The Lemon Fool

This isn't a question about a business I have any financial interest or reward in. I have friend who runs an extremely small cleaning business. He's looking to grow the business.

I've suggested social media, emailing, targeted leaflet drops and snail mail. It’s easy to suggest but I don’t know the detail and the mechanics of how to do this sort of thing.

Has anyone got experience of this kind of thing and can make suggestions please?

Thanks in advance

AiY(D)

I've no experience of this but I imagine the optimum strategy might depend on whether he is targeting domestic or commercial customers.
doolally

Assuming local and domestic, use local shop and village noticeboards, local Facebook groups, and leaflet drops.

doolally wrote:I've no experience of this but I imagine the optimum strategy might depend on whether he is targeting domestic or commercial customers.
doolally

And with both, if it is extremely small, "word of mouth"... letting your current customers know you are looking for new business and being so good at it that they want to recommend you is the first thing I think of

doolally wrote:I've no experience of this but I imagine the optimum strategy might depend on whether he is targeting domestic or commercial customers.
doolally

Whoops-a-daisy.

It's for new homes (builders cleans), schools, colleges & universities (student accomodation). I've put something together for LinkedIn but don't believe that for a cleaner the buyers "perception" of this service will be it's "difficult to acquire". Hopefully I've explained that correctly (sorry last night's sleep wasn't great and my head's a touch on the wild side today ).

AiY(D)

This is the sort of "advert" I've prepared for LinkedIn. I don't have much experience of this sort of stuff at all really. I have spoken to the gentleman who is running the business and expressed the dichotomies contained within the name of the business. He's not inclined to review the name at all. So that part of the conversation is "off the table". That aside I'd welcome constructive thoughts from those with more experience of this kind of stuff please.

I'm not sure why the quality is so poor. I prepared in Powerpoint and saved as a jpeg. The quality is much better on LinkedIn.



AiY(D)

Re-brand them with a witty moniker like Spruce Springclean or the Ace of Maids?

kempiejon wrote:Re-brand them with a witty moniker like Spruce Springclean or the Ace of Maids?

You're hired

You can start at 4pm this afternoon

Cheers

AiY(D)

kempiejon wrote:Re-brand them with a witty moniker like Spruce Springclean or the Ace of Maids?

Gleam Clean?

AiY(D)

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:This isn't a question about a business I have any financial interest or reward in. I have friend who runs an extremely small cleaning business. He's looking to grow the business.

I've suggested social media, emailing, targeted leaflet drops and snail mail. It’s easy to suggest but I don’t know the detail and the mechanics of how to do this sort of thing.

Has anyone got experience of this kind of thing and can make suggestions please?

Thanks in advance

AiY(D)

If its extremely small he will have time to physically and literally go and see potential customers. My business would fall into his demographic for instance (as you have described).

Being honest a leaflet or Linkedin would get him nowhere with us. And being even more honest any business with "global" in its name that is clearly "extremely small" would be viewed unfavourably. I would be interested in your actual cleaning, not your obviously false branding. The point you couldn't even see how this obvious falsehood doesn't reflect well on how a potential customer sees things would be a concern in itself.

(use of you is generic and not pointed at the literal "you" here)

dealtn wrote:

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:This isn't a question about a business I have any financial interest or reward in. I have friend who runs an extremely small cleaning business. He's looking to grow the business.

I've suggested social media, emailing, targeted leaflet drops and snail mail. It’s easy to suggest but I don’t know the detail and the mechanics of how to do this sort of thing.

Has anyone got experience of this kind of thing and can make suggestions please?

Thanks in advance

AiY(D)

If its extremely small he will have time to physically and literally go and see potential customers. My business would fall into his demographic for instance (as you have described).

Being honest a leaflet or Linkedin would get him nowhere with us. And being even more honest any business with "global" in its name that is clearly "extremely small" would be viewed unfavourably. I would be interested in your actual cleaning, not your obviously false branding. The point you couldn't even see how this obvious falsehood doesn't reflect well on how a potential customer sees things would be a concern in itself.

(use of you is generic and not pointed at the literal "you" here)

Yes. I've had this conversation with him. He's quite intransigent about the name. The issue with seeing people personally is he’s Turkish and has a very strong accent and to be honest at times I struggle to hear every word. He’s taught himself English having arrived in the UK 5-6 years ago. He’s a grafter and doesn’t shy away from long or unsociable hours. I don’t think he can write, although I haven’t asked him as that would be a step too far I feel.

Part of my role in construction is to buy this kind of service, albeit I hasten to add that due to the value of the work it’s usually given to a junior member of the team. But yes, sadly, the dichotomies of the name aren’t lost on me at all I’m afraid.

I’ll approach the subject with him again. Thanks for your feedback. It sort of reassures me that I am being fair with my appraisal.

Cheers
AiY(D)

Could you make the name ironic, like Dell Boy did on his van?

Green Clean Global
Paris, New York, Peckham

dealtn wrote:
If it’s extremely small he will have time to physically and literally go and see potential customers. My business would fall into his demographic for instance (as you have described).

Being honest a leaflet or LinkedIn would get him nowhere with us. And being even more honest any business with "global" in its name that is clearly "extremely small" would be viewed unfavourably. I would be interested in your actual cleaning, not your obviously false branding. The point you couldn't even see how this obvious falsehood doesn't reflect well on how a potential customer sees things would be a concern in itself.

