Building a business is more than knowing how to shine things better than another company. Check out these 9 ways to differentiate your company!

Whether you have been in business for 5 minutes or 5 years, operating a cleaning business can be very challenging at times. Of course, it can also be very profitable, which is probably why you got into it in the first place. Consider the following tips to help you make your cleaning company as profitable as it can be.

  1. Clean it like it’s yours. When providing your customer with a service, perform the service to the level you would expect for yourself. If you can see the dirt, the customer can too.  Paying attention to the details and going above and beyond customer expectations goes a long way to securing that customer in the long run.
  2. Customer service. Clean to the highest possible standard and your customers will notice.  Fail to return calls or emails and unprofessional attire or communication will leave the customer feeling unimportant and neglected. Take the time to engage the customer.  Show them how important they are to you by the way you respond to and communicate with them.  Go out of your way to make them feel special!
  3. Never stop learning. Stay engaged with industry trends and developments. Continue to evaluate your own performance and look for ways to improve. Learning is a life long endeavor. Never become complacent but seek to understand and increase your knowledge of your industry and your business.
  4. Track labor costs. We all know that the biggest expense you have is labor. If you don’t constantly monitor labor costs, you will lose money! Budget your labor carefully, and track daily to ensure that enough hours are spent to provide the quality service, but not so much that you cease to be profitable. 
  5. Use systems. A system is just an intentionally designed method with a clear structure designed for consistently and efficiently. Using well designed systems, whether manual or automated, ensures that the work that is performed meets you standard and in the most efficient way. In short, a good system increases quality and profitability. 
  6. Don’t undersell yourself. Often when the competition is thick and securing a new contract is a battle, the temptation is to first compete on price. Don’t. First compete on the quality of the service you provide. Do what you say you are going to do and build your reputation on excellence. True, customers are often looking for the best deal, but ultimately they want the job done well, consistently and with no hassle. In fact most don’t even want to think about it; they just want it done! They may go with the lowest bid once or twice, but eventually they will grow tired of all the extra work and realize they get what they pay for.
  7. Take care of your employees. Good employees can be hard to find and great employees are rare! In an industry with an incredibly high turn rate, take the time to invest in the good employees and those that show potential. The cost of training new employees is high and constant turnover negatively effects quality and customer satisfaction. Take the time to find good employees and when you do, treat them like gold. Train them well, don’t micromanage, and treat them with respect. Provide bonuses and incentives for top performance. Your success depends largely on them!
  8. Do not fear the computer! You may not have a lot of computer experience and may feel much more comfortable behind a floor machine, but technology is essential to your success. Sure you can build quotes, keep the books and track everything with pen and paper, but there is a far more efficient and effective way. Today there are software tools available to manage every aspect of you business. These tools can increase your profitability by decreasing the time it takes to complete a task and reduce errors!  
  9. Don’t take every job. Be careful when considering a new opportunity. Not all jobs are equal. What are the start up costs?  Do you have or can you get the staff required? Can you manage the load? Will this job consume too much of your time? What will your margin be, 6% or 30%? The allure of landing a huge account can be extremely strong, but often it is more profitable and sustainable to have 100 small accounts than 1 huge account.