When you start a cleaning business or even if you have an established one, it’s quite certain that you have wondered, “How to get more leads or contracts for my cleaning business?” from time to time. Leads for any home service business are extremely crucial and helps grow your business significantly. It’s not just about getting cleaning leads but more importantly about how to get the best cleaning leads. Before we dive into the strategies for getting the best leads, let’s start with a refresher on what comprises leads for a business.
What Are Cleaning Leads?
Cleaning leads or contracts represent homeowners or businesses who have shown an interest in your cleaning business and shared their contact details or contacted you. These potential leads typically express interest in a range of projects, including but not limited to apartment cleaning, moving day cleaning, commercial cleaning, post-renovation cleaning and much more.
A good marketing strategy or a business strategy will ensure leads come in from a variety of sources. For example, the best leads for cleaning services could come from:
- A phone call from your Google My Business listing
- A form submission on your website
- A form submission on social media
- A service request on HomeStars
- A quote request on your website and much more
Why Are Leads Important For Your Cleaning Business and How Do They Differ From Customers?
Leads are extremely important for any business as they bring in revenue when they turn into jobs. That’s why it’s important to get the best leads and qualified contracts for your cleaning business so that the chances of conversion are higher. For example, if you only offer commercial cleaning and an apartment owner contacts you for your services, that would be a wasted lead. To avoid this, it’s important to list your services and areas of work accurately on Google and other online profiles that you may have for your business.
When a lead comes in, they may not be ready immediately to get the work done. They will do their own research and finally come to a hiring decision based on quality of work, availability, estimates received, provider reviews and other such factors. When the lead turns into a job, that’s when they are called customers.
How To Get The Best Leads For Your Cleaning Services?
1. Have A Robust Marketing Strategy In Place
Having a robust marketing strategy is the first step towards ensuring that you get the best cleaning leads or job contracts. An exhaustive marketing strategy can ensure that you get maximum visibility on your cleaning business both online and offline. This would include having a professional website, local advertising, monitoring online reviews and much more. You can find out more about how to market your cleaning services in our blog.
2. Email Marketing For Cleaning Leads
The key to email marketing for cleaning leads is building a customer email list. Whether it’s existing customers or potential clients, you can build an email list through contact forms on your website, invoices and other such strategies. Once you have an email list, make sure to send out periodic emails, promoting your business and any offers or promotions. Homeowners are more likely to get a job done if there is a discount. Email marketing also ensures that you stay in their mind and they reach out to you when they have projects in your service category.
3. Social Media Marketing
Social media is a great tool to get leads for your cleaning business. Whether it’s YouTube, Instagram or Facebook, you can even get organic leads through your social media. Stunning photography of your work or satisfying cleaning videos do especially well and can generate queries from potential customers. If you run social media ads, a direct button can send a request your way – so make sure to clearly mention your business and area of work on these online profiles.
4. Enlist Your Business in Small Business Directories in Canada
To generate more leads for your cleaning business, it’s a good idea to enlist your business in small business directories in Canada. While they are limited in their own ways, it’s a good start to have a presence on these platforms:
- Kijiji: Kijiji has a lot of visibility and is a good place to list your services online. However, you must have noticed that it hosts almost everything under the sun – from furniture and pets to cars and homes. This makes it easy for your business to get lost in a sea of businesses. Moreover, Kijiji viewers are often looking for the cheapest price, which may not align with your business. To know more about it, you can refer to our blog on Kijiji and HomeStars: the differences.
- Craigslist: Similar to Kijiji, Craigslist also has multiple categories and in recent years, there’s been a rise in scams on this platform. While having a business listed may not be harmful, be wary of your leads and vet them thoroughly.
- 411.ca: From restaurants and real estate to home renovation – this website covers a lot of industries and is not dedicated to just home renovation or repair. This means that even though your business may be listed here, your potential leads may be searching elsewhere for specific recommendations.
- Facebook groups and Marketplace: Facebook groups are good for businesses if you can find the right groups in your community. You can also list your business and services or any promos on Marketplace as many people look up these services on Facebook.
- Yelp: While Yelp is very popular among many, and may be a good start, it is not a dedicated website. Moreover, there have been recent observations about fake reviews on the platform so do your research before signing up to make sure your business is protected against false reviews.
