A strategic plan for advertising, marketing, and growth is one of the most essential elements to running a successful business. No one will know about your company if they don’t even know you exist. Your business will not grow without customers.
A strategic plan for a cleaning company should include:
Executive summary (with a signed signature page by the management, if applicable)
Company description
Mission and Vision Statements
Target market analysis
SWOT Analysis
Strategies and Action Plans
Budgets are available for all budgets.
Monitoring and evaluation
This framework is a formal and structured approach. This framework should contain detailed information on your cleaning products, procedures, core competencies, and how you intend to implement policies to achieve your goals.
Here are some tips that will help you create the best strategic plan for your cleaning business, regardless of how large or small it is.
Start with a Business Plan
You must write a business plan before you can even think about marketing and advertising. It will be easier to develop tactics for delivering services and reaching your goals once you have established your enterprise identity.
Include the following in your business plan:
Basic business information, including name and contact details
The management (e.g., who makes the decisions? Are you an entrepreneur alone or with a partner?
Mission and Vision Statement
Your goals
Target market
Costs of business expenses
Financial projections
Local competition and their unique Selling Proposition (USP).
A concrete business plan can guide you in developing your business strategies and ensure that you are able to make profits while still living up to your mission, vision, and values.
Differentiation is Crucial
Cleaning businesses all have the same core business: They provide cleaning services to clients. It is important to distinguish your business from the competition. You should include an “educate your audience” section in your strategy to explain why they should choose you.
It’s for this reason that it is important to include in your business plan a section on your competitors, their USPs, and how you can better understand them. This can then help you to figure out what you do better than others. Do you offer the best customer service? Are you the best at hospital cleaning? Are you a friendly and skilled team?
You’ll find that things are easier to manage once you have a clear focus.
Know Your Target Market
Your business plan, as mentioned above, should include a section on your target market. This could be homeowners or businesses. You should be able to dive deeper into your market by the time you create your strategic plan. This information will help you to refine your message and make sure that your marketing efforts are well received.
Focusing on a single segment is the key, especially if you’re a small-business owner. You will not feel overwhelmed, and you can really specialize. Once you have established credibility, consider expanding your target audience.
Create your ideal client persona. Who are they exactly? What is their occupation or business? Are they old or young? What is their shopping habit? You can refine your marketing efforts by creating an “avatar.”
Create a Budget that is Detailed and Reasonable
Your budget should be part of your plan, just like your target market. When you develop your strategic plan, you will dive into the details of each tactic. If you plan to spend money on social media advertising, you should identify the platforms and types of ads that you will use.
A good tip for creating a budget would be to include both monthly and yearly projections and allocations. This will help you to determine lean or agile periods and track your profits. Consult a professional for advice if needed.
Benefits over Features
It’s tempting when you write your strategy to include all the services and features you can provide your customers. Focusing on benefits is a better approach.
Imagine you are selling a gadget, such as a smartphone. You may have triple cameras and 12GB RAM, but what do they do to the customer? It would be best if you said the phone is able to take stunning outdoor photos or that it will not slow down when you are multitasking.
It’s the same for your cleaning company. You can also say you are able to help maintain the safety and health of all those in the building.
Researching your target audience can be helpful in this respect, as you will have a better understanding of their problems, questions, and pain points. Then, you can market your services to address these problems.
Do not forget to measure and calibrate
Don’t forget about their performance once you begin implementing your strategies. You’ll be able to tell which strategies are working and which aren’t. Comparing the performance before and after implementing your plan is also a good idea. Don’t hesitate to make changes where needed.
Don’t be afraid of scrapping something that doesn’t work. It’s sometimes better to start over than to force something to work.
A strategic plan also requires the full cooperation of your entire organization (if you’re not working alone). Encourage your team to participate actively in the execution of your strategy by providing them with training and mentoring.
