Upselling to your current customers is easier, less expensive and more profitable than relying only on new customers to raise your revenue. Part 1 of 2.
Pull out your annual marketing plan – if you have one. Take a look at the promotions you’ve slotted in for each month because, let’s face it, most promotions line up with the primary holiday each month.
Who’s your target consumer for those promotions? I’m betting you’ve designed your monthly promotions to get new clients on your schedule and even include in fine print at the bottom of the email, postcard, or flyer “New clients only” or First-time clients only.
I challenge you to add a second, concurrent promotion of either an upsell (add-on to an existing cleaning appointment) or cross-sell (add-on or big enough to be a separate appointment) specifically designed to entice your current clients to buy more from you. And I’ll even make it easy with 12 great upselling promotions you can deliver via email or leave behind with your current clients.
January: Refrigerator Cleaning Add-on
Once the New Year celebrations have ended, your clients have refrigerators that have weathered three food-based holidays in three months, and that refrigerator is pretty icky with spills and smells. A simple company magnet with your number makes a great leave behind – especially when it’s holding a simple note with the refrigerator cleaning rate right on the refrigerator.
February: Loyalty (or Frequency) Upgrade
Make use of the “love” theme in the air to focus a campaign on your happiest clients who haven’t yet committed to weekly or bi-weekly service by confirming a primary cleaner or team to take care of them when they upgrade their service. Remember to add a little fine print to allow for a proxy cleaner or team to occasionally visit to allow the primary team deserved time off.
March: Window Cleaning Add-on or Cross-sell
Consider a play on the Luck o’ the Irish and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for a window cleaning cross-sell. If you can offer only interior window cleaning, this promotion works well as an add-on to an existing appointment. But if you can offer exterior window cleaning (or whole house pressure washing), often a separate appointment is useful. Add a simple coin chocolate to a printed leave-behind for a bit of whimsy.
April: Spring Organizing Add-on or Cross-sell
As you’re pitching traditional spring cleaning to get new clients, your maintenance routine makes that unnecessary for your regulars. But often by this time of the year, especially at tax time, clutter presents more of a challenge than dirt. If you haven’t offered organizing before, consider starting small with linen closet, pantry, and toy organizing since those are usually focused, contained spaces that can be unloaded, sorted, and reloaded within a few hours.
May: Porch Cleaning Cross-sell
By May, most of the spring pollens around the country have completed their yellow dusting and left porches unusable – at least until someone hoses them down. Keep tabs on the visible pollen activity in your local area and time this cross-sell with enticements of favored outdoor spring/summer nights, but only after the porch or deck has been de-pollened.
Tip: This is a great opportunity to partner with a local pressure washer in a cross promotion, gaining you access to his/her clientele and broadening your reach.
June: Kids’ Room Deep Clean Up-sell
School’s out and many kids get to spend a week at a sleep-away camp during the summer. This can be a great opportunity for parents to have you come in to specifically deep clean just one room – every nook and cranny and even the scariest place on earth – under a kid’s bed. And it’ll probably take you long enough to include laundry service for this highly unique service.
Naturally, any one of these upsells and cross-sells can be re-framed as a “new clients only” promotion, but it’s nice to be able to make your customers feel special when they see that some services are only available to them.
And remember, just because you’re featuring or promoting a particular service doesn’t mean you have to offer a deal or discount. The awareness factor alone is often enough to drive conversions.
Oh, you noticed that that’s only six months, did you? Check back frequently at CleaningBusinessToday.com for the second installment. Type “upsell” in the search bar to see what other resources are available.
Cleaning Business Today is a publication of Tom Stewart and Derek Christian, who also partner in Castle Keepers, one of the fastest growing professional house cleaning services in the US.
