How to Start a Profitable Carpet Cleaning Business (with Marketing Ideas)

How to Start a Profitable Carpet Cleaning Business (with Marketing Ideas)

Since you stumbled upon this article, we can effectively assume you are thinking of starting or growing your carpet cleaning business.
 
And why not? Many people, like you, are passionate about starting their own carpet cleaning business and its growth. It’s evident that there is a rising demand for this business.
And since the market will grow at a CAGR of more than 6%, research predicts it will reach around $74 billion by the end of 2022. Of course, such numbers are lucrative for prospective carpet cleaning business owners.
 
Clearly, an idea or offline presence alone cannot make you a part of a $5 billion revenue-generating cleaning and upholstery business. You will need the right foundation, technology stack and marketing strategies to transform your carpet cleaning business.
 
Becoming an entrepreneur is about controlling every aspect of your business while offering services that make you customer-friendly. Further, the financial rewards are a necessity to keep the momentum going.
 
If you want to digitally transform your carpet cleaning business, keep reading. We’ll walk you through the process with tips on how to get started with a profitable carpet cleaning business and what marketing strategies can help it grow.
 

Begin with the foundation: Establish Your Business From Scratch

As a business owner, you will find several ways to find your customers through referrals, direct contact or via contractors like caterers, restaurateurs, culinary hotel contracts, wedding or party planners etc.
 
But if you don’t follow the proper steps, you won’t be able to establish a profitable carpet cleaning business. We have compiled a list of steps to help you transform your carpet cleaning business quickly.
 

#1 A clear plan of action

If you have a clear plan, it will become a stage for success in the future. This will help you map out all the specifics of your business while allowing you to discover the unknowns. Luckily, we have done the hard part for you, so here are some questions we have answered so that you can quickly get going with the next steps.
 

Costs involved in starting a carpet cleaning business:

If you want to buy any franchise, as per the IICRC, the franchise fees can be around $20k to $50k. This doesn’t even cover the cleaning solutions, equipment, or transport vehicles.
Preferably, you must opt for owning your business instead of starting a franchise. Wondering why? It’s simple.
 

1. When you opt for a franchise, you will need money for royalty or any other fees. This can take away all your profits from the beginning itself. You won’t have any startup expenses if you start your own business and your initial investment could be low.
 
2. Starting your business will help you create a franchise of your own. Thus, you can get royalties and fees once your business is successful. You will get a chance to expand as far as the market allows. You can scale faster if you will work with Independent Contractors.
 
3. Whether it’s a full-time or part-time business or whether you start in your basement, garage, or even out of your car trunk, the startup expense will be a lot less than a franchise. You can soon join the big leagues and move into a space to grow your carpet cleaning business.
 
It’s usually better to create your own company rather than opt for a franchise, especially if you have a tight budget. To build a successful business, testing your idea and gaining market experience are equally important. There are various SAAS platforms available which offer a low monthly fee for the setup of your carpet cleaning company. You can upgrade and downgrade your subscription anytime according to your business needs.
 

#2 Identifying your target market:

Anyone who owns carpets and wishes to keep them clean is your potential customer. And luckily, that’s virtually every household in America. So, your marketing area will have a lot of potential customers. Here is how you can identify your target market.
 

1. Commercial cleaning:

These are usually divided into two segments: Businesses that don’t have in-house staff and services with in-house staff who want to outsource professional carpet cleaning services. There are various reasons they might be looking for companies like you. They want to free their staff for other tasks. They want to ensure high-quality work or are looking for specialized equipment or products.
 

2. Residential cleaning:

Your target market is homeowners, renters, or landlords. They would want your services to keep their carpets in umpteen condition.
 
“Defining your target market will help you make decisions regarding staff hiring, financial planning,digital marketing opportunities, and more.
 
Below we have added the information for readers who have yet to launch their carpet cleaning business. You can skip the next section and directly move to the technology section if your business is currently operating and you have assets such as a domain name, company registration, bank account, EIN, insurance, and other necessary documents.
 

