The COVID-19 pandemic provided countless growth opportunities for the cleaning services sector. Even before that, it was already gaining with 2.2 million jobs employed by more than 1 million companies offering cleaning services. Experts expect the industry to grow in the following years. This presents an excellent opportunity for both interested in starting a cleaning business and those who already created one.
But like any business, the growth of a company has its challenges. This article offers valuable tips on overcoming these challenges by providing suggestions to help your cleaning business grow.
Automate Business Systems
Start with upgrading your business systems. Many cleaning services started as a business managed from someone’s home. Everything was done manually, on paper.
Your business has more potential for growth if its business workflows are automated. It will help your business increase its efficiency and reduce operational costs. An app, software, or website tool can improve tasks ranging from employee management to bookkeeping.
Take time to consider the cost of getting a new business system or take advantage of free apps available online. For now, consider automating your tasks for the following:
- Bookkeeping
- Payroll processing
- Background checks
- Employee scheduling
- Employee benefits
- Appointment scheduling
Upsell and Cross-Sell
Capitalize on cross-selling and upselling opportunities. When offering services to clients, sell them a similar cleaning service to the one they booked. Similarly, sell them an additional service at an additional charge. You call this cross-selling. In a way, cross-selling offers services that complement the original service.
On the other hand, upselling adds value to the service your customer booked by offering an increased quality or level of service. In a way, it is similar to added-value services.
The key to successfully applying cross-selling and upselling is by recognizing when the opportunity arises. This is why any cleaning business must build good customer relationships. A manager who knows a customer well will not have difficulty recognizing situations when it’s best to offer additional or similar cleaning services.
Customer retention also plays a role in a successful upselling and cross-selling transaction. According to eCommerce Insiders, it’s easier to offer services to an existing customer than a new one.
Offer Unique Services
It’s important to highlight what makes your business unique in a crowded industry. Provide services that other cleaning businesses don’t. Customers will want to know what can you offer them that others can’t.
Conduct an assessment of your competition’s services and how they do their marketing and advertising. Read online reviews about what customers are saying about them. Check out their website and social media pages and review their content.
You aim to look for services that others are not offering. Perhaps, there is a need others are not accomplishing. You can take advantage of that opportunity. For example, the roof is probably one of, if not, the filthiest parts of any home. As such, you can offer cleaning services such as gutter cleaning or power washing.
Early on, let your customers know your unique selling proposition. Inform them from the start how different you are from the competition.
Focus on Specific Services
Offering unique services is not the only way to stand out. Focusing on a single or two types of cleaning services also provides a way for your business to be different from the rest. If necessary—and on top of your business license—obtain certifications, licenses, and permits for the type of cleaning service you’ll provide.
Suppose you want your business to focus on providing sanitation and disinfection services in high-risk areas. In today’s market, you can get a COVID-19 Safety and Disinfection Certificate to offer these services. Getting the correct documentation showcases your expertise in specific services that you’ll provide.
By focusing on specific and providing unique services, you open new growth opportunities for your business. At the same time, you can save on costs for supplies. Specific and unique services require a different set of cleaning equipment and supplies. You need to focus only on those items.
Increase Your Advertising and Marketing
With billions of people on social media and various other places on the internet, it just fits to take advantage of the audience into whom you can tap. Use social media and the internet for advertising and marketing your business. Build relationships with your customers and engage with them through social media. Create a blog or even a how-to video to connect with your customers. These may seem like no-brainers, but a lot of new businesses often overlook these strategies.
Don’t Undersell Your Business
With all this in place, try to avoid one of the biggest mistakes businesses make—underestimating their capabilities and potential by underselling their products and services. Sometimes they want to match the competition’s rates by offering lower prices.
While there’s nothing wrong with that, especially if your cash flow permits it, it can hurt your business in the long run. Why not provide a better quality of work instead?
Cleaning services survived amid the COVID-19 pandemic. And by following these tips, you know your business can thrive in the coming years.