How and Why To Use Video Marketing For Your Maid Service

May 21, 2021 in Business

Last Updated on August 21, 2023 by The ZenMaid Team

As the world adapts to a new normal, businesses are doing what they can to adapt as well. This makes it the perfect time to try those marketing strategies that you’ve always thought about but never actually pursued.

One of the best things you can do for your maid service right now is investing in video marketing content. Video is growing to be one of the most effective marketing platforms out there.  

In this post, we will share three things you need to know before getting started creating video content.

You’ll learn the importance of video marketing, just how big an impact it has on customers, and exactly how to get started using it for your maid service. 

We’ll also show you how to gain new cleaning clients so that you can lock out your competition and dominate your target market.

Have you ever found yourself staring at the phone, client on the line, sweating over what number to say? You’re not alone. One of the most common questions among residential cleaning business owners is how much should I charge for my services?

Charge too high, and you might scare clients away. Too low, and you’re undercutting your value. It’s enough to make anyone second-guess their math skills. In this article, weโ€™re breaking down industry standards and how to calculate the best price to charge for your maid service. 

Now, letโ€™s get to it. 

Hourly vs. flat rate pricing:

The debate between hourly vs. flat rate is as old as the industry itself. Many seasoned experts advocate for flat-rate pricing as the golden ticket to scaling your business. It offers predictability for your clients and ensures you’re compensated for the value you provide, not just the time you spend.

However, don’t toss the idea of knowing your hourly rate out the window just yet. Understanding your approximate hourly rate is crucial for accurately setting your flat rates. It serves as the foundation upon which you build your pricing structure, ensuring that you’re not only competitive but also profitable.

The trick is to calculate your hourly rate based on your operating costs, desired profit margins, and the market rates, and then transition to a flat-rate model that reflects the value and efficiency of your services. In this article, weโ€™re giving you step-by-step instructions on how to determine this rate. But first, letโ€™s cover some industry averages:

Industry average prices for cleaning services

The standard flat rate for cleaning services can vary widely depending on the location, the size and condition of the space, the type of cleaning required, and the cleaning company itself. Here’s a quick breakdown of standard cleaning rates based on averages from HomeAdvisor and Angi.

1. Hourly Rates:

  • Standard cleaning prices also range from $35 to $60 per hour for each cleaner. 
  • The national average cost of house cleaning is noted to be $40-$50 per hour, per cleaner.

2. Per Room Rates:

  • The rate is about $30 to $50 per room.

3. Square Footage Rates:

  • Cleaning a 2,000-square-foot home can cost about $0.06 to $0.16 per square foot, which would total $110 to $320.

4. Flat Fee Rates:

  • For a typical three-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot home, the cleaning cost usually ranges from $160 to $200. 
  • A one-bedroom apartment is priced at around $80 to $110.
Cleaning typeHourly rateFlat rateSq Ft Rate
Residential Cleaning
Standard Cleaning$25 – $50 per cleaner$100 – $200$0.05 – $0.16
Deep Cleaning$40 – $100 per cleaner$200 – $400$0.13 – $0.17
Move-In/Out Cleaning$40 – $100 per cleaner$300 – $400$0.13 – $0.20
Commercial Cleaning
Standard Cleaning$25 to $90 per cleanerVaries by size$0.10 to $0.25
Deep Cleaning$40 to $150 per cleaner$200 to $500N/A
Special ServicesVaries by serviceVaries by serviceVaries by service

Additional Services You Can Charge: For residential cleaning, add-on services such as changing bed sheets, laundry, interior and exterior window cleaning, fridge cleaning, oven cleaning, etc., come with additional costs ranging from $4 to $50 per serviceโ€‹. In ZenMaid, you can easily add these extra charges to your cleaning job. 

The pricing strategy formula

Now that weโ€™ve covered some average industry rates, letโ€™s break down a bit more. Everyone likes a good roadmap, right? Here are the four steps for how to find your cleaning service rate: 

  • Step One: Find your target hourly rate
  • Step Two: Calculate how much square footage you can clean in an hour
  • Step Three: Develop a pricing strategy
  • Step Four: Use the pricing formula

How to find the hourly rate for your business

The first step to finding an hourly rate for your business starts with doing local market research. When conducting your market research, consider these targeted questions: 

  • What are other businesses charging? More specifically, what are businesses the same size as yours charging? 
  • How often do they offer services?

The easiest way to find out what your competitors are charging is when prices are listed on their website. Unfortunately, that’s not very common. So, pick up the phone and call up your competitors to ask. 