#3 Naming your business:

Choosing the right name is critical and challenging at the same time. If you don’t have any name in mind, we suggest you check: How to name a business guide and brainstorm names that suit your business vision and values. When registering a business name, you would need to check following things:

• Federal and state trademark records
• Web domain availability
• Your state’s business records
• Social media platforms

It’s crucial to check popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, and YouTube for name availability before registering a business name. Additionally, make sure the domain name has a ‘.com’ extension and is easy to type and spell.
 

#4 Make it a legal entity

Now that you have a business name and some expertise, you can make it official by acquiring all the necessary licenses, permits and registering your business with your state. You can check all the information here.
 
But before that, you will have to structure your company. Remember, how you structure your business will impact how it will be taxed. This is why you choose the best structure as per your financial objectives. Ideally, when you start a new business, you will be typically structured as a Sole Proprietorship, an LLC or corporation.
 

All these options have their advantages and disadvantages. And it can impact your daily business and legal operations as your organization grows.
 

1. Sole Proprietorship:

This is the easiest way to start your own company and reduce the cost of registration fee. However, this structure does not shield the owner’s assets from any legal troubles. Even if the company doesn’t have any partners, choosing an LLC or corporation business form is advised.
 

2. LLC:

This is one of the most common types amongst businesses, primarily when an individual or multiple partners own it. The best benefit is that one can protect their personal assets in case there is some loss. Plus, it offers tax benefits over other structures like pass-through taxation. It is an excellent choice when someone is starting out or with a company with few shareholders.
 

3. Corporation:

It is preferred if someone wants to run a larger company with many partners. Like LLC, the owner can protect its liability here as well. However, the taxation and operations are different in this structure. There must be a board of directors who must adhere to the regulations about meetings and record keeping. Plus, they will be taxed twice at business and individual levels. In addition to that, the owners must be US citizens as well.
 

#5 Register for taxes

Before starting your own business, you must register your business for various state or federal taxes. But for that, you will have to apply for an EIN. Ideally, depending on the type of business structure, the type of taxes will vary accordingly.
 
It is a unique nine-digit number that will be useful for tax purposes. It is like a social security number but only for businesses. If you want to open a business bank account, apply for licenses, or file your tax returns, you will need this number.
 

Having this number will ensure no delays in getting the appropriate licenses or finances you might need to operate your business.
 

Besides that, you must understand a few key terms related to general tax liabilities to prepare for filing.

• Self-employment tax is around 15.3% if you are running your own business.
• Employment tax, if you pay employees with a W2.
• Estimated tax if you wish to pay quarterly taxes.

To run business in the United States, a company must get an employment identification number. You can apply for it on the IRS website.
 

#6 Open a bank account:

If you want to run a business and wish to protect your assets, you must open a dedicated business banking or credit account. This will help you with taxes and accounting since you easily track all expenses and earnings.
 

But which bank is right for you? Just as you keep an eye on choosing the right bank for personal checking accounts, choosing the correct business account is also crucial if you want benefits.
Are you wondering what to look for when choosing a business bank account? Here are some checkpoints to help you make the right and informed decision.

• Account features and services
• Interest rates if there are deposits
• Service fees
• Banking and ATM access
• Daily, weekly, or monthly transaction limits
• Introductory bonus offers
• Ease of integration within your business

Once you decide that, depending on the structure of your business, you will have to provide the following documents:

• Your social security number and ID
• EIN
• Doing business as certificate
• Articles of incorporation
• Business licenses

#7 Obtain necessary licenses, permits, and insurance

Before you start marketing your services, you need to gain some experience. And if you are serious about this business, getting yourself licensed and trained would be better. Ideally, you can check courses from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification. Here you can get yourself certified as a:

• Cleaning Technician
• Maintenance Technician
• Rug Cleaning Technician

You can find an in-person course nearby in your area or opt for an online certification. Make sure if you hire any employees, they have similar credentials. Also, you can reach the carpet cleaning owners in your area and ask if you could shadow them for a day or two. Prepare a list of questions so you can learn directly from the experts.
 

Besides that, there are so many federal, state, and local licensing requirements. Here are some of the licenses you will require to start your business without hassle.

