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Subscribe to the ServiceMonster newsletter to stay up-to-date with our monthly COVID-19 cleaning industry reports:
While the cleaning industry has seen much improvement over the past 3 months, our August report indicates that complete recovery may take more time. The August numbers still show small decreases in number of jobs and total revenue nationwide. While the decreases are not near as large as earlier months, the numbers are not as good as June and July were.
Our data shows an 11% decrease in total number of jobs nationwide in the month of August (compared to August of 2019). Comparatively, March saw a 22% decrease, April saw a 46% decrease, May saw a 31% decrease, June saw a 7% decrease, and July saw a 6% decrease.
Our data also shows a 13% decrease in total revenue nationwide for the month of August (compared to August of 2019). April and May saw a 39% decrease and 28% decrease respectively, while June was much better with only a 9% decrease and July even more so with only a 3% decrease.
In the month of August, only 6 states showed positive growth in number of jobs. However, MOST states that showed a decrease only experienced a minor drop in number of jobs. The average nationwide was an 11% decrease in total number of jobs for the month.
* NOTE: Delaware and Nevada were also the top 2 states in the month of July.
* NOTE: North Dakota was not included since we did not have enough of a sample group to make a statistic.
Following pretty much in line with the jobs report, total revenue numbers for the month of August showed a 13% decrease. Overall, 13 states saw no change or showed positive growth.
* NOTE: North Dakota and Maine were not included since we did not have enough of a sample group to make a statistic.
Over the past several months, we've seen the cleaning industry dip to some pretty severe lows, then slowly begin to recover. While June and July showed some pretty massive increases, August didn't quite continue the upward trend.
Previous months showed large increases with smaller decreases at the ends of the spectrum for both jobs and revenue. While the overall nationwide averages were still negative, many states were showing positive results. However, August's largest increases for jobs and revenue were not near as high as previous months, and the largest decreases were much more severe as well. Also, many more states were in the negative for August.
One thing to take into account is that August is often a very busy month for cleaning businesses, so while the numbers this year are not as good as last year, that doesn't mean the industry isn't still recovering slowly. We're hopeful that many businesses will continue to see growth each month as the industry gets back on its feet!
Clients who use ServiceMonster process over 1.25 million cleaning jobs a year. Our clients largely include carpet cleaners, pressure washers, window cleaners and maid service companies. We compared the total number of jobs and total revenue in August 2019 to August 2020 with a constant cohort for both data points.
August Jobs
August Revenue
Subscribe to the ServiceMonster newsletter to stay up-to-date with our monthly COVID-19 cleaning industry reports:
Good news! The cleaning industry is continuing to show improvement amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Our newest report for the month of July shows very minimal decreases in number of jobs and total revenue nationwide. After a rough March, April, and May with low numbers, June and July have indicated that the industry is recovering well.
Our data shows only a 6% decrease in total number of jobs nationwide in the month of July (compared to July of 2019). Comparatively, March saw a 22% decrease, April saw a 46% decrease, May saw a 31% decrease, and June saw a 7% decrease.
Our data also shows only a 3% decrease in total revenue nationwide for the month of July (compared to July of 2019). April and May saw a 39% decrease and 28% decrease respectively, while June was much better with only a 9% decrease.
The month of July continued to show healthy improvement in total number of jobs. While fewer states showed positive growth than they did in June, the nationwide average of a 6% decrease shows that many states had far less severe decreases than previous months. Overall, 11 states saw no change or showed positive growth.
* NOTE: North Dakota was not included since we did not have enough of a sample group to make a statistic.
Following the improvements seen in the jobs report, total revenue numbers for the month of July are even better than previous months. Overall, 21 states saw no change or showed positive growth.
* NOTE: North Dakota was not included since we did not have enough of a sample group to make a statistic.
Over the past several months, we've seen the cleaning industry dip to some pretty severe lows, then slowly begin to recover. While the overall numbers for July aren't that much better than June, the largest increases and decreases show the real story.
