Are credentials worth paying for? In residential cleaning, trust is everything!
How you market yourself is important when starting a new cleaning company.
Take a look at today’s advice to find out how buying credentials can help you grow your cleaning business!
Listen: Are Credentials Worth Paying For?
Watch: Are Credentials Worth Paying For?
Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer. You can find this and 400 other answered questions in this series on our YouTube channel.
Are Credentials Worth Paying for?
Are credentials worth paying for? There are a lot of house cleaners that are getting started in the house cleaning business and they’re putting up websites. So, they want to know if at the bottom of their website, should they have little banners that have things like the Better Business Bureau logo or the Chamber of Commerce logo?
Because none of those logos that are connected to the associations are free. So, you have to pay to belong to the association so you can get the little button that goes at the bottom of your logo.
This says, in fact, you are a real business.
Credentials are Worth It When You’re Starting Out
So, as you’re getting started in the house cleaning business, it is important because you’re just a website and nobody has connected anything to you yet.
And so if you don’t have ratings and reviews and the social proof that says you are in fact a dynamic business that is loyal, responsible, reliable, and you’re going to do a great job. Then what can happen is people say, “Well, this company doesn’t seem like a real company.
It looks like a spoof company that popped up a website overnight,” and so they’ll go find someone else who looks more reputable.
Customers Make a Psychological Choice Based On Your Website
Here’s the reason why. It’s a psychological choice inside a customer’s mind that they find someone they feel safe with and safe is the keyword. You’re inviting a perfect stranger into your home.
The home, for most people, is their largest asset. And to invite someone into your home where they’re going to be around you, your family, your stuff, it’s got to be somebody that you trust.
But how do you know, like, and trust somebody if there’s a website and it has no credentials no social proof? And when you click on the social media link, it takes you to a media page where there are a bunch of off-topic subjects. It’s not going to build confidence at all. The whole entire purpose of having a website for your customers is to build confidence and make them feel safe in the choice of hiring you.
You Want to Make Customers Feel Safe
So, we want to make people feel safe. So, credentials, make people feel safe. When you have a Better Business Bureau link, it says, “I have connected my business to the Better Business Bureau, and they are watching me. And customers are allowed to go on my page, and they’re allowed to leave ratings and reviews.
And so, if customers are dissatisfied with my work, I am responsible enough that I will respond to that. I will make that right.”
You are saying, “I’m willing to show up and do whatever I have to do to keep my ratings high with the Better Business Bureau.”
The Better Business Bureau is a Site of Authority
Now, the Better Business Bureau used to be the place to be. This is before the internet was popular and there was Google Business where you could have ratings and reviews. It still carries its own weight of authority.
If you have a Better Business Bureau rating and you are an accredited member and you have a rating scale. This is a B, a B plus, an A, an A-plus, it speaks volumes about your business. And they grab information from all over the internet to get their rating for you.
So, if you have a bad rating, that tells customers about you right there. But when you show up and you say, “I’m willing to have you look at my business,” that builds confidence. So, is that worth it? Yes, it is, for that one reason alone.
The Chamber of Commerce Can Also Be Used
All right. Other ratings, Chamber of Commerce, a lot of house cleaning companies don’t take part in the Chamber of Commerce. It’s typically for storefronts and other businesses that interact kind of on a business to business level. Lots of house cleaners are solo operators.
They might work with other carpet cleaners or window washers or whatever. But if you’re going to have a business and you’re going to grow in your community beyond a neighborhood or two, a neighborhood or two is for a solo house cleaner.
But if you’re going to hire lots of people, you’re going to have branded cars all over the city, it would benefit you to be a member of the Chamber of Commerce. This is because you want to get your brand to the public. And they advertise for free. They have member directories that go out to all the community of all the different businesses that they recommend and that are members. So, you want to be on that list because it’s free advertising.
You Have to Pay to Be a Part of the Chamber of Commerce
Now, you do pay to be a member of the Chamber of Commerce. It’s usually like 100 or 150 bucks a year, but you do get that logo that goes at the bottom of your website so it’s worth it.
So, it says, “I’m a member of the chamber of commerce. I’m a member of the Better Business Bureau,” and then there are associations that are connected to cleaning that would also benefit you.
And then there’s ARCSI, which is a division of ISSA. It’s the residential cleaning side of ISSA. And so, what you have to decide as a residential business owner is that you understand the associations that are respected for the industry that you’re in. So yes, you can use those logos, but they also have classes, they have online training, they have workshops, they have different events where you are allowed to show up.
Put in the Effort You Want Out
And so, you’re only going to get out of something that you’re willing to put into it. So there are a lot of people that will pay the money and they never show up at any of the conferences. They don’t access the online training, and so, therefore, they’ve just kind of wasted their money.
So if you’re going to pay the money, get as much out of it as you can. Attend the courses and go to the events and all the different stuff that’s available to you as a member.
People Can’t Recommend You if They Don’t Know You
People can’t recommend you if they don’t know you. And if there are peers that are part of those associations and part of the Chamber, they will recommend you if they know you. But they can’t if you never show up and you never connect with anyone and you don’t belong to the Facebook pages or whatever it is that connects you to those people.
So, get involved if you’re going to buy into the credentials. Because if you become part of the network, those people can also recommend you. So, you’re only going to get out of it what you put into it.
But is it worth it? The answer is yes, for the most part. And if you’re not sure, jumping into one of the Facebook groups that are for house cleaners and ask people. Ask “I‘m thinking about joining this particular association, is it a value and how did you get the most value out of it?” By asking the right questions? You will determine if it’s right for you.
Resources
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Give & Get Employer Branding: Repel the Many and Compel the Few with Impact, Purpose and Belonging – https://amzn.to/2XKmWbu
Customer Empathy: A radical intervention in customer experience management and design – https://amzn.to/2W4BQYm
Leading Loyalty: Cracking the Code to Customer Devotion – https://amzn.to/2WaE9sG
Why Your Marketing Is Killing Your Business: And What to Do About It – https://amzn.to/2wXfPSo
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