Brand your cleaning business with a uniform that speaks to your clientele.
Today on Ask a House Cleaner we look at tank tops as cleaning uniforms. Along with scrubs, tee shirts, polo and collared shirts, to promote your cleaning brand.
Do you go with casual, comfortable uniform tops? Or do you go for professional uniforms?
It’s your brand, it’s your business. But here’s a proven business strategy that works.
Listen: Brand Your Cleaning Business With Your Uniform
Watch: Brand Your Cleaning Business (Uniform Top)
Question: Brand Your Cleaning Business With Your Uniform
Today’s question comes from a girl who’s just starting a house cleaning business and she’s putting together her company uniform.
and she wants to know “Hey Ange, I noticed that in your videos you wear a blue shirt with a collar. Is that the kind of shirt that you recommend that I use as I start my company as part of my uniform?”
Answer: Your Uniform is Part of Your Company Brand And Should Be a Conscious Choice
Okay, well I love this question because the answer is yes, it is. This is the shirt that I wear as part of my uniform. And so yes, I recommend it.
Because, well, because I thought that it was a really good choice after all of the research that I’ve done for my business.
Okay, so, when you choose your company uniform it comes down to a couple of things.
The very first one is what kind of message are you trying to send?
What Message Are You Trying to Send With Your Brand?
What is your company brand? Are you an upscale cleaning service? Or a laid back casual cleaning company? Because whatever you wear when you, (as part of your uniform) when you show up to a customer’s house, that is part of your brand.
Because whatever you wear when you, (as part of your uniform) when you show up to a customer’s house, that is part of your brand.
And so, when people see you they expect every single time they see you that you’re going to follow through on this brand.
Part of the brand consistency is repeating what’s working over and over and over and over again.
And so, if you come looking different every single time that’s not a consistent marketing message, right? That’s just a confusing message. And people have to stop to figure out well, going on here?
So, if you want to be really professional, pick a uniform that makes a statement.
They Psychology of Color Is a Big Part of Your Branding Efforts
You’ll want to make sure you pick the colors of your uniform to be consistent with your company logo and other marketing materials such as car magnets or business cards.
Here’s an article I read not too long ago on the psychology of color. And it explains how people at an unconscious level receive your business based on the color choice that you choose.
And so, it helps you when you’re creating a media kit, and you’re creating a brand for your business. How to choose a color that sends the message that you want to send.
The Look and Style of Your Clothing Choice Makes a Statement About Your Brand
Okay, so back to the message you want to send, let’s talk about the clothes that you wear. I know a lot of house cleaners choose and opt for scrubs.
Because scrubs are really easy to wear. They’re loose fitting, they’re modest. They cover you up. They’re lightweight, they’re easy to clean in, there inexpensive and it’s a great choice for a house clean uniform.
So lots and lots of house cleaners wear scrubs. Here’s a link where you can get scrubs that are affordable (They are an affiliate of ours and offer Savvy Cleaner Friends and Family discounts through that link.)
I know that a lot of house cleaners because of the heat, have decided that they’re going to wear tank tops for house cleaning. I don’t really recommend tank tops because as you move around (they are loose fitting, and they are lightweight, and yes, they are they are comfortable.)
But I think it lends itself to when you bend over sometimes it will show cleavage or bra straps or whatever I don’t think it’s as appropriate or professional than maybe a shirt with a collar.
Casual or Upscale? Who is Your Target Audience?
Now we used to wear regular t-shirts. And I know a lot of cleaning companies wear t-shirts with logos and stuff on them. That’s completely fine. I’ve chosen for my company to go on a shirt with a collar.
For those of you that are listening to the podcast and you cannot see the kind of shirt that I’m wearing, it’s a lightweight, turquoise colored, microfiber, wrinkle-resistant shirt, with a lay flat collar. So, that’s what you’re missing.
But it’s really inexpensive. This shirt is like $15 bucks. It’s affordable and you can have them printed with your company logo on them if you have a team of people and you all want to look the same.