Going back to June, the states with the largest increases in number of jobs showed a 35% and 17% increase. For July, the largest increases were 45% and 24%. These higher increases show that many states are continuing to improve more and more each month. Looking at the largest decreases, June's largest decreases were 51% and 50% fewer jobs. July's largest decreases were only 27%. As these numbers shift to larger increases and smaller decreases, that's a huge sign that the industry is doing well.
Looking at revenue numbers, the trend is similar. For June, the largest increases in revenue were 32% and 29%. July's largest increases were 53% and 44%. Again, this shows that many states are doing even better and better. Taking into account the largest decreases in revenue, June's largest decreases were 57% and 51%. July's were 54% and 38%. While this is a smaller change, it still supports the upward trend we are seeing.
Clients who use ServiceMonster process over 1.25 million cleaning jobs a year. Our clients largely include carpet cleaners, pressure washers, window cleaners and maid service companies. We compared the total number of jobs and total revenue in July 2019 to July 2020 with a constant cohort for both data points.
July Jobs
July Revenue
Your website is one of your most valuable sales tools. What do most people do when they need to find someone to complete a service for them, such as cleaning? They’ll Google it! Hopefully, you’re ranked high for relevant search terms in your area and it’s easy for potential new customers to land on your website. This is where it becomes essential to have certain elements in place on your website to drive those sales. The information you present needs to be clear and should provide your potential customers with the ability to make an informed decision that ultimately results in them choosing you. With that in mind, here are some must-have website features for your cleaning business:
For most cleaning pros, this will likely be a button or a link that takes a customer to a contact form, scheduling screen, or contact number/email. Whatever form this call to action takes, it should direct customers directly to you in as few clicks and steps as possible. Your goal with the call to action is not just getting new customers scheduled, but also gathering potential new customer’s information so you can market to them. A good call to action is clear regarding which action you want the customer to take, such as buttons that say “Contact Us Now” or “Schedule a Cleaning Today”. These call to action elements should be consistent in their design (color, fonts, size, etc.) and placed in key areas of your website (near the top, after any major sections, and definitely at least once on every page).
While Google and Facebook do a great job of showing reviews to potential customers, your website should also feature varying customer reviews. By letting your past customers speak to the professionalism and quality of your service, your credibility is strengthened. Testimonials can be featured in multiple areas, such as on various sections of your website between major blocks of content, on a page dedicated to housing all of your reviews, or even through a pop-up widget such as the free Engage tool by NiceJob.
One website feature that is often overlooked is a page that highlights you and your employees. This is a super simple page since all you really need is a picture of each employee with a short bio about them. That’s it! You can include more, such as a brief overview of your company story, but the key here is to just show potential costumers the faces of who will be doing work for them. Being funny/witty with the employee bios is a great way to stand out to potential customers as well!
This mostly applies to companies that offer more than one service, but it’s a good thing to think about for any business, regardless of your scope of work. Say you’re an exterior cleaner who offers soft washing, window cleaning, and roof/gutter cleaning. In most cases, a potential customer will be searching for one of the services you offer, not just general exterior cleaning. A great way to boost your ranking for your relevant search terms is to have a specific landing page for each service you offer. The end result is that when a potential customer searches “window cleaners in [insert city]” on Google, you have a higher likelihood of showing up for that specific service. While your main page should highlight everything that you do, it will definitely help you to have specific pages that go into more detail on each service you offer.
While this may be similar to the call to action element for you, it’s worth revisiting. Having clear and easy-to-find contact information on your website is ESSENTIAL. People need to be able to know how to contact you as soon as they are on your site, and on any page after that. Put your phone number, email, and in some cases your physical address, in the footer of your site, on a “Contact” page, and within any sort of call to action. Many cleaning businesses even put their phone number in the header of their website so it’s clearly visible at all times on any page of your website.
The vast majority of website building is done on a desktop computer. Because of that, it’s easier than you’d think to forget about what your site looks like on a mobile device. A lot of recent data suggests that about half of all internet traffic is from a mobile device. So, it’s safe to assume that about half of your website visitors will be on their phones. This is why it is so, so, so important to have your website optimized for mobile. If you do your web design yourself, make sure the platform you’re using has a good way to design specifically for mobile. If you hire it out, make sure that whoever you hired is spending just as much time on the mobile version of your site as they are on the normal desktop version.