- Google My Business: Google My Business is a must-have in today’s day and age. Almost everyone does an online search when looking to hire a professional. Your Google My Business profile can ensure that you get found by relevant homeowners in your community. You can add your website and contact details and even images to make the listing more professional. However, the only drawback is that anyone can leave a review for your business and since there is no vetting, you can be impacted by false reviews.
5. Enlist in Home Improvement Directories in Canada
Like small online directories, it’s beneficial to list your business on specific home improvement directories in Canada. These websites are dedicated to home renovation and repair and are the right place to get the leads you need for your cleaning business. While you must have heard of Angi, it is the US website for finding reliable pros. Here are some Canadian websites that you can consider for listing your business:
- Houzz: Houzz is known for its beautiful imagery and for connecting homeowners with home service professionals. It focuses on home remodelling and design and as such holds images in high priority. While this may work for some businesses, not every business is as visual and may need more than just images. It also does not require any background checks for pros, so homeowners have to do their own research before hiring. You can also check our blog on the difference between Houzz and HomeStars to know more about whether it’s the right platform for you.
- Jiffy: Jiffy is yet another home renovation online directory that you can consider for getting leads for your cleaning business. Jiffy focuses on smaller tasks and their reviews are not visible to homeowners. This means that homeowners have to do their due diligence before hiring. We also have an article on the major differences between Jiffy and HomeStars to help you decide.
- HomeStars: HomeStars is also an online directory for home service professionals where you can list your cleaning business. It goes the extra mile when it comes to online profiles and provides you with a comprehensive business profile. By aligning your cleaning enterprise with HomeStars, you gain access to tailored resources that highlight your services. This partnership involves creating a comprehensive profile showcasing your licenses, expertise, and past projects, catering to homeowners’ needs. HomeStars offers trust-building metrics like the Star Score and Verified Badge, reinforcing your reputation. Verified Badges indicate a rigorous screening process, enhancing credibility. We also validate customer reviews and provide marketing resources for wider exposure. Best of Awards further elevates your profile’s recognition. Aligning with HomeStars positions your cleaning business for success in a competitive market.
If you are already on HomeStars, here are some ways to ensure that you get the right leads for your cleaning business:
- Services and Area of Work: The HomeStars algorithm matches homeowners with pros, based on their service requirements and area of residence. To ensure that you get the right leads, make sure that your profile is updated with the tasks and services you offer. Also, make sure that your area of work is clearly outlined in your profile – this helps us connect you with homeowners in your area.
- Have a robust HomeStars profile: Your online profile is almost like a pitch to potential customers. HomeStars empowers your business to shine bright in front of homeowners by helping you build an online profile, replete with a profile description, licenses, services, a custom gallery and much more.
- Have a good Star Score: The HomeStars Star Score is a trust metric developed by us to ensure that homeowners find the right business for their jobs. Calculated by taking into account average ratings, responsiveness and the likelihood of recommendation, this score tells homeowners more about your business’s reliability. Make sure to have a Star Score of at least 80% to get leads from HomeStars.
- Be HomeStars Verified: The Verified Badge on HomeStars is a badge of trust awarded by HomeStars to pros who have undergone a background check. Having the Verification Badge on your profile tells homeowners that your business can be trusted and this gives them the peace of mind to make a hiring decision.
- Have good reviews: HomeStars reviews are manually vetted by a team to ensure that every review is authentic and true. This safeguards your profile against any unwarranted defamation. Having positive and glowing reviews on your profile can help homeowners make that hiring decision faster and on the spot.
6. Have a Word-of-Mouth Referral Program
After creating a robust online profile, make sure to also spend some time on creating a word-of-mouth network. This is especially helpful in communities as neighbours often go to each other for recommendations. You can also offer incentives or discount codes to either party to provide incentives for referring your cleaning business. While the world of word-of-mouth is moving into a digital space, it is still helpful to have a plan in place to attract the right leads in your community. Make sure to leave your clients a business card and let them know that you encourage referrals and have some incentives for them to do so!
7. Direct Mailers
Direct flyers are a great way to broadcast the message about your services in your community or in areas where you offer these services. You can leave them at doorsteps or in mailboxes. It’s a form of direct marketing and can be used to promote regular services alongside promotions. It is also a great way to promote any seasonal offers you may be providing. This helps you target new customers and also stay in touch with previous clients. It’s a great opportunity to explore especially when you have people moving in into your community.
At HomeStars, as we are in the business of growing yours, we are always working on features and strategies to help you succeed. To know more about how HomeStars can help you get more cleaning contracts for your business, get in touch with us today!