• Wastewater requirements
• Entity formation
• Business name registration
• General business license or permit
• Sales tax permit
• Federal EIN
• Certificate of occupancy

Also, opt for business insurance for your company’s financial well-being. This is critical to running a business since you wouldn’t want a simple incident or mistake to ruin your company’s name.

Ideally, the insurance cover will vary as per your need. But here is a list of things that your business insurance must cover.

• Business personal property
• Building property
• Business liability
• Completed operations
• Mobile equipment
• Installation floater

This will protect you in case of theft, on-premise mishappenings, claims after you finish a job, or any other damages while doing the business.
 

Now that you have set up your business legally, it’s time to think about the tools and technology required to keep it running.
 

Set Yourself up For Scalability with the Right Tools and Technology

You have the name, your company registered, and the right licenses and permits. Everyone will be saying things like, “C’mon, get going. What are you waiting for now?” Isn’t that true? But hey! You can’t do all the work by yourself.
 

There is cleaning, moving, and answering customer calls. Even if you want to, there are limitations to doing everything independently.
 

If you want freedom, you will have to invest in equipment, people, technology and marketing to find time to figure out “how can you make people trust your business.”
 

#1 Find the right tools and equipment

Since you have to clean carpets, you will need the right cleaning products and equipment, and you will need them before you start to schedule any cleaning appointments. While the cleaning supplies might vary according to your cleaning approach, having the cleaning equipment, cleaning solvents, and chemicals for pre-treatment, vacuuming supplies, and others are a “yes” in every approach.
 

For this, you will need money. And for that, you need funds, which you can quickly get from your credit cards, business loans, or draw from personal resources. Once you start business finances, you can begin the business credit card for modest daily needs. New enterprises can even borrow equipment or look for equipment financing so that you can start your business if you are unable to qualify for standard or traditional loans.
 

But let’s be honest here. It is expensive, especially when you are just starting your business. This is why independent contractors can help you save a lot of money. Here’s how:
“You can save on payroll costs or other overhead expenses like office space or utilities.” Just make sure you follow IRS guidelines when working with independent contractors.
 

#2 Day-to-day business operations

Taking calls via telephone is a traditional way of booking appointments. Indeed, you wouldn’t want to be flooded with excel sheets and maintenance. Plus, they aren’t scalable enough after you start getting several clients.
 

Let’s not forget that using phone calls to schedule your appointments can be inefficient, taking away the time you can spend on acquiring clients or doing the actual task. Not to mention that this process can leave room for many human errors.
 

Now imagine a SaaS software doing everything from collecting payment, bookings, managing jobs, hiring staff and reminders all in one place. Won’t that be great? Using All-in-one carpet cleaning software where you can find features like:

• Online Booking Forms:

  You can install them on your existing website, and since they are mobile-friendly and highly optimized, you can sell your services online instantly.

• Booking and scheduling:

  This feature will help you schedule appointments from anywhere and anytime. This software will allow them to book appointments 24/7 to have peace of mind about their home state. It will enable you to grow efficiently and scale your business with dozens of other features like recurring appointments, cancel or appointment scheduling, unassigned bookings, and email/ app/ SMS notifications.

• GPS Clocking in/Out:

  This feature will help you determine how much each job is taking time. That way, you can better assign appointments while considering emergencies on a job.

• Merchant/ Customer dashboard:

  These options can help you and your customers to keep a check on upcoming jobs or history and find out what worked well in the past to manage your services in the future.

• Online payments:

  This is quite crucial if you wish to scale your business. Collecting cash or cheque payments can become a hassle for you and your customers. Remember, numbers can get mixed up since there is so much room for human error. This is why you must have a setup where your customers can pay online at their convenience.

• Sales tax:

  This feature will help you charge tax per location without keeping all the numbers in mind.

If you want us to conduct thorough R & D before choosing any carpet cleaning software, get in touch with us.
 

#3 Hiring cleaners or service providers

Let’s be honest. You can’t do everything from booking to cleaning execution on your own. You will need people to help you grow your business. But hiring is one of the most overwhelming processes. Of course, you can find someone through Craigslist, Glassdoor, Indeed, or Monster. But what after that?
 
Using any carpet cleaning software, you can make sure to let them sign any binding agreement so that you are all set before they start accepting jobs. Use modern tools to hire new cleaners or your staff.
 

