Win (and Keep) Contracts with Commercial Cleaning Company Software
Win cleaning bids by adding value to your clients through your cleaning company software.
When debating whether to add a software solution into your business mix, you should focus on the benefits it is bringing your clients. As much as driving efficiencies to your bottom-line matter, the more value you can directly bring to your clients (or potential clients), the better.
It’s true, the right software solution drives efficiencies in your workflows, improves data accuracy and helps you make smarter business decisions. But, you should keep your clients at the forefront of your mind when making purchasing decisions. Before implementing a software solution into your commercial cleaning operations, ask yourself this important question: “What value will this bring my clients?”
How to add value to your cleaning company’s bid proposal
Your clients have a laundry list of reasons why they’re contracting your commercial cleaning company’s services. It’s important to consider these needs and ask yourself how a software solution can help serve them.
Client Need: Quality on-site cleanings.
While the reasons why range from health regulations and government requirements to purely aesthetic, your clients need clean businesses. Commercial cleaning companies deliver with specialized equipment, materials, tactics and expertise.
How the right software solution adds value: Software can’t do the cleaning for you. It can help improve quality and consistency. Software solutions help eliminate manual processes so you can manage your time more effectively. It helps track inventory to make sure you always have the right cleaning supplies on hand. And, it can decrease your overhead and help keep your prices competitive.
Integrated work scheduling and work tickets also improve efficiency and achieve contracted SLAs. Real-time attendance monitoring allows you to respond to attendance issues quickly with alerts customized to your site, so there are never gaps in contract coverage. In short, software helps get the job done better and faster, every time.
Client Need: Reduce liabilities and risk.
Almost all companies, regardless of industry, shoulder the responsibility of welfare for individuals on their premises for any reason. Your commercial cleaning business also bears a portion of that burden, and the cleaning business software solutions they use help lessen the chance or risk at the sites they are servicing.
For example, an average slip-and-fall settlement is between $10,000 and $50,000 — with some past cases going into the millions of dollars. A commercial cleaning company can help mitigate this risk (and others like it).
How the right software solution adds value: Quick communication tools can alert you to emergent tasks that need to be handled, fast. Once work is completed, cleaners in the field can document the standard of work through tools like quality assurance checkpoints or mobile forms, and take pictures or video to certify completion.
Solutions can even provide further proof of service through location tracking to timestamp cleanings. If there is a deficiency, your cleaning staff are notified immediately through configurable settings, so you can review and correct them before they become an issue.
Read how one facilities management company is using software to decrease hazards in the workplace.
Client Need: Time savings.
Your clients don’t have the time, equipment or, likely, the experience, to provide the degree of cleaning services needed at their locations. A commercial cleaning company can determine the number of cleaners, routes and equipment needed to accomplish cleaning and facilities management efforts.
How the right software solution adds value: Software works with your team, not separate from it. A solution specializing in operations and workforce management ensures you always have the right number of cleaners at the right locations at the right times. It eliminates duplicate work and improves productivity of your distributed workforce. Plus, cleaning software can easily process ad hoc work requests and run reporting and analytics to help continually optimize processes (keeping your clients satisfied with billable work).
Client Need: Long-term cost savings.
Your clients need quality work, at the most competitive price. It’s likely they don’t care what software you’re using to get the job done – they only want to know that it’s done right and at a cost that fits within their budget.
Software adds value: Any solution you implement needs to deliver enough value to outweigh the additional overhead cost it creates. Software can help by consolidating multiple aspects of your business into one platform.
For example, a software solution that combines your operations, financials and workforce management under one platform ensures accurate invoicing and billing for your clients. Reporting features help promote continuous improvements. Cleaning scheduling and time and attendance features get your cleaners to the right places at the right times.
All of that data working together in one system helps drive efficiencies to your bottom line, meaning you can more competitively bid contracts. Your customers win by gaining the best quality of service at the best price. It’s a win-win.
Client need: Specialized requirements.
From healthcare to airports, small buildings to large, your clients have specialized requirements for each site they manage.
How the right software solution adds value: Web and mobile features can capture extra and ad hoc work on the fly. Robust job management tools ensure that your clients’ needs are met, no matter how individualized. Client self-service portals make it easy to request additional work and track the status of requests online or via a mobile app (meaning they can access that information from anywhere).
How to stand out in the competitive cleaning industry.
Adopting a software that improves the quality of work your cleaning company completes, as well as the time and expense it takes to do it, can help your clients differentiate you from your competitors. Treat your software the same way you do the other assets in your company.
The same way you employ the best cleaners and technicians so your clients can have the best quality of work, you should use the software that brings your clients the most value. In an industry where the lowest bid often wins a contract, it’s crucial you show your clients how the software you’ve invested in ultimately pays off for them.
Use this list as a starting point for your contract proposals and negotiations. Once your clients (and potential clients) see the value your cleaning company software is bringing to their business, you’ll reap the reward.