Do you run a cleaning business? Are you looking to get things going by acquiring your first few customers?
Maybe you already have a book of business, but you need more to reach your revenue goals? Whatever your situation, getting more house cleaning leads is possible if you follow the right advice, are patient, and are open to learning.
This blog post will show you how to grow your business by getting a steady stream of cleaning leads. We will target five specific streams you can tap into to get leads for your cleaning business.
Rank Your Website on Google Search
The best strategy to consistently get free house cleaning leads is to have a website ranking in the top three of your local area.
- Not only are you directly in front of potentially hundreds to thousands of customers every month, but it’s also highly cost-effective in most markets.
- And the best part is that the leads you generate are 100% exclusive.
So what does ranking a website on Google entail?
Cleaning service company SEO allows you to rank your website for specific keywords that potential customers may type into Google when looking for your services.
- For example, if someone in Dallas is looking for a house cleaner, they’ll search “house cleaner Dallas” or some keyword variation.
- Using SEO, you can optimize your website to rank for that keyword and any similar keyword.
The 2nd part of the equation is influencing the actions potential customers take once they land on your website. The mistake most cleaning businesses make is treating their website as an afterthought.
Instead of investing in a conversion tool, they build a cheap website that neither ranks on Google nor converts visitors into cleaning services leads.
Websites that convert leads do these things well:
- Display call-to-actions above the fold and everywhere else. As soon as someone lands on your site, they should see multiple ways to contact you, including a phone number to call and a form to fill out.
- Quickly state your services and location so customers have ZERO doubt about what you do and what areas you serve.
- Display social proof in photos, videos, and customer reviews. Visitors want to know ASAP that you are a reliable company. They will go somewhere else if they can’t figure that out in a reasonable amount of time.
- Make your website aesthetically pleasing and responsive by properly spacing images and text. In the current year, there’s no excuse not to have a visually appealing website with all of the affordable and DIY website design tools.
Key takeaway: Your website is your billboard for your company and should be a lead generation tool. Optimize it to get as many cleaning leads out of it as possible.
Rank On Google Maps
If you’re familiar with Google Maps, you may be familiar with finding a nearby restaurant to eat at or locating a gas station when you’re on a road trip.
What you may not already know is that people use Google Maps in a slightly different way to find local service-based businesses.
- The difference is that instead of going directly to Google Maps, customers will search for service businesses on Google Search.
- A map with three recommended listings on Google appears directly below the ads and above the actual search results.
- Because these map listings display a business name and phone number, many customers will just click to call directly from Google Search without bothering to look at websites.
This spells good news for the three businesses in this Map Pack and a missed opportunity for those that aren’t.
Key takeaway: To rank on Google Maps, you need to create a Google Business profile and optimize it by adding photos, your services, and, eventually, customer reviews.
Use Social Media
You can do a lot on social media to increase your company’s exposure and generate free cleaning leads without paying a single penny. If you’re reading this, there’s no doubt that you at least have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube on your phone.
Your customers do too, and they may not be on these sites looking for your services, but coming across your business can only do you good.
- Use social media to increase your social proof by sharing photos of your work.
- Interact with your local community by joining local groups, sharing exclusive offers, and mixing business with personal.
The great thing about advertising your cleaning business is that all strategies benefit each other. When customers visit your website, their next stop may be your Facebook page to see if you’re the real deal.
A social media presence can also help with the next strategy, Facebook Ads.
Run Facebook Ads
With an optimized social media presence and website, you now have a marketing funnel.
- A marketing funnel is a theoretical customer journey toward contracting your service.
Understanding this journey is important before you begin paying to generate house cleaning and commercial cleaning leads through Facebook ads.
Facebook ads are great for residential and commercial companies to quickly generate cleaning leads.
When running Facebook ads for cleaning services, remember that people on Facebook aren’t actively looking for your service. With that in mind, create ads that showcase your service and convince them why they need you.
Next, make it easy for people to get in contact with you. Instead of sending them to your website, let them open a message chat with your company directly on Facebook.
If a lead is looking to hire you for a higher-ticket janitorial service, they can still find your website to learn more about your company.
Send Direct Mail
To most of us, when we think of direct mail, we picture annoying credit card offers and grocery store coupons filling up our mailbox.
- The truth is that hyper-targeted mailers from local companies may get a second look from potential customers if you do it right.
- It’s one strategy the large cleaning franchises have been doing for decades because it simply works.
Is There A Difference In Acquiring Residential Vs. Commercial Cleaning Leads?
There isn’t much difference between the best methods to generate residential vs. commercial cleaning leads.
Business owners spend time on Facebook just like regular old homeowners do. And business owners search for services on Google just like anybody else.
However, there is one marketing method you can use to acquire commercial clients that you wouldn’t be able to use for residential marketing.
That tactic is cold calling.
- Cold calling allows you to quickly contact local businesses and assess if they need your services.
- The name is apt because your responses will either be extremely cold or extremely warm.
This is actually in your favor.
You shouldn’t have trouble compiling a list of local businesses by using Google, Yellowpages, or by canvassing your area.
- You’ll need to go through your list and find potential leads quickly.
- Some businesses currently handle cleaning themselves and are tired of it, other businesses aren’t happy with their current vendor, and other businesses may need extra help.
Cold calling is the fastest way to compile a list of potential customers, turn them into leads, and grow your business.
And it’s 100% free.
If you don’t want to handle commercial cleaning contracts, the residential equivalent would be going door-to-door to homeowners. Just be careful about local soliciting laws, and don’t pester homeowners if they don’t answer or aren’t interested.
Final Thoughts
Like fishing, having multiple lines in the water can only help your business. Put one line in the water at a time and watch your business grow exponentially.
