Today’s marketplace is crowded and competition is fierce. As cleaning companies fight for attention, build their businesses, and protect their margins, finding simple ways to decrease spending can differentiate you from your competition. Rising prices, supply chain disruption, and inconsistent labour have all contributed to a challenging few years in the industry, but all is not lost. Cleaning companies can leverage technology, increase efficiencies, and improve operational practices to cut costs this year.
Examining your business costs is the first step in controlling them this year. Expenses typically include labour, supplies and equipment, transportation and fuel, administrative costs, and any other miscellaneous expenses, so total these to start to see opportunities to save.
Labour
Labour is the most expensive part of a cleaning business, but a crucial part of efficient labour management is schedule optimization. Money can be wasted with poor scheduling resulting in additional fuel charges, vehicle maintenance, lost time, and fewer customers being serviced. Take the time to look at your scheduling and optimize your operations. Making sure you are staffing efficiently means scheduling the correct number of employees per job – understaffing could mean less volume and an underwhelming customer experience, and overstaffing could mean wasting money where it could be better allocated. Evaluate each job to gauge the personnel needs, cross-train employees to save staff, and implement efficient systems for cleaning to optimize performance on each job. These cost-cutting techniques will help you to better manage scheduling for more efficient operation, without any additional expenses.
With the increasing cost of labour, there can be a temptation to hire cheaply to reduce overhead, but the investment should be made on retention instead. Turnover is very expensive, inconvenient, and can cost companies clients, due to poor experiences and negative reviews.
Investing in your employees with training and recognition helps build a competent work force, create positive company culture, increase loyalty, and reduce employee turnover. Knowledgeable, invested employees also save money by limiting accidents and mistakes, offering consistency for clients, and minimizing management disruption and interference. Offering a competitive wage may seem like an expensive proposition, but it can help cleaning companies avoid labour shortages, which can limit the number of jobs you take, decrease repetitive training and hiring costs, and help attract quality candidates – all of which boost your bottom line.
Equipment
Put maintenance programs in place to ensure that your equipment stays in top shape. Regular maintenance can help lengthen the lifespan of your equipment, saving you major replacement expenses and operational delays.
When the time comes for replacement or upgrade, spend the time to evaluate the best value for your money. For example, one piece of equipment may cost substantially more than another, but if it offers the opportunity to expand your services or lessen your labour needs, it may be worth it over the long haul. Look at your equipment as investments and determine value based on a long-term benefits for your business.
Revenues
Along with a cost-cutting strategy, take a look at your revenue and find opportunities for growth and improvement. Of course, increasing prices is an option, but it may not be your first choice in today’s competitive marketplace.
Can you broaden your services without any or much investment? Are there add-ons that your current clients could benefit from? Can you prioritize long-term contracts over one-time opportunities?
Improving your marketing efforts can also help strengthen your branding, attract new clients, and build a strong reputation – with little to no investment. Ask your regular clients for positive reviews, request that long-term staff leave company testimonials, and respond promptly to all inquiries and online traffic. Also, focus on populating your social media channels with interesting, informative content that will engage your audience, follow and engage with your clients, and share relevant content to encourage users to share your content.
Budgets
From labour to equipment to marketing and technology, even a small budget can help your cleaning company get ahead. Find out where your clients are spending their time. Is your money best spent on Google AdWords? On an email campaign? On social media ads? Or is there a better way to market your business?
Technology can also help relieve some of the labour stress and provide a better experience for your customers. Investing in automation can help streamline quotations, scheduling, and inventory management, leaving your staff to focus more on clients. As well, making improvements to your website, like adding chatbots, can help provide better, consistent customer service whenever it’s required.
As the market continues to change, and challenges persist, companies looking to cut costs and increase revenues need a solid strategy for the year ahead.
