If you have experience with residential cleaning and are considering branching out into commercial contract cleaning, there are a number of factors you should review prior to making your decision.
The nature of commercial contract cleaning is inherently different to that of residential cleaning; while residential cleaning is typically seen as a luxury service which may be done somewhat informally, commercial cleaning is a necessity which has to be handled with the utmost professionalism in order to meet exacting standards.
Commercial cleaning requires the use of expensive commercial-grade cleaning equipment, and so represents a substantial investment. It must also be done as efficiently as possible, and it must be performed correctly in order to ensure that the businesses receiving these services remain operational, and above all else, sanitary. (A lapse in the cleanliness of a commercial building can easily end in legal action if people fall ill or injure themselves as a result.) Cleaning staff today also often handle a range of additional concerns, such as helping to manage allergens and coming up with green cleaning strategies which help to mitigate a business’s impact on the environment. Commercial cleaning is, in short, a much more complicated and involved pursuit than simply providing residential cleaning services on an “as needed” basis in your local neighbourhood.
The hours involved in commercial cleaning are likewise usually different. Residential cleaning services are often provided either during the daytime or during the evening, whereas commercial enterprises usually prefer to have their premises cleaned at night (or, depending on the nature of the business, on the weekends) in order to minimise disturbances. Naturally, commercial cleaning will also require longer hours (and more staff) as there is much more area to cover when cleaning most commercial buildings.
In addition to this, your pay structure may change; where residential cleaners often bill clients after each cleaning session or on a weekly basis, commercial cleaners usually invoice their clients just once a month.
References will also take on a whole new level of meaning once you enter the commercial sphere. While references are important to any kind of cleaning company, they have added relevance commercially as businesses are not enthusiastic about taking risks, especially when it comes to the hygiene of their properties. Ergo, you may find commercial cleaning difficult to break into unless you have a handful of references provided by previous commercial contracts. (By contrast, homeowners will sometimes hire based on feelings of personal trust, as they have many items of deep personal significance in their homes which they know their cleaner will be interacting with).
As is the case when engaging in residential cleaning, your references should be available by phone and be willing to give you a glowing recommendation.
Your website will also need to be top-notch if you hope to make it as a commercial cleaner; while a basic (or even nonexistent) website may be enough for a small residential cleaning business, only having a rudimentary website will almost assuredly cause commercial clients to turn away. To become successful as a commercial cleaner, it is imperative that you have a website which both looks professional and which ranks well (meaning you must invest in proper search engine optimisation and online marketing strategies).
Landing contracts will also be more difficult once you decide to engage in commercial contract cleaning; to secure commercial contracts you will need to:
Prepare professional marketing material with clear pricing and service structures so that your clients can easily understand what services they will be receiving and for what price. You will need to distribute marketing materials both physically (flyers, local newspapers, and direct mail) and online.
Create a detailed database in which to record existing leads. You will need to store relevant dates, addresses, telephone numbers, contact names, and other information on each lead. Someone will need to be in charge of systematically contacting these leads to see if they require new or better commercial cleaning services, and you will need to be prepared to offer each lead a free, no-obligation quote.
Network. One of the best ways to move from the world of residential cleaning to commercial cleaning is to network using your residential cleaning contacts, particularly property managers. Property managers often have access to numerous types of property, and as such, they may be able to connect you to office cleaning jobs as well. Once you have successfully completed a few office cleaning jobs, you can ask your existing clients for referrals, thereby landing larger commercial contracts.
While commercial cleaning is work-intensive, it can be rewarding if you’re looking to expand your business—just be sure that you have prepared adequately for the new challenges this type of cleaning will bring so as to avoid the pitfalls of debt or damage to your reputation.