What ways of solving emerging problems will help a cleaning company to survive with difficulties and succeed in the market today? The answer is in the recommendations, following which will not only increase the company’s attractiveness to potential customers and the loyalty of existing ones, but will also improve the reputation of the cleaning brand

1 Diversify your cleaning services

As new cleaning companies (including franchises) continue to enter the market, additional competition means fewer contracts, lower prices and lower yields.

Loss of contracts

With such low customer loyalty, it is not surprising that price becomes the most important selection criterion. Reasons for losing a client:

• price
• cleaning quality/failure to meet customer key performance indicators (KPIs)
• type of cleaning services offered
• Poor client-contractor relationship.

When price becomes the main selection factor, this can lead to a decrease in the quality of work and customer dissatisfaction. This results in customers often changing professional cleaning contractors. How can cleaning companies succeed in today’s market with such competition?

Specialization

While standard cleaning services typically account for half of the market, specialized cleaning services represent a rapidly growing sub-segment of the market. Adding specialized (niche) services to a standard service will help attract more customers, as well as those looking for service packages or comprehensive services

Specialization examples:

• thorough cleaning of industrial kitchens
• cleaning of outdoor areas
• washing fire exits, air ducts, etc.
• Mobile car wash on request 24/7.

2 Reduce operating costs

Even a small increase in the minimum wage negatively affects the profitability of a cleaning company. Excessive use of cleaning products and underuse of equipment reduce profitability even more. Given the need to lower prices in order to obtain contracts, cleaners have no choice but to reduce operating costs.

A look at the technique

How can you increase productivity without increasing labor costs?

Pay attention to the machines in your company. Modern high-tech machines significantly improve the result of work in a shorter time. This improves productivity as they clean large areas within the existing schedule.

In addition to improving overall cleaning performance, most modern floor scrubbers allow for finer settings such as pressure, speed, amount of water and detergent applied to a specific area. Such flexibility of adjustments allows not only to speed up work, but also to optimize resources such as liquid and cleaning agents. This ultimately reduces transaction costs.

An added benefit of using machines that reduce water and detergent use is that they increase your green reputation. Nowadays, companies are more and more environmentally conscious and prefer to choose a policy that takes into account sustainable production methods, as well as cleaning methods with a minimum impact on the environment.

3 improves the quality of work

Time limits make it almost impossible for operators to carry out frequent thorough inspections. Nevertheless, it is very important to identify any malfunctions of the equipment in order to quickly eliminate them.

Fleet management solutions for better organization

Fleet management solutions give you complete control over your equipment by providing complete information about how, when and where the machine is being used and who is working on it. The facility manager has constant access to this data remotely and can plan the operation of the equipment using information such as:

• cleaning times and schedules
• equipment downtime
• The location of each machine and the name of its operator.

This data allows you to compare and optimize your plan and actual performance so you can make adjustments or improve your performance to get closer to your plan

Line managers or production staff can receive real-time alerts via email or SMS:

• to carry out the necessary maintenance (according to hours worked)
• to notify about leaving the area (if the vehicle leaves / is used outside the restricted area, an alert is sent with GPS data)
• To notify about a long period of inactivity of the machine (in order to identify the reasons that caused the downtime).

The supervising worker can create and configure alerts to ensure compliance with the cleaning plan. This type of fleet management data can lead to proactive improvement in cleaning operations and greater control over cleaning equipment. As a result, the number of areas served according to the plan can increase, which can increase customer satisfaction.

4 reduces the impact of job rotation

With high staff turnover, it takes a very long time to hire and train new employees. This affects performance.

Staff onboarding and support

To reduce downtime, new workers need to start working quickly. How can this be achieved?

• At facility manager training sessions, they can gain the necessary skills to become effective. An onboarding program adds value to employees, which helps to engage and motivate them and ultimately reduce staff turnover.
• Training allows newly hired workers to learn topics such as manual cleaning techniques and machine operation before they first go to work, so they can start their jobs right away.
• The harvesting technique is natural and easy to use.
• how to take care of the machine and operate it
• How to perform preventive maintenance to reduce breakdowns.

5 Innovations

Cutting-edge advances in cleaning technology mean that cleaning companies can improve efficiency and operating profits while gaining and retaining more customers. For example, the increase in the use of automated cleaning devices will be one of the growth drivers in the future.

Innovations with a significant return on investment:

• Programmable cleaning equipment – machines that allow you to set the intensity of cleaning. They also support setting the amount of water and detergent used. This helps improve cleaning efficiency and results.

• Fleet management systems- Fleet management systems are intelligent devices that collect comprehensive information about the machine. This helps managers improve productivity and ensure consistency in results.

• Autonomous cleaning equipment – machines that can perform repetitive cleaning tasks. This improves productivity and reduces labor costs.

Conclusion

Let’s take a quick view on the recommendation for the survival and development of cleaning business

1. Diversify your cleaning services

2. Reduce operating costs

3. Improve the quality of work

4. Reduce the impact of job rotation

5. Innovations