Cleaning Service Marketing Plan: Promote Your Business in 2022 (PDF)

You’ve put your heart and soul into your cleaning venture. So, when things aren’t going to plan, it feels like you’re banging your head against a brick wall. Like a tumbleweed in a desert, you’ve got no direction. 

You know marketing is essential to your success as a cleaning service provider. But what is the best way to market your business? And how can you ensure you are using the most effective methods? 

In this article, we will outline an 8-step cleaning service marketing plan that has proven successful for cleaning providers. We’ll also provide a free PDF download. We’ll discuss organic and paid advertising methods and provide detailed instructions on implementing each step. 

So whether you are just starting a new cleaning business or looking to improve your current marketing plan, read on for the tips and advice you need to guarantee success.

1. Define Your Budget

If you don’t have a budget, you will have no way of measuring your return on investment (ROI), and you’ll quickly go broke. Defining your budget will help you choose the right marketing mix for your business. 

With a small budget, you’ll need to be more strategic in your marketing choices and lean more towards an organic route. 

2. Define Your Brand

Your brand is what makes you different from your competitors. It’s what sets you apart and what will make people remember you. So, it’s essential to take some time to think about your brand and what you want it to represent. 

Are you a mother who knows that time with your kids is finite? Maybe you want to work off the fact that you can give parents time to spend with their children. Use this as part of your brand! Supermom cleaning services; cause your children come first. 

This isn’t going to work for all because not everyone is a mother who understands that time with your children growing up is precious. The point is to use your iniquities to your advantage when creating your brand and mission. 

3. Know Your Target Market

You need to know whom you are marketing to to create content, products, and services that will resonate with them. You’ll want to create a customer archetype and create marketing material from this. Remember not to be too specific; you don’t want to limit your market too much. 

Continuing with the above example. Your target audience would be busy parents who want to spend more time with their children. You can use things like Facebook ads to test different parameters like age and income level to see what works best, then create your customer archetypes from here. 

4. Use The Internet To Your Advantage

These days, having a good quality website is vital. The first time people spot your brand, they will look you up on the internet. If you have a professional website, good reviews, and an active social media presence, you’re already ahead of most of your competition. 

Your website should have the following: 

• A clear and concise message that tells visitors what you do and what you stand for
• Good quality photos and videos that show off your work
• Customer testimonials & reviews (video testimonials are best!)

Make sure to get reviews on both Google and social media sites as these are some of the first places people will look when they are considering hiring you as a cleaner for them.

5. Use A Mix Of Advertising Methods

Don’t just focus on one marketing method; mix it up and use a variety! It depends a lot on your budgeting regarding what the best methods to choose are. 

As a general rule, social media ads are cheaper than google or traditional ads. Below is an example of combinations that could be used concerning your budget. 

Low Budget

• Social Media Organic Marketing
• Social Media Paid Ads 
• Email & Mobile Marketing
• Word of Mouth 

Medium Budget

• Social Media Paid Ads
• Email & Mobile Marketing
• Influencer Marketing 
• Lower-Priced Traditional Marketing – like flyers and billboards

High Budget

• Social Media Paid Ads 
• Email & Mobile Marketing
• SEO
• Search Engine Ads
• Traditional Marketing – TV & Radio 

6. Focus on Benefits, Not Features

When you’re creating your ads, make sure to focus on the benefits of using your services rather than the features. People don’t care about how many years of experience you have or what type of cleaning products you use. 

They want to know how the service will benefit them. On a surface level, that will be by making their house clean, but go deeper. How will it truly benefit them? 

By saving them an extra 3 hours, they can visit the park with friends one evening or spend a night at the movies with the kids. Think about the personal ‘why’ behind someone wanting to use your service, so write ads focusing on this. 

People don’t care that you have the latest vacuum. People care about the personal benefits your service gives to their life. 

7. Set Up A Reward Program

A great way to get repeat customers is by setting up a reward program. This could be in the form of discounts or even free services after so many bookings. 

