Cleaning Business Marketing Tips

One mistake that new players in the cleaning business are often guilty of is focusing 95% of their time on doing their daily cleaning work and only 5% of their time on their marketing. The correct mix to position a company for solid growth should be something more like a 30% focus on cleaning and a 70% focus on marketing, at least for the business owner anyway. So if you don't have time then hire some staff as soon as possible to allow you to get more involved in marketing.

This article sets out some advice and considerations for making your cleaning business marketing more effective.

Understand what you are Selling

Clearly define the 'niche' markets that you serve. Don't try to be all things to everybody, as nobody will perceive you as being relevant to their specific needs. Choose the market segments that you think offer the best potential and that you are familiar with and go after those markets directly. Market research is the key to choosing markets that are in demand and finding out what clients in those markets are looking for.

Establish a Brand

A brand is more than just your logo. A brand is about people's perceptions of your business, the standards that you set and the promise that you make to clients. Your brand encompasses your business philosophy and values. Building up a recognizable brand can give you a lot of power in the market and make it easier to win clients and charge premium prices.

Be Remarkable

Try to be creative and original with your marketing efforts. Don't copy ideas from your competitors, but instead borrow and adapt ideas from other industries. Clearly define your unique sales proposition, or how you differentiate yourself from all the other cleaning companies out there.

Word of Mouth Marketing

Realize that acquiring new customers is expensive with the advertising costs and time that is involved. Savvy cleaning service operators encourage their customers to do the selling for them via 'word of mouth' advertising and gain lot's of free referrals this way. This approach is great for small operators who tend to put a lot more time and effort into each customer than the large cleaning chains.

Advertising

A key part of your marketing strategy is to set up effective advertising campaigns. Evaluate the many advertising options that are available to you, select some that you think will work and then find out which ones are the most effective. Ask customers how they found out about you and then dump the ads that don't produce results and stick with the winners. Discounts, competitions and promotions work well and can be mixed in with your advertising.

Other Marketing Ideas

Successful cleaning company operators also up-sell their clients on additional services relating to their home. You can sell premium services such as 'non toxic' cleaning, sell more frequent services or sell one-off packages such as spring cleaning.

If you don't offer carpet cleaning services yourself why not refer your customers to a service provider that you know is reliable. By referring your customers to good quality businesses you are offering them additional value. The business that you refer clients to will appreciate it too and may reciprocate by sending business your way.

Lastly, you should stay on the ball by keeping track of any changes or emerging trends that are taking place in the markets that you target. You can then adjust your marketing strategies accordingly.

Marketing is, without a doubt the most important aspect of setting up and running a profitable cleaning business. Cleaning business owners who fail because they focused too much on cleaning and neglected the marketing side of their business are all too common. Make sure that you have an awesome marketing plan in place to take your cleaning business forward to success.