How To Create a Memorable Experience For Your Commercial Cleaning Customers

Jean Hanson

The pressure is on. Can you feel it? Every commercial cleaning business owner is under pressure to retain existing customers and find new customers. Not an easy task when the economy is unstable. The advice you've heard from the experts is to differentiate yourself from your competitors, but how do you do that? One way is to create a memorable experience for your customers -- an experience they've never had with another cleaning company.

Creating a memorable experience is also a great way to strengthen your brand. So how do you do this? By changing the culture within your business and making sure every employee is on board with the process. Creating an experience for your customers starts with their first exposure to your business (perhaps through your marketing materials), to the presentation of your cleaning proposal, to the attitude of the employee you send to clean their building.

Every time your customers are exposed to your business is an opportunity to create a memorable experience. And when they have an emotional connection with your company, it makes them feel special. The trust they have in your business is also strengthened by the experience, as long as it is a positive one. Negative experiences can erode the relationship, which is why it's important to make sure everyone in your company is on board.

What is your potential customer's first experience with your company? Is it a not-so-memorable flyer you mailed "To Whom It May Concern", hoping it got into the right hands? Or did you send the decision maker a set of chess pieces with the message, "Times are tough! What is YOUR strategy for saving on your cleaning budget?"

When you are given the opportunity to meet with the decision maker, what do you do make your first meeting memorable? Do you "wing-it" and hope for the best? Or do you come prepared to ask specific questions, listen to the prospect's concerns and then give examples of how you have helped other customers with the same issues? Do you solidify your meeting by quickly following up to answer any questions you promised to research? Do you send a hand-written Thank You card? Do you personally deliver a bound proposal and present it in a follow up meeting with the decision maker?

The memorable experiences don't stop when you've gained a new customer. In fact, this is when you start building trust and solidifying the relationship. Your supervisors and employees play an important role in creating more memorable experiences for your customers. Do they come to work dressed appropriately, and are they cheerful and polite to employees working in the buildings they clean? Do your supervisors work to build a relationship with their point of contact at each location and strive to please them by responding quickly and cheerfully to requests? Are they proactive in making suggestions on services that may need to be performed?

Your office personnel also play an important role in the customer experience. How they answer the phone and deal with customers and potential customers goes a long way in creating a memorable experience. Even the bookkeeper can help by putting a message like "Thanks for your business!" on the invoices, and perhaps enclosing a newsletter or special offer with the invoice. As you can see, there are unlimited ways to create a memorable experience for your customers.

In order to stay profitable in the cleaning industry, you must find new ways to retain your existing customers and gain new customers. Think about the times you've had a positive and memorable experience. Didn't you want to tell other people how great it was? That's the benefit of standing out from the crowd. Start making a list today of how you can create memorable experiences for your customers in your own company. And be sure to solicit ideas from your supervisors and employees. Getting them involved in the process empowers them to carry out the goals for your company.

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Jean Hanson helps owners of commercial cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through her online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. Jean is also the host of the popular Web TV show CleaningBiz.tv and author of the newsletter Trash Talk - sign up today!

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Copyright TheJanitorialStore.com. All Rights Reserved.
Jean Hanson helps owners of small cleaning companies build a more profitable and successful cleaning business through her online community at TheJanitorialStore.com. Read inspirational cleaning success stories at http://www.cleaning-success.com, and sign up for weekly cleaning tips at http://www.TheJanitorialStore.com.