Every successful cleaning business needs customers.
However, customer acquisition can be time-consuming and costly. It’s much cheaper to sell to a previous customer than it is to acquire a new customer.
To turn a one-time customer into a repeat client, your cleaning business needs to have suitable offers.
That’s where a customer value ladder comes in.
A customer value ladder is a simple marketing tool that you can use to generate more leads, progress customers through a marketing funnel, and increase revenue for your cleaning business.
It sets out the range of products and cleaning services that your cleaning business provides.
As customers move along the value ladder the value and cost of each service increase. At the top of the value ladder, you have your highest value and highest price service.
The Ascending Transaction Model (ATM)
The ATM is a useful framework for creating a customer value ladder. It’s designed to provide 4 types of offers, each with a unique purpose:
- Gifts
- Services for Prospects (SFPs)
- Core Service Offering
- Service for Clients (SFCs)
1. GIFTS
Gifts are how you draw a prospective customer into your ecosystem. They are free, high-value offers that help build immediate trust with a prospective customer.
Gifts should entice people to want to know more about your cleaning business and the value you offer.
They should NOT be a consultation or sales meeting. They offer absolutely no value at this stage of the customer value ladder.
Gifts must be digital and low-cost for you to deliver.
Creating valuable content on social media is a great way to provide Gifts for prospective customers. A good example is posting content with tips and recommendations about different cleaning products.
A good example is Mrs Bucket, who posts Tuesday tips on Instagram
2. SERVICES FOR PROSPECTS (SFPs)
These are services that your ideal customer wants to try without committing too much time or money. They’re designed to offer quick wins, demonstrate your value and start a commercial relationship.
SFPs should always be exchanged for accurate customer contact details. They should focus on sharing actionable ideas, but not completely solve your ideal customer’s problem.
SFPs should lead your ideal customer closer to making a buying decision for your Core Service Offering.
They should be low-cost to create or provide. They can be given away for free, or at a price cheap enough that your ideal customers feel they’re getting a good deal in exchange for the value they receive.
E-books, guides, and video tutorials are good examples of SFPs.
JCD Cleaning has an e-Brochure on their website to capture email addresses:
3. CORE SERVICE OFFERING
These services are the main focus of your cleaning business. Your Core Service Offering needs to complete a job or deliver a specific result that solves a problem or creates a benefit for your ideal customer.
Ideally, your Core Service Offering should generate recurring revenue in your cleaning business. It converts an ideal customer into a long-term client.
A good example of a Core Service Offering is an agreement to provide daily office cleaning over a 12-month period (or longer).
Dazzle has nailed its Core Service Offering. They focus on providing clean environments as an office well-being solution.
4. SERVICES FOR CLIENTS (SFCs)
These are services you sell to clients who have already bought your Core Service Offering.
Suitable SFCs require some thought and have to be different from, but complementary to, your Core Service Offering.
An SFC is a service that is a “logical next step” for clients after your Core Service Offering has solved their first problem.
Well-selected SFCs have the potential to double the profit of your cleaning business. By selling to existing clients, the cost of winning the relationship has already been covered, which makes SFCs highly profitable.
Offering a bundled cleaning service, like daily office cleaning, monthly window cleaning, and a quarterly deep clean are great options for SFCs.
The White Cleaning Company has a good SFC. They focus on domestic cleaning and offer house management services, which include house sitting, concierge services, and Airbnb hosting services.
An ATM creates an ecosystem of offers for your cleaning business. It takes your ideal customer on a journey from not knowing your business to becoming a long-term client.
Why your cleaning business needs a Customer Value Ladder
A customer value ladder enables you to maximize the lifetime value of your customer.
It lets you meet customers where they are in the decision-making process with the solutions that they need.
Creating a customer value ladder allows you to:
- Understand The Customer Journey: A customer value ladder gives you clarity about the different products and cleaning services your business offers. By using the ATM model, you know where a specific customer sits on your ladder. You can immediately determine what services they’ve purchased, and where they should go next.
- Grow with your Customers: As your customers grow, instead of purchasing Gifts and SFPs, you can offer them more advanced, valuable, and specific Core Service Offerings and SFCs that solve their problems.
- Sell to Multiple Income Brackets: Every target market has some customers that can only afford your Gifts and PSPs, while others are ready to purchase your Core Service Offering or SFCs. A customer value ladder allows you to sell to different income brackets within your target market, resulting in more sales and increased revenue.
Creating a customer value ladder for your cleaning business enables you to focus on value instead of price.
By understanding your target market, you can create tailored cleaning solutions. These solutions provide greater value to your ideal customer, which makes your cleaning service worth more.
A range of tailored services, with higher prices, offering greater value, separates you from the competition.
The results?
Increased customer lifetime value and bigger profits for your cleaning business.