Cleaning Business Advertising Methods

The most effective way of gaining customers in the cleaning business is through referrals as this method involves absolutely no client acquisition costs. It is hard to live off 'word of mouth' marketing alone though. Therefore it is important that you have regular advertising campaigns in place to gain clients as you are starting out so that you keep a steady stream of new enquiries coming in over time.

You should test out many different advertising methods and you should always try to track your results to isolate the methods that are cost effective and bringing in results.

A great way to start getting ideas is to look at what your competitors are doing. If they have been around for a few years then it is likely that they have tested many advertising methods and are sticking with the winners only.

With cleaning being a localized industry you only want to target local people with your advertising campaigns. Big media options like television are basically out of the question for independent operators. Local radio and newspaper advertising are some of the big budget options that you could try but they are usually out of the budget range that new market entrants can afford.

Always keep in mind that you may have to run an ad over a long period of time for it to be effective. If people see it over and over again you will sink into their subconscious mind and they will remember your ad when they need a cleaning business.

So let's look at a few other common cleaning business advertising methods that might work out well for you.

Your Business Website

Once you have a good website up there are so many ways to promote it online. For this article I will stick mostly with offline advertising methods. For more on online marketing see our articles on Cleaning Business Websites and Cleaning Business Internet Marketing.

Vehicle Advertising

Don't neglect this one as it offers a way of getting some great exposure in your community for free. Once you pay for the initial expense of having magnetic signs made or a vehicle wrap applied to your cleaning business vehicle you will have many years of free exposure to look forward to.

Flyers

Response rates with most forms of direct marketing are notoriously low but even a low response can be profitable. Flyers or postcards mailed out to a list, delivered door to door or handed out in person can have some effect and this kind of campaign is affordable. Check with your post office first to make sure that there are not any local ordinances prohibiting the activities that you have in mind.

Do everything you can to make your promotional material stand out so that it doesn't get thrown in the trash immediately. Consider some more useful promotional items to mail out such as pens, refrigerator magnets or a free pack of tissue paper with your branding and phone number on it.

For more information check out our article on Cleaning Business Flyers.

Community Notice Boards

There are many places where you can post your advertisements for free if you look around and ask permission politely.

Local Business Directories

An advertisement in The Yellow Pages can be expensive but it is often the first place that people look when they need a cleaning service. With all the buzz about online marketing taking over local business directories it is easy to forget that the Yellow Pages can still be a fast and convenient way for people to find what they are looking for.

If you are planning to start a cleaning business it is worth finding out when the submission deadlines are so that you can have your advertisement included in the next edition

To get the most value out of an ad in The Yellow Pages it is ideal to have a smaller, cheaper ad that stands out against all of the competition. Study the cleaning section and think about how you could use the design and copy of your advertisement to really get the prospects attention. They will usually only call two or three cleaning businesses at the most so it is crucial that you have one of the top ads.

Think Outside the Box

Borrow ideas from other service industry businesses in your area. Get together with some similar businesses such as a swimming pool cleaner or a lawn care professional and compare ideas. Look at how you could work together to do joint advertising promotions in a way that allows you to split the costs.

Successful advertising should be the foundation of your cleaning business marketing efforts. Advertising, when done properly will ensure that your phone is always ringing and that you have the volume of leads that you need to be signing up a regular stream of new cleaning customers.