How to Get Clients for a Cleaning Business

Building a foundation

1. Understand your ideal clients

When you’re starting a cleaning business, you need to know who your ideal client base is. Write down information about them, like their age, income, location, and the services they need. Your client base could be one of these:

• Professionals who work long hours
• Families with young children
• Condo owners in one area
• Realtors and property managers
• Residential and commercial developers
• Airbnb owners

READ MORE: How to get Airbnb cleaning jobs

Once you’ve defined your ideal client base, you can spend your time and money more effectively by reaching those clients in the right places with the right message.

Already have clients? Look through your client list, pick out the ones you like working with, and figure out how they learned about you. You can reach more ideal clients in the same way.

2. Write a business marketing strategy

A business marketing strategy helps you reach the right clients in the right way. Start by making a list of the marketing tools you already use, like social media posts or leave-behind cards after a visit.

Now think about your marketing goals and your ideal clients. If you want 20 new clients in the next three months and all your current clients found you online, it’s best to do digital marketing.

Your cleaning company marketing should include what makes you stand out from competitors. This is known as your unique selling proposition (USP), and it’s something no other business offers. Your USP could be something like:

• The types of cleaning services you offer (e.g., eco-friendly house cleaning, construction cleaning, carpet cleaning, window cleaning)
• A special leave-behind item that every client receives (like a cookie or bar of soap)
• Before-and-after photos with every visit
• Discounts for active service members or a percentage of revenue donated to a charity
• A satisfaction guarantee that makes clients feel good about choosing your business

3. Brand your business

When your business looks professional, your ideal clients will take you seriously and want to work with you. Start with a cleaning company name, logo, and cleaning slogan like this:

4. Hire and train a good team

Your team shapes the reputation of your cleaning business by providing reliable, high-quality service. When your business is known for great work, clients are more likely to want your services—and to recommend the business to others.

Here’s how to hire and train cleaning staff who will help you grow your cleaning business:

• Use a house cleaning job description to attract qualified cleaners
• Look for a good attitude and work ethic when you’re hiring, not just cleaning skills
• Ask housekeeping interview questions that will help you find the right candidates
• Make sure cleaners remember every detail with house cleaning checklists
• Schedule regular training sessions for product updates and new cleaning techniques
• Give your team quality supplies and equipment to use
• Provide incentives for high performance, like employee bonuses for good reviews

READ MORE: How to hire cleaning employees

Online marketing

5. Build a cleaning business website

Create a professional-looking cleaning business website where ideal clients can learn more about your company and book your services. It’s easy to build your own site using WordPress, Squarespace, or Jobber websites.

Jobber’s ready-to-publish websites come preloaded with content and images that are tailored to your cleaning services. Easily add a custom domain, before-and-after photos, branding, and more.

Your site can include Google reviews, an online booking feature that lets clients book services through your website, and an AI receptions that handles customer questions and work requests for you.

6. Make your website easy to find

Search engine optimization (SEO) helps your website appear higher in Google’s search results when local people are looking online for cleaning services. These are just a few ways to get started with SEO:

• Use local keywords in your site content that ideal clients are searching for on Google, like “cleaning services in [MY CITY]”. This is known as local SEO.
• Create unique service pages for each type of cleaning you offer (e.g., deep cleaning, Airbnb turnovers, post-construction cleaning). This helps Google match your site to specific searches.
• Include your contact details on every page of the website, including your phone number, email address, and service area. This tells both clients and search engines where you’re located.
• Make your website mobile-friendly and easy to navigate for potential customers who are viewing the site on their phones.

Even small improvements in these areas can make a big difference in the number of people who find your cleaning business online.

Jobber websites come with built-in SEO, which helps boost your spot in search engine results. When you outrank your competitors, clients in your area will find your business first.

7. Create helpful content articles

Another way to bring visitors to your cleaning website is by publishing helpful articles or videos that answer common cleaning questions or provide practical tips.

Google is more likely to include this content in cleaning-related search results. You can also share this content in a newsletter or in local Facebook groups.

Over time, this builds trust, improves your online presence, and helps potential clients see you as a reliable local expert. Try content ideas like:

• House cleaning checklists for every room in the house
• How-to guides for cleaning different types of surfaces (e.g., glass, stainless steel)
• Seasonal cleaning content (e.g., spring cleaning, prepping for holiday guests)
• Cleaning tips for pet owners, like how to remove stains and odors

By answering questions your ideal clients are already searching for, you increase the chances that they’ll land on your website, read your content, and book a cleaning visit with you.

