Start a Cleaning Business » marketing

Making Your Cleaning Service A Hit

steph — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:01:08 +0000

When you start cleaning services, it is perfect for you if you are the kind of person who is neat and organized. But of course like any other businesses, you have to begin from the scratch. It is never simple to put up a business mainly if you do not know where to start off.

In preparing resources, you must acquire a business permit from your town office or city office. This will be a proof that your cleaning business is safe, protected, and currently operating; and so that the clients will see your business’ reliability. In launching your cleaning business, you need to attract customers through advertising. For practicality reasons, you can use your computer to create posters and flyers and post them on particular areas where it is visible. You can also utilize the internet by writing blogs to publicize your cleaning business. People today are fond of merely probing online for services like this.

Produce a lot of business cards and distribute it to local stores. Also ask for the help of your family and friends to help you in handing out business cards and flyers to promote the cleaning business. If you attract more clients, learn to manage them as well as your personnel to render a good working relationship.

Make Your Cleaning Service Business Known

steph — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:54:21 +0000

Some people grew up wanting their rooms and things clean and properly organized. They wanted their spaces not cluttered and messed up. If you this kind of person, then starting a cleaning service business is suitable for you.

But like all other businesses, it will require efficient and effective planning. Moreover, complete papers such as business permits and inspection clearance should be processed to establish reliability to the clients and customers.

Getting the first clients is the challenging part. How can you extend your business’ existence to the public? And this is where advertising comes in. Classical advertising include posting your ads on conspicuous areas where people can see it. You can also give it flyers containing your business address and contact numbers, as well as the services you are offering.

Current advertising methods include having your own website on the internet where your clients can browse in. Also, blogs and reviews can be written online to attract clients.

You can also make use of catchy lines like “First 20 will get 50% off”. Ask help from friends and family to publicize your cleaning service business by way of tongue.
When you have your first clients, make sure that you build a good lasting impression to them. Remember, your business’ future depends on them.

The Essentials of Starting your Own Business

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:00:12 +0000

When it is time to start a cleaning business there are a great number of factors that must be considered. Regardless of the specialty service that you will be offering the considerations are still present. Considerations such as:

Will you hire any employees?
Equipment
Supplies
Cost
Pricing
Advertising

Pricing

Pricing can be a monotonous and lengthy procedure particularly if you don’t have a flair for working with numbers. Pricing might not be a concept that you perfect the first time around but it is essential that you get as close as you possibly can. Bidding too high can cost you jobs and bidding too low costs you money. Neither is an attractive option.

Make sure that you are spot on with your pricing by doing things such as evaluating each completed job and comparing it against your estimate. Break down all the costs and see the true profit margin. Estimating labor is an important aspect of being in business for yourself just as accurately estimating operating costs is.

There are a few factors that have to be calculated when it comes to pricing:

The cost of labor & materials
Overhead
Profit

Not until after you have a track record for comparison purposes can you begin to be certain that the prices you are setting are solid and reflect a profit ratio. Until then you will have to base everything in terms of pricing to estimating. This includes labor and materials and is usually determined in a set price per hour.

Material Costs

Material costs are separate; they do not include labor and are just the operating costs that are essential when you are starting your own cleaning business. The best way to determine these rates is by looking over the cost of your operating costs in the past. To calculate overhead rates add up every expense for an entire year only leaving out labor and materials. Divide that total by the full price of labor and materials.

The number that remains is your overhead rate. Use industry averages until you are able to establish your own numbers. It is possible for you to calculate your profits and add them into your estimate by relating a portion of revenue to the collective expenditures of labor, materials and overhead.

Final Advice

Always keep your customers abreast of all specials, information or additional services that you are or will be offering. Remember, they can’t use your ideas if they do not know about them. Use flyers that share your specials and services. These are fantastic ways to market your business and are also very affordable as well.

The overall market for cleaning services is incredible but you have got to settle on the particular niche that you will shoot for. It is this particular niche that you will essentially target and then market it hard. You will have to examine the geographic vicinity you desire to serve. Make sure that the area that you plan to target has an adequate number of prospective customers.

