Cleaning is big business. According to one report, the industry is worth a whopping $424 billion, and that figure is only anticipated to rise.

The industry’s size doesn’t necessarily mean that cleaning businesses are automatically profitable. With fierce competition for clients and rising costs, it can be difficult for cleaning businesses to become—and remain—profitable. 

In this post, I’ll discuss some handy strategies that cleaning businesses can utilize to trim expenses, attract more clients, and ultimately improve their bottom line. 

Review Pricing

Most cleaning businesses — in fact, most businesses — are wary of raising their prices because they believe it might make them less appealing to new clients. However, that’s not automatically the case. It all depends on how much you’re raising your prices and the level of service you’re providing. If you’re consistently delivering exceptional service, then a modest increase may be justified.

Changing your pricing strategy could be another option if you don’t want to raise your prices outright. Offering different levels of service (basic, medium, premium) is an effective way to extract extra value from your high-value clients. 

Save on Equipment

You’ll need to outlay capital to get the cleaning equipment you and your team need to do your jobs to the highest standards. However, how much you spend is within your control. Let’s focus, first, on your current equipment. By using equipment inventory tracking software, you can increase the lifespan of your cleaning equipment and prevent theft. That’ll ensure you don’t need to replace your equipment any earlier. For your routine cleaning products (such as cleaning solutions, etc.), you might find that shopping around to find a new supplier can result in savings, improving your profitability. 

Invest in Marketing

The more people who know about your business, the more likely you’ll get clients. It’s a good idea to start a referral program to encourage your existing clients to recommend you to others in their network. 

But don’t rely on your clients to find you new customers. Investing in digital marketing, even if it’s just an SEO-friendly website and your ‘Google My Business’ page, will greatly enhance your brand visibility, making it more likely that people will contact you to enquire about your services.

Enhance Employee Retention

Remember that finding, hiring, and training employees can require a lot of capital. Boosting your employee retention rate is in your interest. There are multiple ways to do this, including ensuring you have a friendly and welcoming culture, paying well and on time, and clearly communicating shifts and expectations. It does take some effort, and often some money, to keep employees on your side. It’s much better for your bottom line — not to mention quality control — than continually replacing departing employees with new recruits. 

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