Whether you are responsible for a single cleaning operation, a group of cleaning businesses, or a franchise network, you likely understand that knowing how to market a cleaning business is a challenge. While the potential for growth is enormous, you face huge competition and workplace and technological changes, which complicate your efforts. Therefore, marketing your business through a successful cleaning service marketing plan is more important than ever. This article explains how to advertise your cleaning business and help you sweep the competition!
How to Gain Cleaning Services Clients
Starting a cleaning services business is hard work, and the most crucial step is finding clients. If you’re asking yourself, “how do I get clients for my cleaning business?” then never fear: here are the most important tips on how to get your cleaning service up and running.
Start Small
Every business has to start with one initial client. Reach out to contacts, friends, and family members to inquire if they would like to try your services. Chances are, somebody you know will be happy to help you get your business started.
Generate Referrals
Once you have one happy client, they can refer others to your business, who then refer their contacts to you as well. Then, the cycle continues, and, instead of one client, you have many! You can also ask your clients for reviews, which you can post on your website, social media, and other marketing materials.
Incentivize Your Services
Everyone loves a discount, so offer a discounted price for a new client’s first cleaning. They’ll be more likely to engage your company’s services, and once they see the stellar job you do, they’ll want you to come back for more!
Network, Network, Network
Making connections is one of the most important parts of building a business. Even once you have a steady client base, keep reaching out and expanding your community connections. Spread your name to even more potential customers and nurture connections with other businesses in the community. With some time and effort, you’ll be the first cleaning business that people think of.
Develop a Successful Print and Digital Marketing Plan
Every adventure is most successful when you have a plan. Before starting your business, decide how you plan to market it. This will ensure the organization you need to make smart moves that increase your community profile and increase your client base. In the rest of this article, we’ll explain exactly how to market a cleaning business.
How to Develop a Spotless Cleaning Services Marketing Plan
Set your company up for success with these tips for how to market a cleaning business.
Finding New Customers
In our digital age, an online cleaning business marketing plan is a popular way to expand your cleaning company’s reach. However, both pay per click advertising and marketing via websites that charge for referrals are expensive, and the costs may exceed the value of the business they generate.
Instead, whether your company primarily cleans homes or businesses, consider flyers, door hangers, business cards, referral cards, targeted mailings, signage, and custom printed promotional products to reach your audience without incurring referral costs. Let’s consider each of these printed marketing materials one by one.
Cleaning Service Marketing Materials
Luckily, you can use myriad marketing materials to increase your cleaning business’ reach and client base. Here are some of our favorites.
- Cleaning service flyers can be posted prominently (with permission) on any community kiosks or bulletin boards in your target area or can be left in local community and religious centers.
- Door hangers are a low-cost way to spread the word in a particular neighborhood. For both cleaning services flyers and door hangers, think about printing both sides of the sheet to maximize the marketing opportunity of each piece.
- Cleaning services business cards are extremely cost-effective marketing tools for your cleaning service marketing plan. Be sure to print your cleaning service business cards on thick stock to give your company a professional appearance, and print enough custom cards for all individuals who will need them.
- Referral cards are also extremely cost-effective, and they make excellent leave-behinds after a cleaning job is done. By offering current clients a discount for referrals, you multiply the sales efforts of your team!
- Mailers are a no contact way to expand your customer base while targeting the prospects who will be most profitable for your business. Experienced printing companies can obtain mailing lists for mailers filtered by geography, income, age, or other factors. Geographic targeting is important so that you land new customers who are most profitable to service and maintain. Mailers can be as simple as a postcard, or you can go all in with a letter to each prospect and a special offer. Another inexpensive mailing option is an EDDM mailing, in which a postal carrier drops off your mailer at every address on their route.
- Don’t forget the role that great signage can play in building your company’s brand identity. Signage is not just the sign on your company office; it can also include window or wall decals, car magnets, banners outside your business, and yard signs. Outstanding signage will both let people know where you are and quietly spread the word about your company. Don’t be shy!
- Finally, handing out printed novelty items can prompt prospects to remember you when they have cleaning needs. There are a huge variety of promotional items to choose from, and you can get creative. The best promotional products will be items that last a long time, so they stay in front of the customer. You could print your logo and contact information on calendars, cleaning cloths, hats, mugs, water bottles, and more. The sky’s the limit.
