If you own a small cleaning company, you understand the demands of being in a small business and the importance of branding. Branding is often one of the most underestimated elements of growing a business.
“…and if you don’t know what an advantage this is, it is to your advantage” – Unknown
Because of its importance, many small companies fail to include it as part of their growth strategy. While marketing and advertising are critical factors in encouraging growth, building a brand is equally important. To not just survive but thrive amid corporate giants, small businesses must have high customer retention rates, which calls for a strong brand.
In this article, we will explore some ideas and tactics for starting with a small budget but building and branding your cleaning business in a still effective and powerful way.
Tip 1: Determine what you want to offer
The first thing to consider when building your dream business is what you will offer your clients. Are you going to be the perfunctory cleaner or a VIP provider? If your goal is to be the latter —you need to determine how to make yourself stand out from the competition. Whether it’s the quality of service, a killer marketing strategy, or simply doing something different —whatever it is, you need to find where your USP (unique selling proposition) will sit. For example, if you want to target real estate investors and take a multi-family portfolio for a monthly clean, you’ll have to have a killer marketing strategy. This can’t be done through local flyers or Craigslist —you’ll need online marketing tools.
Tip 2: Your brand should reflect who you are as a business owner.
Your brand is how customers perceive you, your company, and your products/services. If you are a personable, friendly, and trustworthy business owner, the customers want to identify with that by choosing to do business with you. If not, it’s hard to make the sale.
Tip 3: Develop Branding and Marketing Materials with Your Budget in Mind
After you’ve found your name, figured out your pricing structure and have a solid idea of what you want to offer your customers through your business, it’s time to start creating an image for your cleaning business. Like every other business, you need to consider creating some form of marketing material that you can hand out at events, use on your website and display wherever you do business. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Creating A Brand Logo
A logo is one of the essential elements of a brand’s identity design and the first thing that consumers associate with a brand. So, it’s essential to choose wisely and invest in a professional logo design. Small businesses and cleaning companies may not have the budget for a professional logo designer. So, you need to be creative and come up with something yourself. A logo doesn’t have to be expensive to be good – if you’re a Salt Lake City Cleaning Company, you can use your logo as part of your cleaning vehicles/equipment to create an ‘on-the-go’ reminder of your brand while you’re at work.
- Branding with Graphics
Graphics are easy to build a strong brand with minimal work involved. Use graphics on your website, email signature, and even social media posts. For example, if you have a pet peeve, incorporate it into some of your graphics using a cute font and color.
- Cool font ideas:
Keep it professional, and make sure it goes with the rest of your branding. You can also use these graphics to create easily shareable content on social media where people can easily re-share your post.
Tip 4: Be Everywhere, Be Unique.
With so many platforms to choose from, you must know how to use each one in the best way possible for your company. Don’t start until you’ve found the ones that are going to make a difference for you, and don’t stop until you’ve found the ones that do! Within each platform, find opportunities to stand out from the crowd. For example, one of my favorite ways to brand my own business is through decals. There are so many ways to integrate decals into your brand. One example is using them on your cleaning van. You could add a decal that includes your company name and quotes from happy clients or even a simple logo that customers can connect with your brand.
Tip 5: Be consistent
When you’re trying to build your brand, it’s essential to be consistent. Consistency helps customers identify with your business. You want to make sure that every customer gets the same level of service and high-quality work you’re known for. The idea is for customers to recognize your brand by the quality of your service and the exceptional nature of your business.
Tip 6: Emphasize customer loyalty
A clean house is a happy house. Customers who feel great about their homes are more likely to return to your business again and again. Emphasizing this idea in your marketing materials can help you attract more customers and keep more of the ones you already have.
Tip 7: Acknowledge the people behind your success
People like to be acknowledged for their contributions, and your employees are no exception. Thanking your employees for their work can help keep them feeling motivated and engaged, which will lead to better service for customers.
Wrapping up
Building a great brand takes time.
Building an effective brand takes time, an effective plan and dedication. Don’t expect it to happen overnight. If you’re going to take on the task of building an effective brand, you can’t half-ass it or cut corners – you must do it right. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with ineffective branding that won’t help your cleaning business grow at all.
