Cleaning Business Referral Ideas to Win More Loyal Clients

Getting new clients may be tough, especially when you are new to janitorial marketing! You might spend money on ads, flyers, or cold calling-but nothing can beat the result that comes from referrals.

So, when do referrals work? Referrals happen when a happy client tells their friends or coworkers about your service! This system is totally free of cost, super fast, and very powerful!

‘People trust people, not ads. That’s why referrals are gold.’ – Shep Hyken

The capability of this system is-people trust it more than any advertisement.

So here we are expert guide with a few smart and simple referral ideas, which will help you to grow, whether you clean your home, office, or other places.

Let’s start-

Types of Referral Sources for Cleaning Businesses

There are many ways referrals can happen. But not every type suits each to get more clients. So you have to understand the types of referral sources for the cleaning business so that your plan works better.

Here are the main types of referral sources:

Referrals from Residential clients:

Happy homeowners after taking your service, when feel satisfied, happily refer you. They refer you to their neighbours, relatives, friends, and even in various social online groups. So if you can make their home spotless, they will share your number with others, too.

Referrals from Commercial clients:

Offices, clinics, or shops may refer you to their nearby offices, vendors even shops. The main fact is satisfaction. When they feel good and satisfied with your cleaning service, they happily spread your reputation to their partner. As office managers often talk to each other and share helpful contacts, they also share with you!

Referrals from family and friends:

They are your referrer! Even though they are not taking your service, they still refer you. Your cousin might know a good commercial space, and your brother may know a hospital HR. So naturally, even if they don’t need cleaning, your circle can refer others.

Employees:

Your team is a great marketing team. They also have family, relatives, neighbors, friends, and even other personal acquaintances.

Your local business partner:

Businesses like real estate agents, carpet sellers, or moving companies often need cleaning help. Or anybody from their circle may need your service.

Social media followers:

Your followers on social media may also refer you to their knowledge. Again, they can tag friends in your posts or share your page when someone asks, ‘Who’s a good cleaner in your knowing?’

9 Effective Cleaning Business Referral Ideas

Getting a referral from your clients /well-wisher isn’t luck, it’s a strategy! Why? Because people trust what their friends, family, and coworkers recommend. Even you can get more money without spending too much on ads. You just need to know how to do the cleaning business referral ideas.

Let’s see the super performer 10 effective cleaning business referral ideas shortly-

1. Create a Formal Referral Program

A referral program is a system where people are rewarded when they refer you to others. That means when they bring a new one to you, to provide your service. It’s easy to set up, and people love it.

Simple offer ideas:

Keep the ideas very simple and to the point. Do not force your clients to read too much. For example-’

• Refer a friend and get $20 off your next cleaning.
• Your friend gets 10% off, and so do you!
• Refer 3 people and get a free deep clean.

Once you throw the ideas, people will start to take your offer! So now you have to know how to track the referrals.

Here is how to track it: Use:

• A Google Sheet
• A free CRM like HubSpot or Zoho CRM
• A notebook (if you prefer paper)

Just track:

• Who gave the referral?
• Who joined, and
• What reward was given and when?

92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know.” – Nielsen. That’s why the referral system works so well!

2. Offer Discounts or Free Services for Referrals

People are always feeling when they can save money! Especially people love to get discounts, free service, etc. So reward them for spreading the word. Also, when you offer something, make sure your reward is useful and clear, and there is no hidden charge included.
Example offers:

• $50 for each referral that books a service
• Refer 2 friends and get 1 free window cleaning
• Every 3rd referral = a free monthly clean

Add a limit: Add a limit, it creates urgency. You could say:

• This referral offer ends July 31st!
• Only 10 spots available!
• Give Referral Cards to Your Clients

While you’re offering discounts to boost word-of-mouth, make sure you’re also positioning your services properly. Learn more in our guide on How to Sell Cleaning Services in Your Local Market.

However, a Referral card means a small card(like a visiting card) with your company name plus offer details. You can give these to your clients to pass out to friends, neighbors, or coworkers. This system makes the whole matter very active and efficient.

Design tips:

• Use your brand colors and logo.
• Make the message bold and clear: ‘Refer a friend and save $25!’
• Add a QR code linking to your website or booking form.

Make it more personalised to your future clients. Like-

• For residential: Include casual family-style images.
• For commercial: Focus on professional photos of clean offices.

3. Use Testimonials to Encourage Referrals

When new customers see that other clients are happy with your service, they are more likely to judge you through a visual presentation. And in that case, testimonials help build trust.

Where to use a testimonial?