Community Connections
Once you have printed materials in hand, be sure to make connections in your community by being an active member of your chamber of commerce and other networking organizations. This networking activity will result in local connections that help you build your business. Think about setting up booths and co-sponsoring events at conferences that your corporate prospects attend.
Be conscious about your company’s image for all of the printed materials you use in a cleaning service marketing plan. Enlist a professional designer to create materials that demonstrate your business’s thoroughness, dependability, and high standards. All custom printed materials should clearly state your contact information and prominently display your logo. Use special offers where appropriate. The key to successful print marketing is to use high-quality printed items that reflect your professionalism and image.
Keeping Customers
Once you’re working with a client, the next step in your cleaning service marketing plan is to ensure their continued business. The high number of cleaning businesses can sometimes lead to a high turnover rate, with clients frequently switching cleaning companies after only one negative experience. Additionally, cleaning services are often seen as expendable and are lessened or removed during economic downturns, which makes retaining customers vital.
1. Exceptional Customer Service
The solution to this problem of keeping customers can be deceptively simple: create and maintain exceptional customer service! While this sounds easy, maintaining your cleaning company’s excellence is a multi-faceted task. Part of the solution lies again in well thought out and executed printed materials, such as training manuals and job aids, which will help your cleaners do an outstanding job.
Another element of outstanding service is appropriate follow up, both by your team and the management, with review cards, thank you cards, business cards, and newsletters. You might also consider custom printed apparel to improve your staff’s professionalism and appearance.
2. Thorough Employee Training
The first step toward customer service excellence in cleaning is to make training a priority for your team. Insufficient training can be dangerous and unprofessional, and it is important to identify potential hazards and pitfalls for employees and how to address them properly.
Create thorough employee training manuals that are easy to understand and allow your employees to provide exceptional service.
You also need a system to make sure training is used and remembered after the first training session. Laminated cards and other printed job aids can break down the cleaning process in a step-by-step manner, ensuring consistency and excellent work. It is also critical to reinforce the message that the customer comes first and that the customer’s happiness is of utmost importance.
3. Timely Service Follow Up
Apart from the cleaning service itself, it is paramount to communicate to the customer that you care and value their business. This is where follow-up comes in. Using review cards, you can prompt customers to fill out an evaluation or go online and do the same.
Soliciting feedback gives you the opportunity to resolve problems and can avoid unpleasant surprises down the road. Review cards can be simple, printed either in black and white or in color on a stock that is easy to write on.
Management also plays a role in follow up after cleaning visits. One often overlooked tool is a simple thank you card or thank you note. A handwritten note shows customers that you care in a way often overlooked in today’s fast-paced businesses. Be sure your thank you notes have your logo and color scheme and are professionally printed.
Also, make sure you include a business card with every thank you note so recipients will be sure who wrote the note and how to contact you with further feedback.
4. Professional Appearance
In addition to follow up activity, professionalism can go a long way to reassuring customers that your cleaning service is above the rest. One way to get that across is to have your team wear custom branded apparel. This can be as simple as T-shirts with your logo, or it can be a more involved uniform. The important thing is that every employee looks like a part of the team!
5. Regular Business Updates
One final idea to set your company apart is to communicate important information and news to your customer base. In addition to your website, you could publish a newsletter to be delivered to existing clients on regular visits.
Imagine how surprised your customers will be to see a professionally printed piece left behind! Newsletters can be used to convey cleaning tips, offer recipes, and even advertise specialties or new lines of business. If you offer environmentally safe cleaning services or cleaning tips, why not tell your customers?
Partner With An Expert Printer!
Work with a professional printing company to help you design and print your cleaning company’s marketing and training pieces! With 30 years of experience, The Print Authority team can help you create and distribute printed materials, whether you are a one-location cleaning business or a franchise with hundreds of franchisees.
We specialize in creating outstanding web to print portals, allowing multiple location companies to order consistent, high-quality printing, promotional items and apparel from one source. Contact us today to find out how we can help you market your cleaning business!
