Most small businesses deal with days or weeks where business is slow. Carpet cleaning businesses specifically can be affected by weather, seasonality, holidays, and a number of other factors. One of the elements of business ownership that will set you apart as a carpet cleaner and could be the difference between making it or failing for a new business is what you do with your time when the phone isn’t ringing.
Below are 7 important things to do when your carpet cleaning business is slow.
Pound the Pavement
This can be important for any business, but is especially important for any new carpet cleaner – get out there and make yourself known in your region. This can be as simple as introducing yourself to area brick-and-mortar businesses, educating them about your services, and dropping off a business card. If you’re targeting residential customers, this could mean hanging door hangers in neighborhoods, or putting out flyers on car windows.
If you haven’t already, you might want to explore options for networking and professional groups in your area – putting an hour a week into networking can result in great referrals.
You can’t always rely 100% on digital marketing to bring in new business, and getting your name out the old fashioned way is a great way to spend your time if you’re not busy cleaning carpets.
Bonus: check out our recent YouTube video:
Carpet Cleaning Marketing: 5 Quick Tips To Get Your Phone to Ring
Catch up on Administrative Work
Do you procrastinate on your paperwork? Slow days can be great for getting caught up on all of your admin work: bookkeeping, accounting, taxes, invoicing, entering customers into your CRM or email marketing list, etc.
You may also want to spend time thinking about and planning for your future. Thinking about hiring a new employee? Start working on your job posting. Planning to buy some new equipment? This is the perfect time to research and look for deals.
Re-engage Past Customers
You’ve probably heard the old adage that it is less expensive and easier to get repeat business than it is to win new business. This is certainly true in the carpet cleaning industry. If you’re having a slow day, consider sending out an email or text blast to your customer list – depending on the size of your audience, this can very quickly fill your calendar on a slow week. If you have an email marketing list, this may be a great time to send a useful, entertaining, or educational email to your list.
Maintain Your Carpet Cleaning Equipment
Equipment maintenance is easy to forget or postpone when you’re busy – but if it doesn’t get done when you’re slow, it may never get done. Because you rely on your equipment to keep your business running smoothly and bring in revenue, slow times are the perfect opportunity to tackle those maintenance items you’ve been putting off. If you ignore your maintenance, you may be unable to work when you really need to.
Work on Your Digital Marketing
Whether you DIY your digital marketing or hire outside help, it is a great idea to dedicate one day (or at least a few hours) at least once per month to staying informed on your digital marketing efforts and results. Review your ad campaigns, update your ad copy or your offers, create a new video or brainstorm new campaign ideas. If your internet presence isn’t 100% complete spend some time getting your website ready to launch, or setting up local listings – whatever it is you need to do to build future success and increase your incoming leads.
Need some ideas? Check out our marketing blog category for ideas.
Learn Something New or Improve Your Skills
Is there an area of your business that you could know more about or do better? Is there a new skill that would be a valuable addition to your service offerings? Slow days are the perfect time to dedicate a few hours to learning something new. This could be as simple as learning about a new digital marketing channel or watching YouTube videos on how to improve your wand stroke. Or maybe you will be inspired to spend time researching and registering for a professional certification or class? Don’t be afraid to invest time and money into improving your skill set.
Take a Break and Relax
This is our last tip, but arguably the most important: don’t forget to allow yourself some time to relax. As a small business owner it can sometimes seem like you are always “on” – answering the phone, managing employees, and working day to day. How many days per week do you work when you’re busy? A slow period might be the perfect opportunity to give yourself a break. No one can work 100% of the time. If you know winter is historically your slowest time, maybe you can plan an annual vacation for January. Or simply give yourself permission to take it easy if you happen to have a day in your week with no cleanings scheduled! Don’t forget to spend time with your family and friends and keep a balance in your life.
Running a successful carpet cleaning business requires keeping a lot of things in mind and managing your time well. If you keep the above items in mind during your slow moments, you are truly setting yourself up for continued success. What other things do you make sure to accomplish during your downtime?