Marketing Ideas for Cleaning Businesses

If you’re ready to start taking on more clients in your cleaning business (or find your first one), this article is for you. We’re going to look at six (mostly free) ways to market your business and cover how to streamline your marketing strategies to achieve better results while saving both time and money.  

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6 ways to market your cleaning business

1. Optimize your Google Business Profile 

Google Business Profiles are invaluable for ranking in local search results but are often overlooked as a marketing channel. 

For cleaning businesses, an optimized Google Business Profile is an effective way to attract potential customers without paying for Google Ads. Your profile is a hotbed of keywords that help put your business in front of potential customers, and unlike website SEO, optimizing your Business Profile takes just a few minutes and has near-instant results. 

Steps to take include

• Filling out every section in detail (you’d be surprised how many businesses skip this step)
• Adding high-quality, descriptive photos and videos 
• Increasing the number of customer reviews
• Creating a Q&A list 

For more ways to boost the power of your Google Business Profile, check out this article on ten ways to optimize your profile to rank higher in SERPs.  

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2. Encourage word-of-mouth marketing

Your current customers are one of your most powerful marketing tools, so it’s time to learn how to leverage them.

A recent study found that 93% of participants said friends and family were their most trusted source of service recommendations and reviews. You can incentivize them to spread the word by launching a referral program.

There are multiple incentives you could consider, and depending on your aim, several events that would trigger the reward. For example

• Both parties get a free clean when the referee purchases a cleaning package for the first time.
• Both parties get a discounted clean when the referee books a regular clean for the first time.
• The customer gets a custom discount code to share with friends and family (which could also reward them every time it gets used) 

In addition to launching a referral program, be proactive about collecting client reviews. 83% of customers are willing to refer after a positive experience, yet only 29% do — unless prompted. Send review requests in your appointment follow-up emails or reach out to long-time customers and ask if they’d be willing to leave you a review. Explain that it helps your business and always include a link to your chosen review site to make it as easy as possible for them.

Tip: If you already have many Google or Facebook reviews, consider using a review aggregator like embedsocial to pull these reviews onto your website. 

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3. Optimize your website 

Another effective marketing idea for your cleaning business is to optimize (and overhaul, if necessary) your website. Or, if you fall under the 1 in 4 small businesses that don’t have a website, create and then optimize your website!

Here are five ways to increase organic traffic to your website:

• Simplify your site’s navigation — Add a menu that makes it easy to find pages, use clear titles, and ensure your site’s mobile optimized.
• Display pricing structure — If your pricing is conditional, add “starts at…” with an easy way to get in touch to find out specifics.
• Add online booking options — 97% of customers want to book and manage appointments online, so offering online booking is an easy way to upgrade your website.  
• Ensure contact details are easy to find 
• Optimize for relevant keywords

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4. Consider running paid ad campaigns 

If you have the budget, paid ads can be an effective way to market your cleaning business. Just remember to set parameters and target specific demographics, areas, etc., to ensure you’re not paying to display ads to people who aren’t the right fit for your business (or in the right location!).

Before you launch your ads, check if your town/city/neighborhood has a community Facebook group, as these are great places to advertise for free first. 

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5. Launch an introductory offer 

Introductory offers are another effective marketing idea for cleaning businesses. For best results, combine this marketing tactic with others on this list to increase conversions. 

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6. Don’t ignore physical marketing channels 

Lastly, physical marketing channels can be effective, particularly for cleaning businesses. Consider the following

• Signwrite company vehicles (or add logos to cleaner’s vehicles) 
• Local bulletin boards (real or virtual)
• Local newspaper ads
• Flyering neighborhoods 

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Tips for effective marketing 

Effective marketing can be time-consuming, but there are plenty of ways to automate the process to make things easier on your team. Consider the following

1. Batch-create social media content and use a scheduling tool to post it throughout the month. 
2. Set up automated appointment follow-ups that include a review request. (Just make sure to set a trigger that cancels this once a customer has left a review, so you’re not asking for a new one every week!)
3. Use email workflows to automate your lead nurture emails.

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