Sales Strategy
Sales would commence through the qualification of leads that would have generated by the Perfect Cleaning Services’ marketing campaign. The interest created through the distribution of brochures would help in generating interest in the company. People would call to inquire about the services that the company offers. The company would furnish potential customers with information on the charges over the phone. The company plans to charge its customers a fixed charge of $35 per hour. As such, the time that employees spend cleaning the customer’s room would be the major factor to determine the price. The company wants to explain to its customers the reason why it charges a fixed price.
The company would also explain the training systems that its employees go through. This would leave the prospective customers with the impression that the company is different from other companies in the industry despite its small size. As such, the company will do all possible to ensure that its customers are satisfied with their cleaning service. This would enable it to gain more customers who may be dissatisfied with the cleaning services of large cleaning companies.
Sales Forecast
The first month activities would involve setting up the company. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that so much business would be transacted. The company would have to deal with various legal and accounting issues and, at the same time, purchase office equipment. After undertaking these activities, the company would develop an employee manual. It is vital for the company to ensure that all these activities are undertaken properly.
In the second month, the company would start experiencing some activity. The company would begin prospecting new clients. Jobs, in the first week, would be undertaken by the administrator and two employees. After gaining more contracts, the company would hire two more employees. Therefore, the company would have two employee teams. By the end of the fourth month, the company expects to have one more team. Having three teams of employees would be enough until the seventh month when the company expects to organize the fourth team. After experiencing success in cleaning students’ dorms, the company would start cleaning dorms of other colleges that are near our university during the sixth month. This is the major factor that would necessitate the company to hire a new employee team in the seventh month.
The sales forecast of the company is based on the assumption that demand for the company’s services would increase at a steady pace. The assumption that a significant proportion of new clients after the second month would be from referrals through word of mouth is also taken into consideration. The company also assumes that it would gain new customers while retaining existing customers. The forecast for the company is conservative. It is highly likely that the company would take off as it may provide superior services compared to its competitors. However, it would not be good to have an aggressive sales forecast.
Distribution Plan
The company primarily will be engaged in cleaning carpets and hard surface floors, window cleaning, as well as upholstery cleaning. The company would mainly focus on the provision of interior cleaning services. To improve customer convenience, the cleaning services would be available any day of the week. Customers may request to be provided with the service according to their specific needs. Provision of the services would help customers save time and energy undertaking the services. It would also enable customers to enjoy staying in a clean and attractive dorm and house. Provision of the activities would also enable customers to have extra time for entertaining their guests, taking part in their hobbies, or undertaking any other activity they may want.
Perfect Cleaning Services has a business model that is similar to the business-to-consumer model. As such, the company would market its services directly to customers. The company would have a smaller company base compared to companies in other industries. Buyers of the company’s services would be students who live in hostels. Students may require the services on demand or enter into a contract with the company for the provision of the cleaning services. The company’s distribution channel is significantly different from that in the consumer market. In this market, companies have a large customer base. Customers make purchases according to their wants or needs.
Perfect Cleaning Services would have a shorter distribution channel due to its distribution model. It would sell its products directly to consumers. This would necessitate the company to strive to maintain good relationships with its customers since the relationship is one of the factors that gives companies in the industry a competitive edge. The company’s representatives would meet with its customers regularly. Customers would air their opinions during these meetings. This would help in improving the services that the company offers. Therefore, it is vital for the company to have good sales representatives. The company’s owners would also meet with customers regularly. This would show customers that the company values them.
The company would supply the service to its customers directly in their dorms or homes. The company would provide services through contracts. Customers have the option of choosing a one-month contract, two-month contract, three-month contract, six-month contract, or one-year contract. The company would offer certain discounts depending on the type of contract that a client chooses. However, during the first few months, the company would not provide its services using contracts. It would first strive to gain customers’ trust through the provision of high-quality services. After the seventh month, it would introduce contracts in order to plan its activities more effectively. After the end of a contract, a customer may either renew the contract or withdraw it.
The company intends to open an additional office in a year. The office would cater to students in dorms of other universities more efficiently than having a single office. Depending on the market conditions, the office may also cater to clients who would like their premises or homes cleaned. This would necessitate the company to employ additional employees to clean and market the company’s services.
