Curtis 'Kleens' up at business awards
Author: The Observer Date Posted:25 August 2017
THE evidence surrounding the effectiveness of using social media as a marketing tool couldn't be more 'Klear' for a former Aurizon worker who has used its far-reaching power to grow his air-conditioner cleaning franchise.
HydroKleen Gladstone franchise owner Curtis Smith has only been in business since September 2016, but has already picked up two awards at the HydroKleen annual conference.
The Australia-wide company cleans air-conditioners back to new, removing all the mould and bacteria while also reducing energy consumption of the unit.
The HydroKleen awards were held earlier this month at Tangalooma Island Resort on Moreton Island and Curtis managed to win two of the six awards on offer - a Marketing and New Business Award.
The Marketing Award was especially significant for Curtis, who uses 21st century networking to grow his franchise.
"I created my own Facebook page for the company and then asked my customers to like it and put a review on the page and share it with their friends,” he said.
"It's about getting that education out there... and then you get a lot of referrals via Facebook.
"I had a lady call me who was pregnant with twins who told me she was always coughing and I had a look at her air-con and it had heaps of muck in it.
"She put a post on Facebook group sites and it got me two months of work.
"I'm just using Facebook at the moment with Instagram and Youtube to be tackled next.
"The key thing is asking your customers to get it out there and share it for you so you're not doing all the work.
"Join as many local (Facebook) groups as you can and keep posting what works for you.”
The former train supervisor at Callemondah got his inspiration for cleaning air-conditioners while working for Aurizon.
"I chose air-conditioning work because every time I walked into the office I'd turn the air-conditioner off because it was mouldy, it smelt and it leaked - it lived with a bucket underneath it,” he said.
"It's a simple job to do - you do one thing and you do it well - I don't repair or install, I just clean.
"I help my customers save money... money you'd spend cleaning your air-con you'd save on your power bill.”
Curtis posts before and after pictures on the HydroKleen Gladstone Facebook page just to show just how dirty air conditioning units can become before they are cleaned.
