5 Tips To Retain Your Cleaning Business Customers

Acquiring new clients and retaining existing customers is a very serious subject matter for small cleaning businesses. Whether it's from a friend, family or colleague, we've all had that comforting assurance and trust that comes after hearing other people's experience about receiving quality service delivery from a company or business. 

These experiences stay fresh in our minds, never escaping to oblivion no matter how hard we try to forget them. In the long run, they act as valuable points for consideration whenever we intend to do business with that particular company. 

Since word-of-mouth referral matters a lot for the success of your residential cleaning business, it is important to note that a slight dissatisfaction of one customer can cause a ripple effect which will eventually rob off on you negatively cleaning and send a wrong message to new prospects. Remember that your customers do not only buy your cleaning service offer, they are also buying an experience and are expecting to enjoy  some form of satisfaction. 

To help you get started, we have put together five (5) tips you can implement to solve the puzzle of customer retention in your small cleaning business and make more sales even in the face of intense market competition. 

Here's how to retain your cleaning business customers…  

The age-old mantra "Customer is King" works all the time. It shows in great detail the importance of prioritizing  customers as pioneers of every business and industry. As a cleaning service provider, the best way to win the hearts and loyalty of your customers is to treat them with utmost respect. 

While it is okay to seek new prospects, maintaining and retaining existing customers is a reflection of how committed you are in catering for your customer's needs until they're satisfied and happy. Compensate their loyalty by showing sincere appreciation for their patronage too. 

If you notice a slight dissatisfaction or complaint from them about the quality of your cleaning company's service delivery, attend to it immediately and ask for suggestions about how you can do better in order to make the experience easier for them. 

It is best practice to keep existing customers in your radar through  weekly or monthly newsletter updates and personalized birthday messages. A good way  to keep the data of all your existing customers and references in one place is to use a residential cleaning business software like TimeConnect. 

With this house cleaning business software, you can create a simple list of all your customer references and manage all customer data without having to worry about missing important dates, appointments and birthdays.

Regular customer feedback gives you an idea of what your customers think about your business and how it makes them feel at any given point in time. Always request for customer feedback and make it easier for your customers to report their customer experience level. 

To get the best results, consider gamifying the feedback request process and offer gift cards or other valuables to show appreciation in return. The goal is to stay active and connected on all channels where your customers are most likely to go ask for help. 

Emailing, calling or visiting  your existing customers on a regular basis is also a good way to keep them in mind and let them know you have them in your radar.  

According to a recent survey organized by SuperOffice™ on the value of customer self-service in the digital age, it was reported that fast response time contributed to about 75% of the total customer experience. 

Here's what this means for your business: no customer wants to be delayed or have his or her queries unattended in record time. You'll lose them in no time if they have to always wait in anticipation for you. 

If you want to keep your cleaning customers happy, satisfied and willing to serve as reliable references or act as word-of-mouth referrals for your cleaning business, then you need to consider resolving each customer complaint as a unique entity. 

Attending complaints is one thing, resolving them on time is another. Try as much as possible to resolve all customer complaints on time. Respect their time and make the experience easier for them.   

Your staff are the real actors that  drive your business. A good staff understands everything there is to know about your business in order to be able to provide helpful solutions. 

Educate your staff on the goals, ethics and values of your business, and empower them to apply their knowledge in attending to customers politely and solving problems on the job. Treat employees with care and respect  too. 

Empower them to also tackle problems with initiative instead of having to depend on the judgement of the management every time. 

Your employees should be well versed in the industry you operate so as to ensure that they understand your business and industry well enough to answer customer complaints with professional grace while providing helpful solutions. 

Build long-term relationships with customers from the start. Treat cleaning clients as bridges you wouldn't want to burn. 

Ensure to meet all customer deadlines, exceed expectations and request for honest feedback or reviews after delivering a cleaning service.

Be an exemplary partner they can trust by nurturing your relationship with customers through the use of newsletters, set repeat appointments using TimeConnect appointment scheduling app for cleaning businesses, and establish a sincere relationship where you act as a reliable advisor interested in bringing their goals to life. 

Birthdays are also a great way to show that you care about the  progress and growth of your customers. Reach out to them via email or phone calls to wish them a happy birthday and send gifts like chocolates or cards with your company logo imprinted on it to keep your brand identity fresh in their minds. 

Customer retention is a very important part of every business marketing strategy. However, many small cleaning business owners tend to ignore it and instead focus more on advertising in order to get more prospects  and increase sales everyday.

If you want to take your business to the next level, attract new prospects, and retain existing customers, you should consider implementing these tips in your small cleaning business right away. Here's a summary of how you can do that. 

To effectively retain your cleaning clients, treat each customer as king, respect and resolve all their complaints on time, request for honest feedback from your  customers, keep your staff well informed about your business values, ethics and psychology so that they will be in a better position to provide helpful solutions, and build customer relationships with long term goals in mind.