As Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases worldwide continue to rise, businesses have been struggling to maintain their operations… except for commercial cleaners.
Professional cleaning of all kinds of facilities, from healthcare to food production, has taken on new urgency. Concerns over the rapid spread of the virus have put cleanliness first in everyone’s mind, creating explosive demand for commercial cleaning services.
Check out this graph measuring interest in the search terms “commercial cleaning” and “office cleaning” on Google. A value of 100 is peak popularity. “Commercial cleaning” went from a 75% interest in the past 12 months to a 100% interest rate in the last month, with “office cleaning” increasing from 50% to 90%.
Source: Google Trends
Here’s another example of search results for these and related terms in the United States for the past 90 days:
Source: Google Trends
While demand is skyrocketing, Coronavirus also creates new challenges for marketers, who must switch from their traditional marketing channels and activities to approaches focused on online platforms that can help their businesses survive for the long haul.
Here are some of the marketing strategies we’ve been implementing with our commercial cleaning clients to retain current customers and to ensure a steady flow of new customers during the Coronavirus outbreak:
1. Communication with your current and potential customers
Retention is critical at this time and is crucial as a cleaning company to keep your clients updated, to set expectations, and to let them know you’re still in business and ready to serve them.
It is crucial to maintain communication with existing clients, reminding them of the power of your products and services and take advantage of the opportunity that some customers will be interested in adding more days to their cleaning contracts.
Communication with your current franchisees and employees is also essential since they could be afraid of losing their income. They are putting their health on the line to continue working, so they should feel a sense of support from the company and motivation to keep moving forward.
2. Content is king
During the Coronavirus pandemic, content marketing is one of the most effective ways to stay in touch with current and potential customers, promoting your products and services.
Generate valuable information such as recommendations and cleaning protocols for businesses and individuals to avoid the spread of the virus and to keep their workplaces as clean as possible.
Through content marketing, you have the opportunity to showcase the value of your company differentiating from others with the competitive value of your products and the awards and recognitions your business has received so far.
Videos from your senior staff are a great way to gain the trust of your audience, as well as educational infographics and blog posts; all shared through social media or email newsletters.
3. Optimize your Google My Business profile
Google My Business is a free and easy-to-use tool for companies to manage their online presence across Google. It is a simple way to make your business more discoverable, but most importantly, to stand out from the crowd.
Having a fully optimized listing in Google My Business is crucial for local SEO (search engine optimization) because it enables your listing to appear in local search results for queries specific to your products or services.
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, many businesses have updated their profiles with their current business hours, clarifying closures, and limited service, as well as any other changes in their schedule due to ongoing restrictions.
Related: Six Ways To Optimize Google My Business For Local SEO
4. An opportunity with online advertising
Many PPC advertisers are pausing their campaigns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Google Adwords is usually very competitive in the commercial cleaning industry, and the cost per click can generally be very high. However, that’s not the case right now. Costs have come down, fewer competitors are advertising on Google Ads, and there’s a high demand for keywords like “disinfectant,” “cleaning services,” and “office cleaning.”
Get ahead of the game and use this opportunity to position yourself at the top of Google search results.
Related: Google Ads 101: Mastering The Basics
5. Video conferencing with your potential customers
If you’ve mostly done your business in person until now, you already know you’ve got to adapt… fast.
People across the United States are firing up video conferences to relocate meetings due to Coronavirus.
Commercial cleaners take notice; this is an excellent strategy for these challenging times. There are video conferencing options, with Zoom, Google Hangouts Meet, and Skype among the most popular.
Conclusion
The Coronavirus has affected the economy worldwide, and of course, we hope it will end soon with the least possible further impact.
While many businesses are affected by the pandemic, there are opportunities for those providing services in renewed demand. In these challenging times, no opportunities should be overlooked.
Despite the fact that many customers are canceling or putting their contracts on hold, we’ve never seen such high demand with the cleaning companies we are working with, not only for recurring services but for one-time services as well.
Use these strategies to build your business, and if you’re looking for experts to help, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re ready to take on the challenge of building your commercial cleaning marketing strategy.
Sources:
- https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=commercial%20cleaning,office%20cleaning
- https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%203-m&geo=US&q=commercial%20cleaning,office%20cleaning,company%20cleaning,disinfection
- https://qz.com/1817958/coronavirus-prevention-what-is-deep-cleaning/
- https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/coronavirus-outbreak-brings-more-demand-for-cleaning-service/2089430/
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/03/16/remote-work-video-conference-coronavirus/