Once you know what your competition is charging, try to understand how much you can get for what you offer. 

  • Will the demographic in your area pay for a premium service? 
  • Do you want to charge the same as a franchise’s cleaning business?

Facebook groups, client surveys, and competitors are great places to find these answers. 

After you’ve done your market research, you’ll need to figure out how to position your company in the marketplace. Are you just another residential cleaning service? Or, do you offer a premium, specialized product? 

When you know the direction you’re headed, the road to your pricing strategy is easier to find. Some cleaning services like to specialize in large homes or luxury homes. Others just want the โ€˜meat and potatoes’ of a basic cleaning service. The good news is that there’s plenty of business for everybody. 

Employee pay

The next factor that influences your hourly rate is how much you pay your employees. If you want to pay the bare minimum needed to hire people, that’s going to put you on the lower end of the hourly rate. 

If you aim to offer a livable wage with benefits, you’re going to need to charge more. There are no correct answers here, but you need to understand these factors when developing your hourly rate.

The average employee pay range for cleaners is $15.30/hour. You can use this for calculating your hourly cleaning rate. 

Consider your marketing strategy

The final factor for your hourly rate is your marketing strategy. 

Are you trying to grow your business? 

Your rate will need to be competitive if you’re hoping to grow at a fast pace. 

If you need to grow rapidly but don’t want to lower prices, read this article three ways to get more cleaning customers without lowering your prices.ย 

If your business has grown to a place you’re comfortable with, or if you’re well-known in the area, you can probably charge a higher hourly rate. And you can definitely charge a higher rate if you have a waiting list of clients! 

How many square feet can you clean per hour?

After you’ve found your hourly rate, understand how many square feet you can clean per hour. Now, at first, this can seem hard to find, but you likely already have the information you need โ€“ it’s just a matter of finding it! 

It’s important to know your square footage per hour because you will use it as a baseline for all your prices.

Use data from past cleaning jobs to learn how fast you can clean 500 square feet. You’ll want to calculate an average from your recent jobs. 

  • How long did the last ten *typical jobs take you? 
  • How many employees were on the cleaning job? 
  • How many square feet were the homes?

Don’t have any recent data? 

No worries! Start recording this data for the next week and then use it to find your average.

*Several variables can affect your average cleaning rate, so use only typical homes when calculating your average cleaning pace. Your typical homes are the predictable ones that are simple to clean, requiring only your basic cleaning services. (We’ll touch on how to avoid pricing disasters in these kinds of homes at the end of this article!)

How to find your pricing strategy

The next step to nail down your pricing system is to identify your pricing strategy. 

In other words, how frequently do you hope to charge for services? We’re going to use your pricing strategy to calculate our prices based on frequency. 

Do you want your main revenue to come from weekly cleans, bi-weekly, or monthly with extra fees?

Many residential cleaning companies push for bi-weekly cleans. Offering a small discount of around 5% is a great option to incentivize clients to choose these more frequent cleans. 

On the other hand, charging more for monthly cleans is a good way to help clients choose more frequent cleans. It’s often reasonable to charge an additional 50% for a monthly clean. 

We see too many cleaning business owners charge the same rate for bi-weekly and monthly cleans. When this happens, your client has no reason to choose bi-weekly over monthly. 

Determining an effective pricing strategy is crucial and should align with your current business standing and long-term goals. Assessing your booking rates and understanding your clientele’s price sensitivity are pivotal steps.

More factors to consider:

  • If you find that your services are in high demand, with a fully booked schedule being the norm, it might be an indication that your clientele values your services highly. In such a scenario, adopting a premium pricing strategy could be beneficial. This approach reflects the high quality and demand for your services and provides additional revenue that can be reinvested into growing and enhancing your business further.
  • On the flip side, a different approach is warranted if your booking rate is lower than desired and you’re struggling to cover your operational costs. Penetration pricing, where you initially set a lower price to gain market share and cover your fixed expenses, might be a viable strategy. This can help attract a customer base and establish a foothold in the market. Once a loyal clientele is built and market recognition is achieved, prices can be gradually adjusted to a higher point.
  • Alternatively, crafting custom packages could be a smart move. By offering tailored cleaning packages, you encourage customers to engage with your services over a longer term. This not only helps cover your fixed costs but also enhances each customer’s lifetime value, thereby boosting your overall profitability. Structuring packages that provide value while ensuring profitability will create a win-win scenario for your business and clientele.