(use of you is generic and not pointed at the literal "you" here)

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:Yes. I've had this conversation with him. He's quite intransigent about the name. The issue with seeing people personally is he’s Turkish and has a very strong accent and to be honest at times I struggle to hear every word. He’s taught himself English having arrived in the UK 5-6 years ago. He’s a grafter and doesn’t shy away from long or unsociable hours. I don’t think he can write, although I haven’t asked him as that would be a step too far I feel.

Part of my role in construction is to buy this kind of service, albeit I hasten to add that due to the value of the work it’s usually given to a junior member of the team. But yes, sadly, the dichotomies of the name aren’t lost on me at all I’m afraid.

I’ll approach the subject with him again. Thanks for your feedback. It sort of reassures me that I am being fair with my appraisal.

Cheers
AiY(D)

I've had a quick natter with this gentleman, and he's accepted the business's current name isn't beneficial. He doesn't want to change the existing business name as his perception is it will have a negative impact on his existing customers. He feels he'd like to set up a new business.

I've got mixed thoughts about this. On the one hand I think he's going to create confusion and possibly embed suspicions but I'm also keen to get him focused on his branding and don't want to get stuck at this point.

I'd welcome thoughts please. I don't have a marketing mind but obviously have a broad idea of the importance of branding even for a small business.

I think dealtn has made a good point about presenting personally to potential customers, but I feel there may be a barrier here. He's a cleaner and a hard worker. He has a strong accent that could be a switch off though. Am I overthinking this element?

Also does anyone have any thoughts on this name please?

Gleam Clean Sheffield. There are some Gleam Cleans around, but Sheffield isn’t take yet.

Thanks for the feedback, appreciated greatly.

AiY(D)

dealtn wrote:

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:This isn't a question about a business I have any financial interest or reward in. I have friend who runs an extremely small cleaning business. He's looking to grow the business.

I've suggested social media, emailing, targeted leaflet drops and snail mail. It’s easy to suggest but I don’t know the detail and the mechanics of how to do this sort of thing.

Has anyone got experience of this kind of thing and can make suggestions please?

Thanks in advance

AiY(D)

If its extremely small he will have time to physically and literally go and see potential customers. My business would fall into his demographic for instance (as you have described).

Being honest a leaflet or Linkedin would get him nowhere with us. And being even more honest any business with "global" in its name that is clearly "extremely small" would be viewed unfavourably. I would be interested in your actual cleaning, not your obviously false branding. The point you couldn't even see how this obvious falsehood doesn't reflect well on how a potential customer sees things would be a concern in itself.

(use of you is generic and not pointed at the literal "you" here)

I think this is sound advice.

In quite a lot of the target market, the business owner will need to identify the specific decision-maker that he needs to get in front of. This may be a facilities manager (in the case of educational institutions or hospitals) or an admin manager (in the case of care homes). Without wanting to be disparaging, this doesn't sound like a new type of service or something innovative so what going to make a decision- maker change from what they are currently using for their cleaning needs? Price, responsiveness, quality (but how do you demonstrate that?) or what? If the business has already started then what has worked well so far and what has been a waste of time in terms of acquiring customers? Is the business mainly repeat business or a series of one-offs?

Leaflets or social media may seem like an obvious "thing to do" but as dealtn hints this probably isn't going to be effective when selling to businesses. Joe public, yes but businesses much less so. Marketing (as opposed to selling) is all about understanding the target market, what service they really want and the channels to reach that target.

One suggestion I would throw in is estate agents. The ones I know often find it difficult to get tradesmen and similar services to do relatively small jobs. End of tenancy cleans are always in demand and agents are in a position to recommend cleaning services to both tenants (who are usually required by the terms of their tenancy to leave a property in the same clean state it was in at the start) and landlords (who mainly want properties in a clean and presentable state when trying to attract new tenants).

modellingman

For large developments of flats and offices the managing agents will often be the point of contact for communal areas cleaning, some flats will be under the stewardship of right to manage leaseholders who will control the budget for upkeep via the agent (my development is run this way).

So sort out an electronic marketing pack (PDF) that can be emailed to prospects, tailored as needed per target market.
No harm in putting them on the website too.

In terms of chasing leads networking skills will be useful, the cleaning company that does our place has an owner who is very high profile ( an ex neighbour of mine), in the local paper a lot, ex ceremonial mayor etc.
It's definitely helped his company get a load of work...

I can DM you their website address if you want so you can have a gander.

When I was a tenant, I used a company that guaranteed to clean the property to letting agent standard. It was a good selling point because the tenant gets their deposit back and the letting agency/landlord gets a clean property. Costs came in at the typical local rate so I didn't feel that I paid a premium. In this area there are also companies who specialise in military 'march outs' which are even more stringent.
I also used a company who covered everything that you might need for moving out - oven clean, carpet clean and house clean - again it saves time and hassle for the client, but the owner moved away and I couldn't find another company that offered the same range of services.
Cleaning services are a competitive industry with low barriers to entry, so I think you need to tailor the offer to meet client needs - less hassle, saving time, monthly billing, replacement cleaners, holiday cover etc as well as providing a good standard of cleaning.

Suggest browsing React plc site for ideas:


https://www.reactsc.co.uk