Start a Carpet Cleaning Business

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:00:54 +0000

Carpet cleaning is one of the most well-liked home start up businesses that are considered. The start up costs is minimal and one can usually get started in a business such as this for well under $1,000. Most people will initially rent their equipment and supplies until they begin to see a profit. When it is time to start shopping for the equipment many will buy used at first. Wholesale suppliers very often have amazing deals on both used and new equipment that is needed for this type of business.

Not just anyone should jump into carpet cleaning businesses. While it can be a lucrative business venture it does require some skill and knowledge about this arena. You have to know how to professionally clean rugs and carpets. At first it is likely that you would begin with smaller residential accounts but your goal should be to grow commercially and expand to larger contracts and the ability to rely on repeat customers and regular accounts.

Considerations

When it comes to providing prices for your carpet cleaning business there are a few considerations to make:

Will you charge an hourly rate
Will you charge a flat rate
Will you have a minimum
Will you move furniture for free or will you charge an additional fee
Are you competitive with other companies in your area that offer the same service

Marketing & Reaching the Customer

How do you plan to get the word out about your new business? Good business people will always rely on word of mouth but it takes time to create a buzz about your service and generally that is only of it is outstanding. Word of mouth is not enough so you will have to incorporate a degree of passing out flyers, advertising in local papers, and handing out business cards. Networking is also a great idea.

Growth

While it might be alright to begin your carpet cleaning business with leased equipment or freestanding units you will have to eventually keep up with the big guys. The professional companies use truck mounted systems. The good news is that once you upgrade your prices will be able to professionally reflect the upgrade. For even more growth you should eventually consider adding upholstering cleaning to your cleaning menu.

Knowing the Ropes

It is important that you have the ability to provide a quality carpet cleaning service to your customers if you want to expand. To become familiar with the latest and greatest carpet cleaning technology it is often a good idea to take a short term job with a company that is already established so you can learn the ropes. Here are some things that you should never do:

Schedule more customers than you can efficiently accommodate
Never be late
Never reschedule
Never try to do a two man job by yourself

Just remember all of the places where carpet exists when you are preparing to advertise:

Cars
Houses
Offices
Boats
Stores
Hospitals
Various buildings

Starting a carpeting cleaning business can be the key to your future financial independence if you have a passion for cleaning, enjoy dealing with people, and need to keep your start up costs very minimal.

The Importance Of Marketing To Your Cleaning Business

Jeff W — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:17:44 +0000

Marketing is one of the most important things which you need to consider as a business owner. When you have opened your own business venture, it is not enough that you sit there and wait for customers to come knocking on your door. People are always in need of a cleaning service so you should always make it a point to be visible in the market. This is what sets successful cleaning businesses apart from others. They make it a point that they come up with several business marketing options for the people. It is always important to build a name for your company if you want to be known in this field.

One of the things that you may be concerned with when it comes to marketing is the cost that comes with it. With the situation of the economy right now, it is so hard to make a mistake when it comes to your business. One wrong move with your business can really make your finance suffer. This is why most business do not invest a lot of money when it comes to marketing their businesses. They would rather put their money in other costs for their business. This is actually a bad move for your business. In times of economic recession, you should not let this affect you and you should make the most out of your business. The money that you will spend for marketing can be exceeded by the profit that you will earn rather than sitting there and just waiting.

Free publicity never fails a business. There are so many ways in which you can do this. You can always ask your friends and family to do the marketing for you. They can recommend you to their friends if they will need your services. This usually works since people prefer to go for cleaning services which people close to them has recommended. This will ensure that they will get their money’s worth when it comes to the services that they will get.

There are online advertising methods which you can use. Of course, the most convenient way of advertising your cleaning business is through online advertisements. Check the websites where you would like to post your advertisements. Do your research and look for the websites which are frequently visited by the people. The more visitors, the more exposure you get which means that there is a high probability of increase your customers. The good news is that there are free advertising websites available. If you do not want to spend on this, then you may want to look at all the possible websites where you can post your advertisements for free. If you want, you may opt for websites which charge a fee because these websites only charge a minimal fee and this will not be too much of a burden for your expenses.

In line with online advertising, another advertising method which you can use is sending e-mails to different people. Everyone is already moving to more advanced ways to communicate and e-mailing is one of them. People never fail to open their mails each day to check in different updates or news feeds that they may receive. This is why this is considered as an effective method because when you send an e-mail to different people, they will surely be able to check them out as soon as possible. Make these ads look more interesting and straight to the point so people would not be tempted to just delete the mail that you have sent them.

