Providing an exceptional customer service, not just a good customer service, is what will make a cleaning business a successful venture.
The first step in giving an excellent customer satisfaction is to make sure you are there for your clients. Your clients should be able to reach you at all times (during normal business hours) either by phone or by email. Be sure to answer all your clients’ correspondents as prompt a possible.
If you will be out of your office, have your calls forwarded to your cell phone. It would be very annoying for your clients if they will keep calling you but they keep on getting voicemail messages and you didn’t return their call. They understand that you can’t be physically sit by your phone at all times, but they do expect a call back shortly after they leave a message. Check your messages several times a day to make sure you return all important calls. Remember that not returning your clients’ calls might prompt them to go somewhere else.
Another important aspect of giving an excellent customer is listening to your clients’ complaints. If they call to complain about something that wasn’t cleaned properly, let them know that you will make a remedy to the problem. Go back to the home and re-clean the part of the house that the client isn’t happy with or send one of your employees to do the cleaning. This will send a message to your client that their satisfaction is your utmost concern.
When arriving at a client’s home, make sure to greet them and smile to them. Always smile as you walk through their door. Make sure you introduce yourself and do a little talk with the customer to know what they expect from you after your work is done. Show interest in how your client is doing. Don’t show that you are fatigued and that you are in a bad mood. You are there as a professional cleaner, you need to behave and prepare yourself as a professional.
Ask your clients what they want you to do, and how they want the house to look like after doing your work. They will let you know how they want their home cleaned and what cleaning tasks you need to prioritize.
Try to include a few extra services on your cleaning routine that other services may charge for (changing sheets, dusting blinds, cleaning glass doors are a few examples)
Here is a list of little extras you can provide for your clients:
If you will still have time, do a few extra things for your clients while cleaning. Most often, it is the small things that mean so much to clients.
If the clients have pets, then bring treats for their pets. Your clients would really appreciate that fact that you also care about their pets.
Bring fresh flower or gift certificate for your new clients. A nice floral arrangement only cost around $9 in your local grocery.
During special occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving, leave a coupon for a free extra service or a discount on their next cleaning.
Always be professional in everything you do. When answering the phone, introduce your company, your name and ask for the business. Example: “Smith’s Personal Cleaning, This is Tommy, how can I help you?”
This also applies when replying to email. Be polite, friendly and professional. Always include your signature in emails.
When giving estimates to potential clients, be prepared. Always bring your business card, list of services you provide for different types of cleanings, references and your residential cleaning checklist.
Be confident. Clients love dealing with confident people. It makes them feel secured and relieves them from worries.
How Can You Really Give Your Customers What They Want
Every business has a targeted marketplace. In every marketplace, there are a lot of competitors. So what spells the difference of success and failure in any business? Why do some businesses drive customers away, while others cannot make any sales at all?
The problem is that most of us business people simply cannot comprehend the reasons why these people really need our products! We tend to think that our products already make themselves appealing to the prospective buyers by their main presence in the market. This kind of thinking tends to create a resistance from our customers- now they are looking for ways to avoid buying our product and they are getting further and further away from being sold on the prospect.
The second part of the problem is that we are constantly giving more focus on pitching for sales. We are being bombarded with pitching wherever we go; from our first breakfast radio show to the last commercial break at night- it looks like the world is trying to outdo each other in vying for customer attention. The problem is the customer is not really looking for the best product with the most advertisements.
As an example, let’s consider selling a weight loss treatment. Just how easy is it to sell weight loss program? Everyone you meet- even those who are in their ideal weight- seems to be concerned about their weight, their health and how they look. So does this mean that you need to just produce a catalogue and they’ll be handling over their credit card in no time?
Not quite. The problem is that hamburger and fried chicken are simply more appealing than a healthy alternative. So the killer pitch you have, proclaiming about the amount of nutrition in your products, how much healthier they can get and how much saving they can get on these products- is really going nowhere, because all the time, they are thinking how much better a hamburger tastes.
The good news though is that you know that your customers still has a need. In this case, they still have a problem of being overweight. So why don’t you connect to that person directly, without even mentioning that you have a product to sell. You can give them some exercises and diet ideas, as well as some healthy ways to achieve their desired bodies. Let them know that you understand their situation and you can help them. Now when they think they have already achieve the result that they want with your help, and they want to continue that weight loss path- they will give you a call for you already established yourself as an expect in the field of losing weight.
This is really simple. The reason why most people miss it is because we are all about instant gratification from online marketing. True-there are many online marketers who can just jump in and make money right away. But the best chance for an average person in this industry is to start building relationships with prospective customers-help them with problems and then selling comes next. If you will just build your business this way, you can have an incredible strong foundation for financial freedom in the future.
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