should remain about the same overall but with more focus on a smaller segment of the population that's more likely to buy the services we offer. If you haven't been to Bane-Clene® Institute for a few years, plan on spending three days with us to thoroughly explore the best ways to reach the most favorable market segments for our services.
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Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com.