If your business is trying to lessen the expenses on marketing, then you might want to try networking. There are usually networking events which are organized by your local community. By joining these networking events, you will be able to meet a lot of people who might be your potential clients. All you have to do is to come up with creative ways of advertising your company so that you will be able to catch the attention of the people there. From here, you can get a number of contacts which can really help you in your business. One thing which you should remember with networking events is that this is your chance to be able to tell people about your cleaning business. So make sure that you prepare a speech that will give a short but a complete introduction on you business. People who attend these networking events the ones who really inquire and ask all the questions that they can so you must be ready to answer any of these questions that people will ask you about your services. Give clear and concise answers and make sure that you are approachable. Remember that people want someone who will look accommodating so always keep a smile on your face.

Your customers usually appreciate it when you send them a little thank you note. Your customers are usually loyal to your cleaning services for about 1-2 years already. This is why you should show them your gratitude for availing of your cleaning services for that long. You can send them a little thank you card or even offer discounts for being loyal customers to your cleaning business. This ensures the loyalty of your customers for a longer time. Think of it this way, your customers are your most valuable assets this is why you need to take care of them. Losing even a single one of them will be bad for your company so even if they are already your customers, you need to market your company to them and give them reasons to stay loyal to you.

Marketing is indeed a very important for your survival in the cleaning business. If you are trying to save money for your company, always remember that you have cheaper marketing alternatives. This is better than not marketing your business at all. Do not let economic recession affect your business. Through marketing, you will be able to battle this and still be successful in the cleaning industry.

See: How to start a cleaning business

The Importance Of Marketing To Your Cleaning Business

Jeff W — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:32:45 +0000

See: How to start a cleaning business

Why Marketing Is Essential To A Cleaning Business

Jeff W — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 01:20:40 +0000

With the current state of our economy, you are probably worried, just like me on how you can actually save up when it comes to your spending. One of the things that you is immediately cut and slacked off any type of business is the budget for marketing your business.

Cutting our budget for marketing our business is one of the most common mistakes any business owner could do to risk their businesses. Although there is a continuing crisis and income is scarce and slow, it isn’t right to cut back on marketing your business. In fact, during this hard and trying times, it is even more crucial for business owners to think of creative marketing strategies to salvage and save your business. Here are some of the most common ways you can do in order for you to maximize the potential and benefits of marketing your business.

1. Free publicity is definitely the way for you to go.

2. In order for your clients to know just how much you appreciate their loyalty ot your business, send them your warmest and most sincerest thanks through a thank you card.

3. Make sure that you continue to address the growing needs of your customers.

4. If your budget is tight, it might be reasonable for you to cut down on your advertising but see to it that you will think of ways on how you can network your business. Make sure that you are visible whenever there are networking events in your area to make your services known to prospective clients and possibly gain referrals and the like.

5. Mailing to smaller groups of people can also be beneficial to your business. Make sure that you provide something worth opening to your mailing so that you can be assured that people will actually read it through and not trash it.

6. Make sure that you realize and take advantage of the benefits you can gain when it comes to focused marketing. Think of ways on how you can save money, but don’t ever think of stopping when it comes to marketing. You can start small and then continue on later on.

How to Survive Networking Events
One of the best ways you can make your cleaning business known to prospective clients and even to your widest range of competition is by joining networking sessions that are being held in your area. There are countless networking events out there that you can choose to join in order for you to build and establish relationships and ties to your prospective clients and spread the words when it comes to the services you are offering.

If this will be your first time to attend a networking event, chances are, you are still unaware of how things would turn out and how you should actually act. Feeling intimated can be expected most especially since you will be dealing with different types of people, most of which you do not even know personally.

Here are some of tips you can take into consideration in order for you to survive when it comes to networking.

1. Be prepared. Anticipate the questions that you might be asked about and make sure you have ready answers for them.

2. Present yourself in the most pleasing way possible. Smile and remember that eye contact is important.

3. Women love compliments. If you happen to be attending a networking that is especially intended for women, complimenting women on their clothes, accessories and the like might just work on your favor.

