We love to feature blogs from our amazing partners. For this week's partner highlight blog we teamed up with Michael Madison, Marketing Coordinator at ServiceMonster.
The cleaning industry - residential and commercial - has boomed in the last few years. Job growth is expected to increase 6% in 2020 from 2014 levels, and revenues will likely reach nearly $50 billion this year.
But with great opportunity comes great risk.
The average cleaning company loses 55% of their customers due to poor service. Competition is fiercer than ever, and it doesn’t take much for a cleaning business to get up and running. All it takes is one bad job for your customer to take their money elsewhere.
So how do you stand apart from the competition? How can you get more jobs and more repeat customers?
Hatch and ServiceMonster analyzed what works - and doesn’t - across their cleaning customer base to give you the Top 4 Cleaning Industry Tips to Get More Jobs and Repeat Customers.
Put these tips to work and you’ll get results...fast.
When you’re first working with a customer, put information in your CRM that can add that personal touch later on, like:
The good news is CRMs like ServiceMonster make it easy for you to create these custom fields. Now you can develop deeper relationships with your customers over text, email, and phone as well as on-the-job, resulting in more repeat customers.
Emailing and calling worked well 10 years ago, but today your customers are less likely to pick up their phone (thanks, robocallers) or sift through their spam-filled inbox. You have to incorporate texting, too.
Hatch has found that cleaning companies see a 64% average response rate over text. Compare that to 4.5% over email and you see why layering in texting is helping reps crush their close rates.
Here’s a great example of how texting, emailing, and calling can work well together.
Notice how I:
This one’s a no-brainer. Who doesn’t want a clean house before the family comes into town?
Consider running a special to your existing customers just before the holidays. Below is an effective text and email campaign that encourages a 1-to-1 conversation. Feel free to use it for yourself!
Hi [First Name]! [Rep First Name] from [Cleaning Company] here. With the holidays approaching, we have a few specials on [Service Last Purchased] and I thought of you. Have a minute to chat?
...if no response
Subject Line: Specials on [Service Last Purchased]
Hi [First Name],
Sent you a text yesterday about some holiday specials we are running on [Service Last Purchased] but I didn’t hear back from you. Is your number still [Phone Number]? Give me a call or text me at [Rep Phone Number]. Would love to walk you through the specials.
Thanks!
[Rep First Name] from [Cleaning Company]
...if no response
Text
[Cleaning Company] is running a 30% off special on [Service Last Purchased]. Would you like to schedule it now?
Email (response to Day 2 email)
Hi [First Name],
Thank you for purchasing [Service Last Purchased] on [Date of Last Service]. With the holidays approaching, we are running a 30% off special on [Service Last Purchased].
Book it now.Happy Holidays!
[Rep First Name] from [Cleaning Company]
Here’s what that campaign looks like in Hatch:
According to Brightlocal, positive reviews influence 68% of consumers to use a local business. But nearly every local business is asking for reviews the wrong way.
Do not ask for a customer review right after you complete a job.
Instead, wait a couple days for the customer to appreciate the work you did. Then ask them if they are happy.
If the customer is happy, request that they write an online review for you. If they’re unhappy, make it right.
Follow these tips when you ask for a customer review:
Use details like pet names, allergies, and number of rooms to give your customers a personal touch over text, email, and phone, as well as on-the-job. Use custom fields in your CRM to log this information.
Cleaning companies see a 64% average response rate over text. Compare that to 4.5% over email and you see why layering in texting is helping reps crush their close rates.
Consider running a special to your existing customers just before the holidays. Scroll up to see an effective text and email sequence that encourages a 1-to-1 conversation.
A couple days after the job is completed, ask your customer if they are happy. If they are, request that they write an online review for you. If they aren’t, make it right. That’ll increase your 5-star reviews.