The reason I chose the shirt with a collar was this: it’s lightweight, it’s microfiber, it’s wrinkle-resistant. I can throw it in a load of wash, when it comes out I just hang it up. I let it drip dry. Boom, we’re done.
You don’t need to iron it, you don’t anything, it’s… you’re good to go.
So, it’s low maintenance. It’s low-cost and it’s a very durable fabric.
How Do You Keep Your Uniform Shirts From Staining?
I’ve had people ask “How do you prevent your clothes from getting bleach on them?” Well, I don’t use a lot of bleach. I reserve bleach for really extreme incidences where that is the last resort.
Bleach is a very strong chemical and if I don’t have to use it I’m not going to use it.
So, I can say maybe I use bleach once or twice a year, so it’s really not a concern to me as far as getting it on my clothes. But if I am using bleach, then I would just be extra careful not to get it on your clothes.
Your Uniform Can Help You Reach Your Target Audience
The reason that I chose the collared shirt is there are industries like the golfing industry that wear collared tops.
The people that are golfers that have extra money to spend on expensive golf green fees and all that stuff are also the people that hire house cleaners.
And so instead of me showing up wearing a tank top for example and isolating myself and saying “I’m so different from you guys” we chose to wear a collared shirt which is just like them. So that we would blend and fit in.
“We’re just like you guys. We would like to service your industry.”
And so every time you can remove a little barrier better for you.
The golfers probably don’t care what we look like at all.
Why Do You Care What You Look Like While You’re Cleaning?
I care. I care because it’s part of my brand. I care what you look like because it’s part of your brand.
And so, right now if you’re building your business, and you’re building your brand, this is a perfect opportunity to make some really conscious decisions.
What do you want to look like? For my company, we wear collared shirts that are tucked in. Because that is the image I want to present that is a conscious choice my company made.
You can make any choice you want, but my suggestion is for you to make a conscious choice.
Make a decision based on color, on style, on the image you want to project, and the target audience that you’re going after. And after you have decided what it is you want to project then be consistent with that.
Update Your Uniform Every Year
Now for me, I start out with 7 shirts every year.
7 shirts. I use 5 of them and they go through the regular rotation Monday through Friday those are my 5 shirts.
And then about halfway through the year of one of them does get stained or if one of them just has seen the end of its life I’ll toss another one into the mix.
And so, I will use seven shirts in the course of a year. And every year I rotate those seven shirts out and I get 7 new ones. So, they’re always bright they’re always vibrant they’re always looking nice.
Now, I’ll share a short secret with you. I just buy these shirts on Amazon. If you want to buy the same shirts they’re like 15 bucks a piece. They’re not expensive. And don’t tell anyone this’s a little bit of a secret, but I actually have one in every color for different days of the week when I’m not cleaning houses. And I can just wear them with a pair of khakis or pair of shorts or whatever.
Wrinkle Resistant Clothing is Great for Travel
Again, they’re wrinkle-resistant, they’re lightweight and they’re great for travel.
So, if you’re traveling a lot, you just fold them up and put them inside your suitcase. When you get where you’re going you hang them up and they look as good as gold.
But when it comes down to creating a uniform, it needs to be a conscious decision.
Whether it is a tank top, whether it’s t-shirts, that you have your logo splashed all across the front of. Whether it’s a collared shirt that you use tucked in. It’s a conscious decision and it needs to be your decision.
So pick something that’s comfortable. Pick something that speaks your language and something that speaks to your audience.
Alright, that’s my tip for today. And it’s quiz time. What is your one takeaway from this post? Leave it in the review section below.
If you have any questions head on over to http://AskaHouseCleaner.com or you can even email me at Angela at AskaHouseCleaner.com And we’ll do our best to answer your question.
And we’ll do our best to answer your question.
Until we meet again, leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.
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About the Show
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Resources From This Show
The Psychology of Color – https://www.helpscout.net/blog/psychology-of-color/
Paragon Microfiber Wrinkle Resistant Polo Shirts http://amzn.to/2sdNTWh
Discounted Scrubs: http://shrsl.com/?iboy
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