Spread the Word Around and Make Profits with the Right Marketing Strategies

What is the one thing besides your company name that will make you unforgettable? It’s your company’s logo and website. So, when setting up the accounts, tools, and booking software, you also need to work on that. That way, you can get started in the right direction, right from the start.
 
As we mentioned, carpet cleaning software provides you with a platform to create a website and booking forms on the same platform. You can save some money by using a website builder to create an online presence for your carpet cleaning business. However, to differentiate yourself from the competition, you can use customized website design and forms created by expert UX designers. Because a website’s user-friendly booking process and appealing design can boost visitors’ trust.
 

This is an important section in this article if you are planning to digitally transform your carpet cleaning business. Here’s what you will need to grow your carpet cleaning business.
 

#1 Carpet cleaning company logo:

The cleaning industry is all about details. This is why you must create a logo that builds trust in your expertise and skills. That way, you can stay ahead of the competition. So, before you start making it, you must research a little or discuss it with your marketing partner. Check the colors, layouts, fonts, and symbols so that it projects your values and vision.
 

#2 Carpet cleaning company website:

Design is the silent ambassador of the brand- Paul Rand. When it comes to website design, minimalism is the key. A hero banner that is the center of attraction can help you engage with your customers. Ideally, your CTA must notice the first thing a customer should notice when coming to your site. While a well-designed website makes a difference, customer engagement goes beyond design. Your website must have thorough information,booking forms so customers find precisely what they are looking for.
 

In SAAS based solutions, you can go with ready to launch themes. But if you want some latest and appealing designs, you can use custom design that suits your vision, marketing message and color theme etc. Your marketing partner can guide you through the logo design and website design process.
 

#3 Marketing strategies to reach your target audience and make it a profitable business

Starting a carpet cleaning business won’t mean anything if you don’t have the customers to serve. Clearly, you can’t rely on traditional methods like yellow pages or flyers to market your business.
 

While service-based businesses gain traction with word-of-mouth, you can start serving your friends or family for networking. But you need to expand your reach, and you will need a complete digital marketing plan. Digital marketing for businesses is always beneficial if correctly launched.
 

It’s important, you hire a marketing agency to market your carpet cleaning business. You must focus on building your brand and improving the awareness of your carpet cleaning business.
 

Divide Your Marketing work into two parts:

• Pre Launch
• Post Launch

Pre Launch:

The pre-launch phase is when you educate your target audience about upcoming business. There are many ways to generate buzz before your company officially launches. Once a business is launched, it always helps to raise visibility and attract customers.
 

What is required to start your Pre launch marketing campaign:

USP or Message: Plan A USP or message that distinguishes your business and encourages customers to use your services. It may be your working style, new tools, advantages for your customers, special discounts or deals, a simple booking process, etc.
 

Create your social media profiles and start posting your USP or message. Posts may contain text, graphics, videos, etc. To reach the largest potential audience, start using the proper hashtags and, if possible, start paid promotion. You can use surveys and polls to collect a list of challenges being faced by your target audience.
 

Collaborate with right influencers to promote your brand among your target market.
 

According to your marketing budget, you can expand your PRE-launch marketing. If you have a big budget, you can start with aggressive marketing campaigns.
 

For those on a tight budget, we advise the following activities:

• Social media accounts and organic promotion
• Setup website and blog
• Start Posting useful content in the blog
• Start optimizing your website for right keywords
• Get verified your business in Google maps
• Start spreading pamphlet in your target region
• Start networking with people (it will help for both: residential and commercial)
• Setup your referral program and share with those who can refer customers to you
• Be active on social media
• Share your website and social accounts with your network, family, friends etc

Post launch Marketing Strategies to promote your carpet cleaning business

You can promote your carpet cleaning business using the following effective marketing techniques after you’ve launched your company.