4. Always think of ways on how you can address the needs of your prospective clients.

Drop-in Calls for your Cleaning Business

A success story that was written by a cleaning business owner was recently made public to us:

“I had a recent appointment with a prospective client to walk through a second office she wanted cleaned, however, she did not show up. What I need next was I dropped by the office the day after and left my calling card where the services that I’m offering is laid out. Sad thing is, I was informed by the lady in the front desk that they have already hired a cleaning service and that they are very happy and satisfied with the service that they are currently getting. I was like, okay, but still I waited for my actual client. Good thing I did not immediately feel discouraged and left the office since moments after, another lady approached me and asked me to present to them the services that I’m offering since someone else in the office feels that the cleaning service they are currently receiving falls short of their expectations.

“The next thing I found myself doing was going from one office to the other and personally waiting to have a talk with the owner and the like. Most of them would ask about my services, what I offer and how much I charge. At the end of the day, I was able to gain two prospective clients from the same building that is and all I had to do was simply drop in.”

How to position your cleaning business in today’s world

The story below was shared by one member of the Janitorial Store:

According to the famous book by Jeffrey Gitomer entitled “The Little Black Book of Connections”, positioning your business in today’s modern world is definitely crucial to your business’ success. The impact that we leave on our prospective clients and customers is indeed crucial. The good things that you do will return to you and even though you think that your good deeds are not acknowledged by other people, in fact, they are and you will eventually know about it.

Here are some ways on how you can learn the art of positioning your cleaning business:

1. Public Relations or PR is definitely the way to go for you.

2. Have articles about your services, and business published on a regular basis in order for people to know more about what you can produce and provide them with.

3. Use the internet to market your services. Come up with an informative website that is filled with quality content.

4. Use the Internet to communicate value — help others profit first through a “value message” and your profit will last.

See: How to start a cleaning business

Flyer Marketing For Cleaners

Jeff W — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 02:45:22 +0000

Advertising in the city need not be an expensive one. If one is engaged in the cleaning business, be it window cleaning, maid services, carpet cleaning or its variations, there is a cheap way to be visible in the market. And the way to go about it is by passing out flyers. Some may see that this may not be effective anymore but in reality, despite the sophistication of marketing techniques, passing out flyers is still an economical and effective form of advertising one’s business.

1) Dirt cheap. Though it is cheaper, it may not necessarily be a good way. Perception is key here as one may be seen as cheap if one just puts a flyer on the front door. Also, a flyer without selling power is a scrap of paper. There are many skeptics in the market so the flyer must say that one means business in cleanliness. Indicating one’s menu of services, prices and contact numbers are but the basic information needed in a flyer. One can even include a list of references so that the prospective client can see on the spot how one’s business strategically places itself in the market.

2) Extraordinary. Again, how one presents the company and the services is dependent on a piece of paper. Having a good presentation, like a folder would exhibit the professionalism of the company and this make a good impression on prospective clients. Sales letters with some thingamabob like a magnet would also help in marketing the business. Putting the information in color also helps but if one opts for black and white printing, maker use of brightly colored heavy paper so that one is able to exude the professionalism and business acumen to the prospective businesses.

3) Exclusivity. Making exclusive offers for a particular neighborhood, or make free trial offers would also be great come-ons in the flyer. Some may also place discounts upon presentation of the flyer, similar to a coupon would be great in making the flyer noticeable and your business visible inside the home of the prospective client.

4) Visibility. When passing out flyers, wear one’s company uniform to identify one’s self as a representative of the company. Many times inquiries would be made on the spot. Also, it is a federal offense to place flyers in a mailbox so never place them in the mailbox. It also seems unprofessional for one to do this activity. Farm out to places where prospective customers converge, such as the hardware shop or at the supermarket. Also, posting on community billboards would also help in reaching out to the market.

5) Company activity. On a slow day, one can better maximize the employees who have no jobs to go to be at high density areas to give out flyers. Not only would the prospective clients see this as a company gig, it also provides the employees a sense of contribution to the growth of the business. And it also helps in making one’s employees familiar with the clients first hand.