8. Make a Google Business profile

A Google Business profile is another way to show up in Google’s search results. When potential clients search for local cleaning services, they can see your profile and learn more about your business.

Your profile is free to make and includes your business’s name, location, contact information, hours of operation, and website link. Clients can also leave reviews on your profile.

9. Ask existing clients for reviews

90% of customers say that reviews affect their decision to hire a service provider. 

To make it easy for new customers to choose your business, double your monthly Google reviews by automating your review requests.

Bonus: a high number of positive reviews on your Google Business profile will also tell search engines that you’re a reputable business. This makes your company show up higher in search results.

To double your reviews from satisfied clients, set up automatic review collection in Jobber. Once your customer pays their invoice, Jobber will ask for a Google review.

10. Post in community groups

If your ideal clients are spending time on networks like Facebook and Nextdoor, you should be there, too. Consider joining dedicated neighborhood groups for the communities where you want to work.

Post every few months to introduce your business and answer questions about your services. Make sure your posts contain valuable information (not just a sales pitch) so moderators will let you stay in the group.

11. Get listed on lead generation sites

When homeowners are looking for cleaning services, they’ll often look for cleaners on lead generation sites like Pro Referral, ServiceWhale, or Angi.

Some of these platforms are free to start, or only charge when you get a lead. It’s easy to set up a profile for your business that includes your contact details and photos of your work. All you have to do is answer messages from potential clients.

If you’re looking for a residential or commercial cleaning contract, consider apps like Thumbtack or Porch instead. These platforms cost money to use, but you only pay when you get a lead.

12. Get active on social media

Social media makes it easy to connect with your ideal clients online for free. And when followers see your work in action, they’re more likely to want to hire you.

Start by setting up social media pages on the platforms your ideal customer uses, such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. You can also consider video-based platforms like YouTube or TikTok.

Regularly post useful content that your ideal clients will enjoy watching. This could include before-and-after photos, time-lapse videos, and cleaning tips that followers can try at home.

13. Run online ads

55% of customers do an online search before booking a visit with a home service business. If your ideal clients are looking for business information online, they need to be able to find you.

Google Local Services Ads help your business appear at the top of search results. This attracts potential clients and shares important information about your company, like your hours, location, and Google review rating.

Offline marketing

14. Ask for referrals

Customers are 90% more likely to choose a brand that’s recommended by someone they know, so ask your clients to refer your business to their friends and family.

You can encourage referrals by setting up a customer referral program. If a current client refers a new client to your business, your existing client can then receive a discount on their next visit.

To get started, ask your friends and family to promote your cleaning business. You can even clean their homes so they can share their firsthand experience with others.

Jobber makes it easy to promote your referral program to customers with a professional email campaign that’s ready to send in seconds flat.

15. Pass out business cards

A business card is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to market a cleaning business. All you need to include is your company name and contact details.

It’s a good idea to keep business cards handy at all times. You never know when you might run into someone who’s interested in cleaning services, whether it’s at a restaurant, gas station, or grocery store.

16. Send out flyers in target neighborhoods

Cleaning service flyers, postcards, and door hangers are a fairly inexpensive way to introduce your business to a large geographic area.

In these flyers, talk about the cleaning services you offer and share your contact details. This makes it easy for your ideal clients to understand your business and get in touch.

Consider including a special offer, too, like 15% off the first cleaning visit with the promo code “HELLO.” This will help you understand whether your flyer was an effective marketing tool and worth the investment.

Track your special offers over time to see which promotion is redeemed the most and generates the highest revenue. This is easy to do with a cleaning CRM like Jobber.

17. Participate in community events

Attending community events will get your name in front of many people at once. It’s a great way to advertise, and it shows your ideal clients that you care about the community where you live and work.

There are many ways to get involved with events, such as sponsoring a car wash fundraiser, donating a cleaning visit to a silent auction, or cleaning up the finish line at a race.

Whatever you choose to do, just make sure you’re wearing your branded uniform. And be ready to talk to prospective clients about your services!

18. Connect with other local businesses

Running a successful business often depends on who you know. Introduce yourself to other local business owners, and see if there’s an opportunity to refer clients to each other.

For example, you could try partnering with a home organization business that doesn’t provide cleaning. After they’ve finished a job, they could refer a client to you for ongoing maintenance.

If you have a regular client who struggles with home organization, you can refer them to your partner business. Good relationships between related businesses help everyone involved—especially the client.

Looking for a place to meet like-minded business owners? The Home Service Community has all the answers, resources, and connections you need, including exclusive content and industry news.