Again, your website is one of your most valuable sales tools. Give it the proper time, attention, and money to make sure it stands out from among the competition. Your potential customers will get a good sense of who you are as a business from your website alone, and it’s so important that you leave them with a good impression! We’re confident that if you include these six elements on your website, you will be set for success.
Subscribe to the ServiceMonster newsletter to stay up-to-date with our monthly COVID-19 cleaning industry reports:
The cleaning industry is coming back! Our newest report for the month of June shows overall minimal decreases in number of jobs and total revenue nationwide. After a rough March, an even worse April, and a slightly better May, our June industry numbers are encouraging to see.
Our data shows only a 7% decrease in total number of jobs nationwide in the month of June (compared to June of 2019). Comparatively, March saw a 22% decrease, April saw a 46% decrease, and May saw a 31% decrease.
Our data also shows only a 9% decrease in total revenue nationwide for the month of June (compared to June of 2019). April and May saw a 39% decrease and 28% decrease respectively.
After a rough few months, June showed marked improvement in total number of jobs. Sixteen states saw positive growth.
Following in line with the improvements seen in the jobs report, total revenue numbers for the month of June are much better than previous months. Eighteen states saw positive growth.
Clients who use ServiceMonster process over 1.25 million cleaning jobs a year. Our clients largely include carpet cleaners, pressure washers, window cleaners and maid service companies. We compared the total number of jobs and total revenue in June 2019 to June 2020 with a constant cohort for both data points.
June Jobs
June Revenue
As a business owner, it can be overwhelming trying to sift through the numerous podcasts directed towards you and your fellow entrepreneurs. There’s a ton of great content out there, but how do you quickly and easily find it? To help, we’ve compiled a list of the top 8 podcasts for cleaning businesses (in no particular order). Enjoy!
The podcast dedicated to all things cleaning! Hosted by ServiceMonster CEO Joe Kowalski, The Cleaning Podcast features interviews and discussions with top names in the cleaning industry. From specific cleaning “how-to’s” to high-level business and leadership tips, any cleaning business owner will find a ton of value in each episode.
Listen here.
Join Eric and Larry from morningtechmeeting.com as they discuss all things related to running a blue collar service business more effectively! They know, all too well, that running a blue collar business is not for the faint of heart. For that reason, the Blue Collar Nation Podcast is dedicated to making the lives of blue collar service business owners better. Join them and their many guests for open and honest discussions that will make you a better owner!
Listen here.
Brought to you by Hatch, the BuiltBy podcast focuses on the latest marketing and sales trends for home improvement companies. Gain confidence in your marketing ability through the insights offered by their various guests, ranging from fellow service business owners to other software solution providers.
Listen here.
Do you want to grow your cleaning business? If so, this is the podcast for you! Join service industry expert Josh Latimer in each episode to learn how to better utilizing marketing, admin, production and sales in the growth of your business. Josh is also frequently joined by other industry leaders for greater insight into the keys of business growth.
Listen here.
The NiceJob podcast helps small business owners handle everyday challenges through conversations with everyday experts. With their focus on producing easy to understand episodes with great actionable takeaways, this is a podcast that is perfect for any cleaning business owner who wants to run a better business.
Listen here.
The JNE podcast takes a deeper look at the emotional side of chasing your dreams and goals. For a refreshing and honest take on the life of an entrepreneur, join Bobby Walker and his many guests as they share stories of success, failure, and life in general.
Listen here.
The ServiceMonster Podcast is your resource for all things ServiceMonster! Each episode features a deep dive into a business or marketing strategy/principle that is valuable for any service business owner. Also discussed are posts from the ServiceMonster User Group, as well as any company and product updates. Even non-ServiceMonster users will find plenty of value in this podcast! Episodes are hosted by CEO Joe Kowalski, who is joined by employees Adam and Michael.
Listen here.
Are you looking for even more relevant podcasts? Check out the brand-new Blue Collar Nation Radio for a syndicated station featuring several of the top podcasts for blue collar business owners! Curated by Larry and Eric from morningtechmeeting.com and hosts of the Blue Collar Nation Podcast.
Listen here.
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