See: How to start a cleaning service

Cleaning Business Promotion

Jeff W — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:14:18 +0000

Getting noticed by potential clients can be realized by proper marketing of one’s business. One need not be a guru in this field but there are simple ways one can do to promote one’s business and earn revenue. But before spending money, one needs to focus on a target market for the business. Finding that niche and putting effort in that direction one would be able to get the clients needed to make the business profitable. This can be done by adequate market research and some investigation on one’s part to find out the market pulse.

After identification of the market, one needs to draft a budget of expenses for the marketing and advertising of the business. Typically, about 2% to 5% of a business’s gross revenue is used for the marketing of one’s business. Since one is just starting the business, one would need a larger amount to make the business known in the market. One needs to make the business known to gain potential clients. It would be absurd to run a business without gaining any clients. It would just be both a waste of time and money.

The next decision that needs to be made is the area where one would advertise, the medium for it and its frequency. Ads need not be expensive to be effective. Since one already knows the target market, making the advertising material accessible to the target market would make the business more visible and consistent. Posting ads in a local newspaper is the most basic of all campaigns. One just needs to attract the potential clients to the business but the attraction must be positive in the sense that one would be sought out to be engaged to provide the service, and not disdained or avoided. Making the advertisement attuned to the market is key here. This must be a showcase of why the service one is offering is better for one’s business. One should be able to communicate the business name and the benefits one would be receiving by engaging the services of one’s cleaning business. Usually, having testimonials, awards and statistics would make the third parties stand up and take notice of one’s capacity to clean.

Another way to entice clients is by providing special offers or discounts for the services that would be offered. Since it is a cleaning business, highlighting the type of equipment or cleaning materials one would use may sway the clients in one’s favor. Also, having a wide list of references would be best in convincing others to engage one’s business. Having a word of mouth campaign and a reference reward scheme are also ways to expand one’s promotions without entailing a lot of cost. Also, since it is the season of giving, making gift certificates an option not only allows one to get into the homes or offices of potential clients, it also allows both the recipient and giver to be rewarded by the business owner. The opportunities abound so one just needs to reach out and take them.

See: How to start a cleaning business

Signage For The Cleaning Service

Jeff W — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:43:32 +0000

When in the cleaning service business, one is always looking for more opportunities. Even established clients change their circumstances and thus there is a constant need to look for new clients. In order to do so, one must not just be able to provide a top notch service but also be attuned to the requirements of the prospective clientele. One of the proven ways to market one’s business and attract new clients is through the investment in magnetic car signs. The following provides the benefits when one invests in this marketing strategy.

1) Immediate reaction. Unlike other advertising media, which require printing and distribution, these kinds of marketing tools create an immediate impact once given out. A catchy byline and contact numbers are minimum requirements so that prospective clients would be calling immediately. At some point, one may even receive calls right on the road from people seeing one’s signs. This investment is a worthwhile one to provide visibility in the market.

2) Trust. Next door neighbors, especially one that has established rapport with are the first ones to engage one’s service because they live down the block or right next door. Many even make a courtesy call to seek out an estimate of probable cleaning service.

3) One expense. Once investing on a car sign, one needs not to replenish or have reprints. This one time investment can be used as a marketing tool for a long period of time without needing repair or re investment. And even when doing a job or errands, the advertising is still ongoing, twenty-four hours seven days a week. How’s that for an expense for marketing?

4) Mobility. The signs can be moved from place to place, depending upon zoning laws or neighborhood guidelines. Thus, no need for costly removals when magnets can easily be removed from where they are situated.

5) Stand out. An attractive sign gets noticed in a sea of signs. This can be the result of planning and research. Also, getting professional help for the creation of the signage would also provide a keener perspective on the power of this marketing tool. So seeking out an expert to make the sign, after review of designs are key steps in making one’s signage noticeable.

6) Easy maintenance. Simple rules need to be followed in order that the sign can still be as attractive as the first day it was put up. A little detergent, a little water and a little elbow grease are all that is needed when maintaining a magnetic sign.

7) Cost effective. A magnetic sign is much cheaper, durable and accessible than other print media advertising options. Also, one would not be buried with other competitors because as one navigates through the streets, one’s business is being advertised and thus accessibility of one’s business is made so much easier for the client.

With the above benefits, it is a no-brainer that one does not decide to use magnetic signage for advertising. Remember, every opportunity is a business probability and thus being known through magnetic signage is the way to go.

See: How to start a cleaning service