Competitive Environment Analysis
The company’s main competitors would be franchised companies that offer cleaning services. Service Cleaners would be one of the major competitors of the company. Some of the strengths of Service Cleaners include name recognition and large size of the company. The company has twenty-five employees. It is one of the largest cleaning services companies in the region. Since it has a large number of employees, one employee may clean a customer’s premises and another would clean it the next week. As such, it may not provide consistent services. The company charges $25 per hour.
Maids for Hire is another top competitor of the company. Some of the major strengths of this company include name recognition and size. The company has twenty employees. It is the second largest company in the industry after Service Cleaners. The company is insured. Lack of consistency is the major weakness of the company. The company also charges $20 per hour.
Mary’s is also one of the competitors of the company. One of the major strengths of the company includes the fact that it is individualized as its owner, Mary, runs the company. The major weakness of the company is that Mary does not have any employee. In addition, she is not insured. Mary has several loyal customers. However, she does not have room for new customers. She charges $15 per hour.
The company would venture into the cleaning service industry despite the fact that there is stiff competition in the cleaning service industry. The industry has a high demand. In addition, a significant number of maid/janitorial services have huge waiting lists since they are unable to meet demand. Furthermore, most of the maid and janitorial companies are “mom and pop” operations, which do not have enough employees.
Customers that want cleaning services are looking for high-quality services. However, not all companies in the industry offer quality services. The data collection clarified this fact. Most people use different companies since they are yet to find a company that would actually satisfy their need for quality.
Most large cleaning companies specialize in cleaning residential areas and office blocks. These companies have neglected the cleaning of residence halls. Commercial cleaners in the industry offer mainly janitorial services, which comprise of a wide range of services. The services range from general office cleaning, window cleaning, to carpet cleaning. These companies provide one-stop service offering to their customers. Various companies also offer residential cleaning services. The residential cleaning market is dominated by independent companies. There are very few franchises in this market. The residential cleaning service market is divided into several categories. These include carpet cleaning, window cleaning, maid or house cleaning service, and other cleaning services that are not needed on a regular basis. Companies in the residential cleaning service market are much restricted in the range of service that they offer compared to companies that offer commercial janitorial services.
Perfect Cleaning Services would rely on the provision of high-quality services to improve its competitiveness. The company would also count on the fact that most young people would like to purchase products from companies owned by their peers. As such, the goodwill of the university students would be one of the major factors that will improve the competitiveness of the company. The company would attract and retain these customers since it would ensure that it is committed to providing professional and trustworthy services. The company would attain this by providing its employees with extensive training. It would provide employees with a continuous learning process. Perfect Cleaning Services would meet with customers in their dorms to provide a personal feel to its services. This strategy would help in improving the competitiveness of the company. It would ensure that the company increases the number of customers it serves steadily.
Investing in human capital would enable the company gains a competitive edge over other companies in the industry. Perfect Cleaning Services would provide new employees with a thorough training program. The company would first train the employees on how to clean. It would show them a systematic method of cleaning, which would enable them to clean better and more efficiently. The company would also train employees on how to work in teams. Despite the fact that some students may prefer their dorms to be cleaned by one person, a request that the company would happily oblige, the company would ensure that its employees work in teams. This is because teams are more efficient. For the employees to work efficiently in teams, it is vital for the company to train them accordingly. Working in teams would improve the efficiency of the company’s operations. This would help the company attract new customers while retaining the old customers.
The company would also ensure that its employees are professional. It would provide them with the tools that would help them impress customers. Professionalism would be used throughout the employees’ interaction with customers, from the manner in which they greet customers, clean, or react when they break certain items – which is inevitable in the business. The company would provide specific guidelines that employees should follow to resolve any conflict with customers.
Extensive training and continuous learning would help in improving trust between the company and its customers. This bond would not only enable the company builds a loyal customer base but also referrals from satisfied customers.
Finally, the company would ensure that it uses environmentally friendly chemicals. The company’s environmental awareness would help in improving its competitiveness since most of the companies in the industry do not use environmentally-friendly chemicals.