There are lots of ways to do this. The most popular is the reward card method, where people get a stamp every time they use your service. For example, once they reach ten stamps, they get a free house cleaning on you. 

You can make a unique one, get creative and think outside the box. Make sure it’s simple to understand. You don’t want to confuse people.

8. Under-Promise and Over-Deliver

This is not so much a marketing strategy step; it’s more like an overall business stance.  When you start out, you must not over-promise and then under-deliver. 

This will leave a bad taste in people’s mouths, and they are unlikely to use your service again or recommend you to others. 

It’s much better to slightly under-promise than going above and beyond with your service. This makes people return, recommend you to friends, and leave you great reviews. 

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Organic and Paid Marketing: What’s the Difference?

Organic marketing is the process of using unpaid methods to promote your business. This includes things like SEO, social media, and content marketing. 

Paid marketing, on the other hand, is when you use paid channels to advertise your business. This could be anything from search engine ads to social media ads or even traditional advertising methods like TV or radio commercials.

So which is the better marketing plan for cleaning services? Well, that depends on your business goals. 

If you are looking to build brand awareness or generate leads, then organic marketing is a good place to start. However, if you are looking for immediate results or sales, then paid marketing might be a better option. 

In the next section, we will outline each advertising method and provide detailed instructions on implementing each one.

Types of Advertising

There are many different types of advertising, but not all of them will be suitable for your business.  Choosing the right mix of methods is important to ensure:

1. You are reaching your target audience
2. You get the desired results
3. Your budget is used effectively

Here is a brief overview of each type of marketing approach:

Social Media Advertising

Social media is a powerful tool that can be used for both organic and paid marketing. If you are using organic methods, post regularly and interact with your followers. 

This will help to build relationships and grow your audience. You can also use social media for paid ads. They can be straightforward to use, so you don’t need to be an expert, and you can still get great results.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search engine marketing is a form of paid marketing that allows you to show up in search results when people look for keywords related to your business. This is a great way to drive traffic to your website and get cleaning contracts. 

Places like google work on a bid system where you will bid to be advertised at the top of pages against your competitors. They are pay-per-click ads, so you only pay when a prospect clicks on the link to your website. 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (or SEO for short) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search results. This can be done through keyword research, optimizing your website content, and building backlinks. 

SEO is a long-term strategy that can take some time to see results, but it is one of the most effective ways to generate organic traffic. It is classed as organic growth on the surface, but unless you’re an expert, you’ll probably need to hire an SEO expert to see results. 

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing where you pay commissions to people who promote your products or services. 

This is a great way to get word-of-mouth marketing and grow your brand. Plus, it can be very targeted if you choose the right influencers. 

Email & Mobile Marketing

Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your customers and build relationships. You can use email to connect more frequently and ensure your clients don’t forget about you by giving them that gentle reminder note in their inbox. 

You can look into automating this process by using services like MailChimp. 

Mobile Marketing is a little more complicated as there are some privacy laws. In the US, you need explicit permission from the user before you can start sending them marketing messages. 

However, if you have permission, mobile marketing can be a great way to reach your target audience, as most people now carry smartphones everywhere they go.

Traditional Advertising

Traditional advertising is any type of offline marketing, such as TV commercials,  radio ads, or print ads. This can be a great way to reach a larger audience, but it can be costly. 

If you are on a tight budget, traditional advertising might not be your best option. For the price, it is nowhere near as targeted as the more advanced modern methods like social media ads. 

Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing uses unconventional methods to get attention. This can be anything from street art to putting stickers in public places. It is a great way to reach people who traditional marketing methods might not reach.

You can write a letter offering your cleaning services and send it out to local businesses.

Conclusion

There you have it, an eight-step cleaning service marketing plan to make your business succeed in 2022! 

Just remember to be consistent, use a mix of methods, and focus on your service’s benefits, not the features.