Cleaning is one of those areas of life where there are many negative thoughts for most of us. Hardly anyone alive can avoid being negatively affected by something connected with cleaning, be it that we are told to clean the mess we've made (from childhood) or that we are the one who has to clean after someone else.
As a janitorial entrepreneur - a cleaning company - you will invitably hit this particular thing:
"To find fault with someone ELSE'S cleaning is a natural consequence of having had much negativity connected with cleaning in one's own life."
Thus, you can expect that those customers who complain the most and whose manner of complaining is the harshest and most difficult for you put up with, are the one's who have been made MOST wrong in their OWN life about cleaning, in one or more ways.
It's human nature.
Obviously, it is not easy to get this person to look at what he or she complains of with any moderation. When you're at that point, all you can really do is to apologize and tell them you will correct it.
But here's the important point: You can PREVENT such outbursts almost completely by PLANNING AHEAD by installing a CUSTOMER SATISFACTION PROGRAM.
This is the way to make customers - both the facilities manager AND the personnel of your client on the site - UNDERSTAND all that you do for them so they actually SEE all those well-cleaned acres instead of concentrating on finding fault with your cleaning.
It is the only true antidote to rude customers, because it handles the actual CAUSE of their upset before they get to BE upset at all at you!
If you want to handle this so you never have to come to grips with a customer who is impossible to handle, why not read this article on increasing cleaning customers' satisfaction toward your cleaning service and see if it is something for your cleaning company?
How to make the Internet work for you in finding cleaning customers continuously?
Internet has definitelyl changed the world of marketing, especially so with social networking. Facebook, Twitter and professional networks like LinkedIn offer much more opportunities for anyone to market their cleaning services.
Despite being a global medium, the Internet actually works very well for localized marketing, especially so with cleaning services.
However, the opportunity to REACH potential customers does not necessarily mean you benefit from such communication...
What you say decides what effect it causes
It is by far more important what you say than THAT you say. So-called "ineffective marketing" is not without effects, actually. It just does not produce the effects we WANT and EXPECT.
But in fact, you will ALWAYS CREATE AN EFFECT with your communication. It can be a good effect, or it can be a negative one. In the worst case, one might not create interest and desire for one's services, but have many a reader form a negative consideration instead.
Hard work in marketing does not guarantee good results, unfortunately.
SMART work will.
How to get some SANITY into those complaining cleaning customers?
We often hear speak of "customer's satisfaction" as if a cleaning customer would be ONE person. But in contract cleaning, this most definitely is not the case.
Although we deal mainly with the facilities manager of the customer company (be that a person holding such a post or the PA of the boss), the fact remains that he or she is seldom the one dissatisfied when complaints are made.
By research we know, that MOST cleaning complaints originate from the people who are at the lowest rank or position in the company. And there, it is often something quite trivial that triggers a complaint, which then can become a huge issue even if the offence is a paperclip under the table.
Truth to tell, the biggest CAUSE of complaints - the one thing that causes those people on the factory floor to issue a complaint - involve personality clashes. As you know, cleaning is an emotional subject to most people and some also expect your cleaners to be public relations persons who have all the time in the world to give their undivided attention to every Mrs Smith, Jones and Brown at the location.
Customer loyalty stems from customer satisfaction. The facilities manager does NOT enjoy changing cleaning companies. It's a huge undertaking to get new quotes and choose a new cleaning company... why would he/she want to undertake that if there was any way to retain the existing one?
The key to loyalty lies not in gifts or such but in creating customer satisfaction.
And the key to that lies in having the tools to make your customers APPRECIATE your cleaning - to TEACH them what to look for to check that the cleaning has been conducted to their wishes.
I would recommend you read this article about customer appreciation of cleaning services and how you can increase that appreciation and handle those complaints BEFORE they come to existence... and retain your cleaning sites for FAR LONGER than the industry average.
Also, feel free to comment about your experiences with customer complaints and what is the most ridiculous complaint you've ever received?
