Many cleaners wonder what to do when flyers don’t work. A cleaning business owner ran some flyers but no one called, so what do they do?
You can’t market your cleaning business without the basics in place. A call to action, phone number, email, social media, and a QR code that leads people back to your website with ratings and reviews.
Also, don’t forget your email or other URL to your business Facebook page.
Listen: What to do When Flyers Don’t Work
Watch: What to do When Flyers Don’t Work
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.
How to Advertise When Flyers Don’t Work
Many House cleaners wonder how to advertise your business when flyers don’t work.
One house cleaner asks this question. “I just started my new company and I use a technique that you advised, to pass flyers, but I have not got a response from that.
Would you think if I would try a different community and knock on their doors, asking if they need my service, would that be too much?”
Flyers Do Work
All right, this is an interesting question because flyers do work. Here’s one of the things I like best about flyers. You get to go to the neighborhoods.
So you get in your car, you’re cleaning houses. You can run a flyer in the neighborhoods in which you already clean.
And your flyer can say something like, “Hey, we’re already servicing your neighbors. So we can serve you too“. It lends credibility because you’re in that neighborhood.
You Pick Which Neighborhoods to Work in
Also, as you drive through neighborhoods, you get to pick which neighborhoods you want to work in.
So if you drive through a neighborhood and you see that they care for their yards. Then there’s a pretty good chance that they’re going to care for their home, or they pay for a house cleaner.
So it’ll let you target specific types of homes in which you want to work.
Why Your Flyers Aren’t Working
If you’re running flyers in the neighborhood and you’re not getting any phone calls, a couple of things are happening.
Either everyone already has a house cleaner. Or there’s something missing from your flyer and people are throwing them away.
One thing you can do is get a QR code with QR code generators online.
How QR Codes Help Your Flyers
Using QR codes is very popular. What they are is a little box and the box has three different speaking points on it. So if you scan any of those three speaking points, what it does is, it tags you into any URL of your choice.
And so this is a website of your choice. Years ago, you could just run a flyer because we didn’t have a way to follow up with people or to find out who they are.
But that is not how we live anymore. We live in an era where everyone is vetted. So, they’re going to go to either your phone number, or your website, or your email or something to find out who you are. So if there’s no social proof, they probably won’t hire you.
Where Does Your QR Code on Your Flyer Lead?
So, if you’re running flyers and you’re not getting phone calls, where is your QR code leading them? The reason I ask is this, there are now websites like WIX where you can make your own website.
There is a free option here. But there’s a whole lot more you can do if you actually have your own domain name and you host your own accounts or a hosting company.
Then you use wordpress.org where you can actually add plugins and create some functionality on your website.
You Need a Website for Your Flyer
So, in today’s world, you need a website. The websites are not going away. Everybody knows about websites and they’re going to come looking for yours.
Now, if you don’t have a website, they’re going to go, “What kind of a business doesn’t have a website?” And they’re going to get a little bit spooked.
If you don’t have a website, at least start out with housecleaning360.com. This gives you your own page where you can collect ratings and reviews. And you can show before and after pictures, as well as listing your business.
Add Your Facebook Page to Your Flyers
If you have a business Facebook page that’s also going to direct people to find your social media.
Now there are a lot of house cleaners that don’t want their clients to find them on social media. But I promise you this, your clients are going to find you on social media. Facebook has a way of connecting the dots.
So even if you don’t want your clients to know who and where you are, Facebook has a way of making you pop up on their feeds.
Make Sure You Have an Online Presence Clear on Your Flyers
So, your clients will find you. You want to make sure that you have an online presence. You want to make sure that you have a website too.
Because if you’re running a flyer, the first thing that homeowners are going to do is say, “Who is the person I’m going to invite into my home?“
Then they’re going to jump online because everyone is online, and they’re going to try to find you.
Your Clients Will Search You up
So, if a simple search doesn’t search for you, maybe your business name will. They will search by your phone number, but you will pop up.
So what is it that they’re going to find? So, when you create a flyer, look at all those different avenues. Look at what does my phone number pulls up when someone searches for it? What does my website or my URL pull up?
Then look at all the different aspects. Your social media, is that a good reflection of you? If it’s not, change some stuff. Not to have people be judgmental of you, but you want people to feel safe.
Master the Simple Things on the Flyer
So, you have to master the simple elements of the flyer. Even something as simple as having the wrong profile picture on your Facebook page could stop someone from calling you.
First, put the QR code on your flyer. Now, if you do not have a flyer, you can download mine. You can go to savvycleaner.com/flyers and there’s a free flyer that I’ve created for you.
You can download it and then tweak it, either in a Google doc or a Microsoft Word doc, and you can make it your own.
But there is a QR code there. Take mine off and put yours on. And like I say, I will leave a QR code link so you can generate your own.
What People do With Flyers That Don’t Work
If I get a flyer from the mailbox, I have, from the time I get from my mailbox to my garbage can to make a decision.
Am I going to keep this flyer and am I going to take action on it? Or am I going to toss it in the trash?
Most of the mail, most of the flyers that come through my house, because they’re lacking information, go right into the trash bin.
But if I’m walking from my house and there’s a QR code, I’m a little bit curious to see where it goes. Who is this, that is savvy enough to send me a flyer with a QR code? So I’ll scan it right there to see.
Have a Professional Looking Website on Your Flyer
That’s the era we live in. You scan it and boom, you have this professional-looking small business website. It says, “Here are six ways I can help you this holiday season“.
Maybe I wasn’t going to call you a minute ago, but now I am. And you might talk about things like picking up holiday decorations and putting them away.
You have to make it clear what you offer in your flyer. Summarize it and leave the rest to your website which people can reach from the QR code.
The Key to Flyers That Work
The key is this. If you’re going to have a flyer, it must direct people to the next step, which is all your social proof. It’s going to be your ratings and reviews.
Create a place where people can find you and they feel not only safe but also trust in you.
You might even list the neighborhoods you’ve worked in. Because if I see the neighborhoods and it’s the neighborhood I live in, I’m going to say, “Oh my goodness, that lady is my neighbor.” And she left a great review on you.
That’s all I need as a client. I trust my neighbor. My neighbor likes you. I like you too.
*** Resources From This Episode ***
These good karma links connect you to Amazon.com and affiliated sites that offer products or services that relate to today’s show.
When you click on the links and buy the items you pay the exact same prices or less than if you found the links on your own elsewhere. The difference is that we make a small commission here at the show for sharing these links with you. So, you create good karma by supporting 8 families who work on this show.
85 Inspiring Ways to Market Your Small Business – https://amzn.to/2qUqlHu
Growth IQ: Get Smarter About the Choices that Will Make or Break Your Business – https://amzn.to/2rNqBbm
Will It Fly? How to Test Your Next Business Idea So You Don’t Waste Your Time and Money – https://amzn.to/34IwIvS
101 Ways to Market Your Business: Building a Successful Business with Creative Marketing – https://amzn.to/33FIXIu
The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself – https://amzn.to/37W8rEM
Permissions To Share
You Have Our Permission To Share This Episode
Show Sponsor
Savvy Cleaner Training – House Cleaner Training and Certification
My Cleaning Connection – Your hub for all things cleaning.
HouseCleaning360 – A hub connecting homeowners with house cleaners
Savvy Perks – Employee benefits for your employees.
Turnover Cleaning Tips – for Vacation Rental and Airbnb Hosts
