Extracting More Profits from Carpets, Floors and More According to the Cleanfax 2017 Carpet Cleaning Benchmarking Survey, 80% of participating business owners said their revenues increased during 2016, and 33% said their revenues increased by 7% or more. For 2017, 43.21% expected their revenues to increase by more than 6%, and 23.77% by more than 10%. One in five, 20.68%, expected no change and only 8.34% thought 2017 revenues would decrease. More than 20.25% had a gross profit margin of more than 20%; 31.46% had a gross profit margin of 31%– 50% and just 14.33% less than 20%.

Inside the Business When asked about what was the biggest factor affecting their revenues growth rate, 21% said it was a change in marketing strategy; 17.3%, more diversified services offered; 19.8%, the economy (positive); and 10.8%, the economy (negative). One-third of Cleanfax survey respondents said that carpet cleaning generated 81% or more of their revenues and 42.1% said it was 51–80%. The most common additional services were upholstery and area rug and hard-surface cleaning. Most respondents, 72.2%, were personally involved in the physical labor of cleaning.

Fees That Please On average, 48.1% of survey company owners said they charge between $26–$50 per room; 20.99%, $51–$75; 9.91%, $76–$100; 4.96%, $25 or less; $2.33, more than $100; 15.09, don’t price per room; and 9.91%, not sure/refuse. In the US, carpet cleaning companies in the Northeast charge $0.31–$0.40 per square foot, while those in the West, South and Midwest charge an average of $0.21–$0.30 per square foot. To remove odors, most companies (15.7%) surveyed charge an additional $20–$29; 14.6%, $30–$39; 7.0%, $40–$49; and 11.7%, $50–59.

Profitable Restoration Services Chase the Weather More frequent and severe weather, including hurricanes, floods and wildfires, have boosted the restoration business, which has gross profit margins of 60% to 70%, according to a CNBC report. Most work involves individual local incidents, such as burst pipes, but approximately one-third of restoration firms travel to where large scale disasters, such as hurricanes, have impacted cities, towns and neighborhoods. Approximately 74% of restoration companies reported increased sales during 2016, with weather the #1 factor. More than one-third expect growth of more than 10% during 2017. Commercial work generates more profit because of faster insurance payments.

A Better Understanding of Carpet Cleaning Customers Basic consumers will use carpet cleaning services, but rarely—fewer than 10 times during their lifetime, so they will not usually use the same company. This is a good group for start-ups to target because they rely on Internet searches and advertising. Full-service customers account for approximately 75% of annual revenue. They have above-average incomes and value quality and professionalism. Yelp and referrals are primary sources and they are likely to become repeat customers. Online reviews are critical to generating new customer requests. Companies should have mostly good reviews; consumers are wary of too many good reviews; consumers equate no reviews with new companies; and mostly negative reviews make companies look bad.

Advertising Strategies Highlight your company’s customer service, professionalism and quality to attract repeat, full-service customers. Emphasize the health benefits of having clean carpets, including allergy and asthma issues and pet residue and odors. Highlight any additional services that your company offers and emphasize your use of green, environmentally-friendly products and methods.

New Media Strategies Monitor review sites to respond quickly to unhappy customers’ issues and concerns. Require your technicians to solicit positive reviews from customers when the cleaning services have been completed. Offer online appointment scheduling on your Website and consider advertising on pet adoption/shelter Websites. Provide them with a free quarterly cleaning as a community-support project, as many our non-profit organizations, and upload photos to social media.