How to Attract Clients for a Residential Cleaning Service
The ability to continually attract new customers is the keystone of business. As a business owner, you must be prepared to market your services constantly, even during busy times. In fact, it is during your busy times that you need to be extra vigilant in your marketing efforts because you want to keep your pipeline of prospective customers full for when your business slows.
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Things You'll Need
- Business cards or business card printer paper
- Brochures or brochure printer paper
- Computer
- Printer
- Cellphone
Instructions
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Market Your Residential Cleaning Service
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Design your image. Will you be a starving student, experienced cleaning professional or diva of debris? Make sure you choose an image you feel comfortable selling and which fits your personality. If you are quiet and serious, you probably shouldn't bill yourself as the Diva of Debris.
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Design and print, or have printed, your business cards. If you have a little artistic ability, you might want to try creating and printing your own business cards using Avery business card paper and templates. Otherwise, Vista Print offers 250 free cards to attract new customers. Your business cards should look professional, and services like Vista Print are not expensive.
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Design and print your brochures. Avery also sells special tri-fold brochure paper and provides templates, so you can design and print your brochures using your home computer and printer.
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Build your website. A website gives your business credibility. You can inexpensively and easily purchase a domain name and build a website using templates. GoDaddy.com is a popular full-service website host. Search online for "residential cleaning services" to get ideas for your site.
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Email everyone you know. When you have your business cards, brochures and website, make sure to announce your business to everyone. Put an announcement on Craigslist and anywhere else you can inexpensively advertise. Leave your business cards at pizza parlors, dry cleaners and anywhere else that will help you market your services.
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Use your cell phone to call apartment managers and real estate offices as you drive around town and see their signs. You might be able to stop by for a quick pitch and to leave your business cards and brochures. These people will refer you if they like your looks and approach.
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Ask for referrals. Be bold. Ask all your friends to refer you to their friends. When you have a happy customer, ask that customer for names and contact information of people who might want to hire you.
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Tips & Warnings
Get a magnetic sign for your car door or a decal for your back window. Make sure the words "Residential Cleaning Service" and your phone number are easy to read from 20 feet away. If your marketing develops a lot of business for you, don't turn any of it away. Just find someone to help you. It is always better to have too much business than not enough. Also, never stop marketing. You can expect to lose at least 20 percent of your customers each year, and more during recessions, so you want to keep broadcasting your value proposition to people who might become customers so your pipeline of potential business never runs dry.
Remember that you are a walking advertisement for your residential cleaning service business. Always look presentable. If you clearly have been cleaning houses all day and are dirty, that is OK. However, you must appear professional. Never wear torn or revealing clothes, as people will be reluctant to welcome you into their homes.