Participate and you could win Part 1 of Cleaning Service Client-Acquisition System for free!
The janitorial business has its problems, like any other line of business.
But do you feel that contract cleaning has received MORE than its fair share of problems and challenges?
What do YOU think is the biggest challenge facing the owner of a cleaning company these days? The one that keeps pulling you into it time again, the one that is almost like athlete's foot... a rash that just will not scratch and disappear?
Is it to do with customer complaints?
With personnel?
With finances?
And please, don't say "all of the above," as we are trying to survey the WORST. Only one can be the WORST... ;o)
Please contact me through our website www.cleaningcustomers.com and explain what do you feel is the biggest problem for cleaning / janitorial businesses in your area.
OR WHY NOT GIVE US A CHALLENGE AND TELL US EXACTLY WHAT PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE IN YOUR CLEANING COMPANY?
Alternatively, you can GIVE A CHALLENGE to us and we will get back to you with some suggestion on how to handle it.
Both these are of course only for cleaning company professionals who are engaged in daily running of a janitorial / cleaning company.
Thank you for your participation!
Feel free to read free articles on marketing cleaning services from our website!
How to present your cleaning services in a new and very positive light to prospective customers?
Hand to heart: Do you really feel good about having to tell others how great you are? Do you feel it is the best way of impressing a potential cleaning customer?
Right. I mean, how do YOU like it when someone goes on and on about their excellence and chews your ear off with self-praise?
But if you do NOT tell them about your positive sides, how will they know?
Well... that is the big question, isn't it? The ideal setting here is that the prospective cleaning customer realises on HIS/HER OWN that YOU are the exceptional cleaning company and YOU are the one he/she MUST have. That way, the cost of your quote is not the decising factor on who lands the contract...
Have a read throught his article: The modern method of presenting cleaning services
It may open new possibilities for you and your janitorial business.
How you can win with a more expensive cleaning quote simply by appearing to know EXACTLY what the prospective customer wants and needs
"Yeah," you think, "I know exactly what facility managers are thinking about cleaning and cleaning companies - I'm a professional and have YEARS of experience!"
I have no doubt you feel absolutely CERTAIN you know EXACTLY what they think. But the funny thing about certainty is that an awful lot of people have been very sure about being right in the past... and lived to suffer the consequences.
Certainty is actually just a FEELING, an emotion which we create ourselves. Being certain about something does not make it so. It just makes us FEEL BETTER in this world of uncertainty.
I definitely don't want to rob you of your certainties in life.
But I would like to help you to realize a few additional things about this issue. Because the truth of the matter is, that when you DO know EXACTLY what facility managers are thinking, the solution to all your customer-related problems will immediately become evident.
Disbelieve it at your own risk.
So why not read this article to see what's what - Knowing beforehand what facility managers think and want
Hey, what have you got to lose - a few minutes at most?
Want to increase cleaning prices DESPITE the huge price war in the janitorial industry?
Now, here's a crazy idea: Why not INCREASE your cleaning prices despite the competition offering forever cheaper quotes to the businesses in your area?
I know, it sounds impossible. But so did many other inventions before they became widely accepted, at which point the biggest benefits out of those systems were already reaped by those who dared to try when they SOUNDED silly.
So, why not give it some thought. Read the article Finding ways to increase the price and profits of contract cleaning services and you might just get an idea that will bring more profit than any other before!
Welcome to the Janitorial Service Marketing blog!
The purpose of this blog is to bring tips and ideas to the commercial cleaning industry, especially for janitorial & contract cleaning professionals. Feel free to visit us on Facebook Contract Cleaning Service Marketing Tips (like the page, please... and if you have a FB page yourself, I'll be happy to return the favour) and also our website
Additionally, if you are on Linkedin, we cordially invite you to join our free LinkedIn marketing group for cleaning & janitorial companies at
Finding
Better Cleaning Customers
If the link above does not work, simply copy this to your browser:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Finding-Better-Cleaning-Customers-4710361
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