COMMERCIAL OFFICE CLEANING SERVICES

How Office Cleaning Companies Can Quickly Generate Cleaning Contracts

 

As someone who has been in the Cleaning Business for nearly 15 years offering Commercial and Office Cleaning Services, I am pretty sure I know one or 2 things that can help you generate leads, contracts, and ultimately cash for your Office Cleaning business. Cleaning is still one of the few businesses you can start with virtually no start-up capital. Here are some of the steps you can take to generate cleaning contracts for your business:

 

Direct Mailing and Leafleting

Once you have identified your Customer base, you now need to design an effective and impactful direct mailing campaign. Produce marketing materials that will appeal to your client base and make sure you send letters. Leaflets and emails at least once a month to your prospective markets. This is good for brand awareness so that whenever they need your service, people will believe it or not, the newspaper is actually a good source for obtaining potential clients for cleaning contracts. If residential cleaning service is your preferred option, you may wish to consider door-to-door marketing campaign. This is where for a small fee employ agents to drop your leaflets or letters inside the homes of your target market. Reports have shown that 92% of people read door drops that are brought to their home

 

Get Yourself a Good Website

Today the internet has become a part of our day to day life. According, to a report, in 2016, an estimated 3.61 billion people purchased goods and services online globally.  This trend is set to continue at a faster rate in years to come because of the convenience it offers to users.  As a cleaning business owner, 90% of my business is coming from online. This shows you need an internet presence for buyers to find your business. Having a website ensures customers can find information about your businesses any time of the day. Clients can wake up in the middle of the night and search for a cleaning company and request a quote. Customers do not have to worry about your office not being opened before they make Enquiries. They can complete an online form and you can get back to them whenever you fit appropriate. Having a website is also a good way of branding your Cleaning Business, people can judge your businesses by how you have designed your website. This is why you need a good, clean, and well-optimised website that will attract traffic to your business. Get a good designer to design a good website that will attract and keep surfers on your site. Finally, be creative with your website, offer promotional discounts to anyone who gets in touch with you through your website, this will surely get people coming through your site. In addition to having your own website, use social media sites such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, or Tumblr to supplement your online presence. The more people talk and share your information online the more people know about your business.

 

Networking is Important for Your Cleaning Business

Networking is a good way to connect with local businesses and generate leads through word of mouth and referrals. As a cleaning business owner sign up to as many as possible local business communities and make sure you attend their functions and events. These are places you can meet other business owners and share your details with them. In a lot of instances, some of them are looking for services like yours. You may also get good business ideas and tips from them. Networking is a long-term strategy, it may not deliver immediate benefits, but the more you attend networking events and put your business information the more people will know about your business and come to you when next they need your service. Ideally, you should be looking to join networking groups that have at least 50 attendees for each meeting. If you managed to get leads via networking, get them to provide testimonials for your business. This would encourage others to use your business whenever they are looking for a cleaning service provider.

 

Identify Your Customer Base

One of the most common mistakes newbies to the cleaning business make is trying to cover or focus all types of cleaning services. Depending on your neighbourhood, commercial cleaning may not be appropriate for you to start with. You may have to start with residential first. With both commercial and residential cleaning, client’s expectations are not the same. Decision-making processes are also different. Residential cleaning decision making is a lot quicker. This means your business can be up and running within a very short period of time. An individual can decide if they want a cleaner or not almost on the spot whereas a company needs at least 2 or more to agree on hiring a cleaning company. The decision making or buying process is always a longer process for a business. You would need to quickly figure out which type of cleaning services is more suitable for you and then mobilise and focus your marketing efforts towards it. Typically commercial cleaning will involve the following aspects

 

• Office cleaning
• Cleaning Services
• Institutional cleaning for Hospitals, Schools, Clinics, And Correctional Facilities
• Hotel and Hospitality Sector – Hotels, Gym, Cafeteria, and Kitchen cleaning
• Washroom Cleaning and Maintenance
• Waste and Compost Removal Services
• Communal Cleaning exterior and parking lot maintenance
• School Caretaking and Facilities Management Services
• Cleaning Product Supply (Consumables)

 

And your cleaners would generally undertake the following tasks:

• Dusting – ornaments, electrical goods, furniture, skirting boards.
• Vacuuming – carpets and soft furnishings.
• Mopping- floors
• Emptying bins.
• Bathrooms – clean suites, tiles mirrors and deodorising.
• Kitchens – surfaces, cupboards (exterior), white goods (exterior).

 

Public Sector Contracts

Look for publications or sites where government contracts are advertised from time to time. Depending on the size of your organisation, you may want to start with low-value contracts. These are contracts usually between £5 and £50k and may not require you to go through the tendering system. From experience, I found public-sector organisations to be good and reliable customers. They also have to be seen as professional, honest and fair in their dealings with you. More importantly, if everything goes according to plan, you are sure of getting paid at the end of your work

 

Real Estate Agents and Property Managers

Another source of generating leads or contracts for your business is the good old Estate Agents and Property Managers. These individuals have managed, buy and sell all sorts of property. Sometimes they are even commissioned by owners of large apartments and office buildings to award cleaning contracts on their behalf. By working with Property Managers, you would have access to information about potential contracts.

 

Finally, if you are feeling a little intimidated about implementing any of the above tips, you can get in touch by visiting Office Cleaning Company London, go to our contact page and drop us a quick email on how we can help with your existing cleaning business or help you set one up a new one.