As we look back at the first quarter of 2024, you may be planning to grow your cleaning business by adding new team members and clients to your roster. Scaling your business is not an easy task, from finding talented labour to growing your existing accounts to attracting new clients. The commercial cleaning industry in Canada generates over nine billion dollars in revenue (and growing) each year, including 34,000 businesses and about 190,000 employees. In such a large industry, what can you offer to attract great candidates, increase your client list, and stand out from the competition to build that bottom line?
Define your customer
The first step in selling to more customers is to define your ideal customer so you can identify their pain points and decide how best to address their needs. Get specific with this by including business size, location, scale of work, preferred industries, and any other pertinent details to really be able to target this potential client.
Build your brand
Building your reputation and credibility means growing your online presence to help candidates and prospective customers find your business and want to contact you. From creating engaging social media to soliciting online reviews to developing a comprehensive website, implement marketing strategies that speak to your targeted audiences with unique, expert, interesting messaging. Branding can also happen offline, when you join industry associations, attend events, and start to create a word-of-mouth campaign that can garner attention for your business.
Differentiate yourself
Commercial cleaning companies can be very similar, offering the same services and using comparable products. Find a way to attract attention to your business. Is it superior customer service? Is it offering more cleaning options? Is it better value or advanced technology? Standing out in the marketplace will give you something to sell to potential customers and will appeal to people looking to try someone new.
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Superior staffing
Growing your customer base means growing your teams too. Finding, training, and retaining a skilled and reliable team makes providing exceptional experiences simple. Don’t forget to do your research. Conduct thorough background checks and offer current, competitive wages to attract the candidates you want to represent your company.
Once you have your team, implement systems to make their jobs easier, prioritize work-life balance, and encourage training and development to create a culture that attracts employees and entices them to stay.
Building your commercial cleaning business is hard work and often a slow process, but get started by knowing your ideal customer, focusing on your selling points, getting attention, and growing a superior team will have you seeing success through 2024 and beyond.
