Home Cleaning Company Startup Manual – Part III
Advertising
Spread the word. Let your friends and family know that you have started your own home cleaning business. Ask them to spread the word at work and wherever they go. Personal references can help you get your first clients at this level. Serve the first few customers to the best of your ability. These clients can be the base make or break. If you treat them like a king, they may recommend you to their friends. Word of mouth is the most successful form of advertising for such small businesses. Word of mouth can take your business further and also help reduce marketing expenses.
Business Referral Program: I already mentioned “word of mouth” advertising. Taking this one step further can really help your business take off. Implement a referral program. Pay customers if they refer new customers to you. This can be cash or free house cleaning services.
Start advertising in local newspapers: Focus on smaller local community newspapers and less on newspapers in large metropolitan areas. The price will be much more affordable. A local newspaper in the area where I live is distributed to about 75,000 residential customers (not households). A business card-sized ad in a reasonable location costs about $ 95.00 per week. You can also work with classified ads. These ads run from $ 10.00 per week to around $ 45.00 per week. If you can, do not choose weekly execution, but instead opt for a monthly or quarterly offer. Don’t try to put too much information in a classified ad. Be brief, but easy to understand. Example: “Affordable house cleaning services. No job is too small. Free estimates. (123) -555-1234”
Magnetic Signs or Decals for Your Vehicle – If you drive a decent looking vehicle, use it for advertising. If you’re driving an old, rusty part from the ’80s, skip to the next section. Car advertising can be very effective if you follow a few basic rules. It has to look professional. The message should be short and easy to understand. Don’t drive like crazy when advertising your business on your car. Magnetic signs can be purchased for around $ 75.00. Decals are available starting at around $ 25.00. Look at other cars that carry an advertising message for ideas of what to do.
Flyers – You can print attractive brochures on your home computer, but I recommend spending a little money on professional printing. Design a flyer first. Then talk to local printers for prices. You can also refer to Internet printers such as http://www.gotprint.com. 1,000 brochures (printed in color) at Gotprint.com will cost you about $ 125.00 + shipping. Try to overcome that with your home computer. Paper, ink, time, and wear will cost you 2-3 times as much. How to distribute the flyers? Start by hanging flyers on bulletin boards in coin-operated supermarkets and laundries. Ask store owners in your area if they are willing to display the flyer in their store somewhere (if applicable).
Do not put flyers on car windows in local stores and businesses. It may violate local laws or owner’s permits. Rather, spend a morning in large residential areas and walk from door to door and post the flyers on the front door (bring lots of duct tape). You can even go one step further and ring the doorbell and send out flyers in person and mention that you are expanding your services to that area to see if people are interested. DO NOT put flyers in mailboxes, it is against federal law.
Have you ever seen those advertising door hangers? Pre-printed door hangers are practically an extension of hanging brochures on entry doors. They are already shaped like a doorknob opening so they can be easily attached to a doorknob as you pass through. Browse the internet for the best prices or talk to local printers. We don’t endorse a specific store, but we’ve seen prices of around 5,000 door hangers for $ 189.00.
Business Cards – Business cards can be a very effective marketing tool. Check out different websites on the Internet. Often times, these websites (such as Vistaprint.com or Gotprint.com) have online tools to design your business cards on their website. Always carry business cards with you and use them frequently to market your business. Keep in mind that it is a bit more cumbersome to reach a large group of people with business cards compared to using brochures.
Internet – Get a good domain name and build a website for yourself. More and more people are looking for service providers online. It starts when a handyman is needed and doesn’t end with the search for a reliable house cleaning service. A website and email address also make a good impression on your business cards. Statistics show that many working women shop for services at home online while at work. Buy a list online at your local yellow pages. The Yellow Pages are still a great way to advertise your business. The online version on the Internet is gaining more popularity compared to the print version, and an online list will help you get more customers.