• • Create coupons:

    You can use coupon marketing strategies to offer discounts to new customers. You can promote coupons on website, social media channels and email newsletters etc

• • Daily Discounts:

    Offering daily discounts is another powerful marketing strategy to attract new customers. You can plan a daily discount offer on specific service categories, Per booking spot or per day etc and promote it through your website, social media and emails etc

• • Gift cards:

    Gifts are liked by all. Additionally, people enjoy receiving gift cards because it makes them feel good. Many companies provide gift cards to their loyal customers. According to a First Data study, 72% of gift card shoppers spend more than the value of the gift card when they come in to redeem their present. You can create gift cards to offer gift cards to your loyal & valuable customers.

• • Create Audience to send SMS & emails

    Promotional strategies like SMS and email are still effective. It’s crucial to save all of your clients’ information at one place so that you can use it to begin marketing campaigns.

• • Use social media to connect with customers

    The most effective method for connecting with and reaching the target audience is social media. According to a report, there are 4.2 billion active social media users worldwide. You can create a facebook page, facebook group to build community, Twitter account, Instagram account, Linkedin company page and YouTube channel, etc. You can easily reach your target audience by posting engaging posts and visuals with the right hash (#) tags.

• • Search Engine Optimization

    You can rank for competitive keywords in Google and other search engines by building backlinks to the website, developing location-specific pages, optimizing for user experience and speed, and other SEO techniques. Check the article on how much does SEO cost.

• • Google Maps Promotion

    If your business has a Google Maps listing, now is the time to optimize it for competitive searches. You can start receiving calls from customers and website visits by using keywords that include your location’s name and “near me” terms. To dominate your local market, it is crucial to optimize your business for local ranking.

• • Coverage in local digital magazines

    List your business in local publications. The most recent edition of many digital magazines gets released every month. Reach out to the editorial staff to explore social challenges in your industry and how your company plans to address them in an article. With the correct promotion, make it educational. This will enable you to connect with magazine readers in your region.

• • Paid Social Ads

    The most effective social media platforms for B2C business promotion are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube etc. However, LinkedIN can be used to generate qualified leads if your company is in the commercial carpet cleaning industry. You can start paid social media ads in addition to posting organic updates to boost your reach or generate leads from your intended audience.

• • Paid Search Ads

    Once you are ready to provide your services in your local area, Google search and Google maps ads can help you generate business leads. The essential success factors for your business in Google advertisements are choosing the appropriate keywords, focusing on some well-known companies in your industry, and creating location-specific landing pages.

• • Local Citations

    Your business can get more visibility in the target area by adding its information to local citation sites like yelp, mantra, marchant circle, etc. Local citations can help in getting you featured on popular local aggregator websites, in maps, and in voice search assistant apps etc. Learn more about the advantages of local citations for small businesses.

• • Retargeting

    Retargeting is a very effective marketing tactic for retaining converted consumers to your loyalty program or for converting website visitors into leads. You can use it to offer personalized experiences on your website through pop-up and forms. Additionally, paid ads can be designed to target users on social media and search engines in order to grow the customer base and boost revenue.

You can plan marketing activities as per your marketing budget, location and business goals. Share your goal and get a free marketing plan now.
 

#4 Uplift your customer service

The power is in the follow-up. If you want your customers to come back looking for your services, you must do good in offering and follow-ups. The more you make your customers feel valued and welcome, the more they will return.
 

Another feature will help you with reviews management, which is very important in today’s digital landscape. Getting feedback and reviews from happy clients is very important to build trust among prospective customers.

Contact our team to get a complete plan to improve your customer experience and improve your ratings.
 

Conclusion

Reaching success in the carpet cleaning business takes time, patience, and hard work. But for that, you have to set the right foot forward. This is why much prep work is necessary before cutting the ribbon.
 
This is why the focus of your carpet cleaning service is must. It’s important that you are partnered with the right marketing agency which can help you to transform your carpet cleaning business. They can guide you about the right design process, marketing plans and executions etc.
 
The answers to the following questions will help you in establishing a successful carpet cleaning business.

• Franchise or solo?
• What is your target audience?
• What type of equipment do you need?
• How to structure your business?
• How to get started with technology?
• How to hire staff & service providers?
• Pre launch & Post Launch Marketing
• Digital Marketing Strategies?

Fortunately, in the article above, we have answered these questions in detail. We believe this article will help you to transform your carpet cleaning business confidently. Need any help? Please get in touch with us.