• Your website’s home page
• Your flyers or brochures
• Your business page on Google or Facebook
• In emails or texts to new leads

So use positive feedback from your clients in your testimonials. In the customer review section, you can include feedback from others. Like-

I’ve used this cleaning company for over 6 months. They’re always on time, they are amazing, and I am satisfied with their service.’ – Jennifer R.

These types of messages or feedback give a safe feel to the upcoming clients. So automatically, your customer grows a lot.

4. Incentivize Your Employees to Bring Referrals

Your team works for you, talks with the clients for you. As they talk with many clients so they might also know some clients who might need your service. Therefore, give them a reason so that they bring new clients to you.

Bonus Idea:

Give them a bonus for every referral. The bonus idea might be

• Like $25 or $50 for every successful referral.
• A bigger bonus for every 5 referrals!
• Free lunch or a day off after 10 referrals!

Also, make it a matter of  Fun:

Also, make something different so that your team members stay excited to make you grow. Suppose-

• Run a contest: ‘Referral Star of the Month!’
• Put a scoreboard in your office or group chat and add the score every day!

5. Partner With Local Businesses

Your other local business people may talk with such a person who needs your service. So talk with them. Share your intention and work together!

Best Business to partner with-

• Real estate agents
• Carpet or flooring shops
• HVAC companies
• Office supply stores
• Gardeners

Win-Win Ideas:

Though they are your partner, each time they will not bring your customer if they do not get any benefit from there. So do the following-

• Give them a discount for every referral
• Share flyers at each other’s locations
• Promote each other on social media
• Offer dinner, give a gift, etc.

Fact: 54% of small business owners say referrals from other local businesses are their no. 1 source of new customers.

Want to know more strategic connections and partnerships? Here is our full guide on janitorial industry networking tips to grow your business to a higger extent!

6. Utilize Social Media Word-of-Mouth

Social media is free but powerful. You will get the whole world offline, but social media brings the whole world just in front of you. You just need to utilize it. So, use a social platform to run referral contests and build excitement. Offer a valuable prize, discounts for the winner.

What to post on social media?

• Before-and-after cleaning photos
• Client reviews or video testimonials
• Cleaning tips and funny reels

Contest example:

• Tag 2 friends in this post! One of them will win a free home cleaning!
• Share this post and enter to win a $100 gift card!

7. Feature Clients on Your Website or Socials 

All clients love to feel special. So, a repeated customer or a long-time customer needs to feel special. You can highlight them on your page or website.

Spotlight example:

Suppose you add a client’s photo(with his/her permission), then write it-

Mr Kill is a nice guy who has been with us for over a year! He loves how we make his office spotless with good smell!

Post this on your website, social media with his permission. People nowadays love to get this type of feature, and they share this on their social media. And that’s free exposure!

This makes your customer feel appreciated and a free-of-cost brand ambassador of your business centre.

Want to take it even further? Learn the keys to building a Long-Term Cleaning Partnership that keeps clients coming back and referring more to you.

8. Send Thank You Gifts for Referrals

If somebody brings a referral for you, what do you do? When someone sends you a referral, always say thanks to him/her. A small gift goes a long way. A small gift means they automatically become loyal to you! So the next time, if someone talks to take the cleaning service in front of them, no doubt they will say your name here.

Gift Ideas:

• $10 Starbucks or local coffee gift card
• A cute thank-you plant
• A branded tote bag or magnet
• Handwritten thank-you note

9. Create a “Refer a Friend” Landing Page

Create a landing page named -refer a friend! Having a landing page just for referrals makes it easy for people to act and reach out.

What to include in this landing page?

• Give a bold headline: ‘Refer & Earn!’
• Include a short explanation of the rewards
• Add a simple form to enter referral info
• Include 1 or 2 testimonials to build a newbie’s trust

Once you’re done with the post, now share the link to this post on your-

• Your emails
• Invoices and receipts
• Your social media bios, etc

Need help creating landing pages that convert? Our janitorial lead generation service can help you build high-performing referral funnels in no time.

Final Note for Cleaning Business Referral Ideas

No doubt, referral is powerful! It is free, trusted, and brings a lot of loyal clients. So you can become successful with this system? Simply follow the following-

• Make your referral system simple
• Give small rewards
• Say thank you
• Keep tracking who refers whom

“A happy customer is your best salesperson.” – Shep Hyken!

Build strong relationships with others, and in return, they will bring more clients to you! Soon, your business will run on autopilot.

So? Ready to turn your clients into your biggest promoters? Start building your referral engine from today!

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