To learn more about building a pricing strategy for your cleaning business, check out this article!

How to calculate your pricing

We’ve made it to the pricing formula. After you’ve gone through all the steps above, this next step is pretty simple.

First, take the square footage of your client’s home and divide it by your rate of square feet cleaned per hour. Then, multiply it by your hourly rate. The total number is how much you’ll charge for a single job in that client’s home. 

So let’s use an easy number as an example: If a client with a 2,000 square-foot home calls you looking for a quote, divide 2,000 by 500 (rate of square feet cleaned per hour) multiplied by $50 (an hourly rate.) The total one-time clean for that client is $200.

Bi-weekly rate

Offering a 5% discount for bi-weekly cleans is a great incentive for clients. Using the $200 example above, this would mean a client can have a 2,000-square-foot home cleaned twice a month for $380 (after the 5% is applied.) This is an example of a baseline bi-weekly rate. 

Monthly rate

Your monthly cleans can have an additional 50% charge to encourage more frequent cleans and account for the extra dust and dirt the home will accumulate between cleans. Using the $200 example, a monthly clean would cost a 2,000-square-foot client $300 (after an extra 50% is added.) This is an example of a baseline monthly rate. 

You can use this formula to calculate any specialty service in your business. Just play around with different percentages and values until you come to a reasonable and profitable baseline. 

Minimum rate

No matter what kind of service you’re offering, it’s important to set a minimum rate to avoid losing money on out-of-scope services. This will save you the headache of negotiating with a client who might only want a certain room in their home clean. Or perhaps, if they have a smaller home that would only require an hour of cleaning based on your square footage cleaning rate. Set this minimum rate using the pricing calculator and the base amount required to make a profit per clean. 

Factors affecting cleaning service pricing

Sometimes, you will find people reaching out to you for a quote, but once you get to the location, you find out there are a lot of factors at play that affect pricing.

Other than the factors mentioned earlier, here are some factors to be aware of:

  • Size of the Area to be Cleaned: The total square footage or the number of rooms and bathrooms can greatly affect the time, effort, and resources required to complete the cleaning task.
  • Level of Clutter: A cluttered space can take longer to clean as it might require decluttering before the actual cleaning can commence.
  • Type of Cleaning Required: Whether it’s a standard cleaning, deep cleaning, or a specialized service like carpet cleaning or window washing, different types of cleaning have different pricing structures.
  • Frequency of Cleaning: Regularly scheduled cleanings may be priced differently than one-time or less frequent cleanings.
  • Accessibility: If certain areas are hard to reach or the location is in a high-traffic urban area, it may add to the cleaning time and cost.
  • Special Requests or Preferences: Clients may have special requests such as using eco-friendly cleaning products or working outside standard hours, which can also affect costs.
  • Pet Situation: Homes with pets may require additional cleaning efforts like fur removal, which could influence the price.
  • Parking Facilities: In urban areas, the availability of parking near the location can be a factor as it may affect the ease with which cleaning crews can access the site.
  • Additional Services: Services like laundry, dishwashing, or organizing could be additional and would affect the overall pricing.
  • Supplies Provided: Whether the cleaning company needs to provide all cleaning supplies or some are provided by the client can also impact the cost.
  • Lifestyle Factors: Does the client smoke indoors? Does the client keep surfaces clean during the week? Do they host a lot of guests?
  • Urgency: Urgent or last-minute cleaning requests may carry premium pricing.

Protecting yourself from pricing disasters

With flat-rate pricing, you need to protect yourself from pricing disasters. We’ve all been there: after quoting a home, we walk into a cleaning job that takes way longer than estimated. There are mountains of clutter, piles of dust, and floors in need of a little too much love. So what do you do?

When taking any new job, set the precedent that you may need to overcharge if any visit takes longer than planned. An example line you can add to your contracts is, โ€œquoted prices assume average-sized rooms in average condition. Extra hours needed to clean will be priced with an additional $50 per hour.โ€ When a client agrees to this ahead of time, you’ve protected yourself from being underpaid. 

Then, when you find yourself in a job taking longer than expected (which is bound to happen at some point), take a break from cleaning to notify the client that an extra fee will be added to keep cleaning. If they give you the go-ahead, you can proceed and charge extra as needed. 

If the client declines moving forward, then you can wrap up the job without any penalty. Don’t wait until you’re at the end of a job to notify the client of an extra charge. 

Wrapping up

Your cleaning business’ success starts with finding the right rates to charge. 

Luckily, finding the perfect pricing strategy for your cleaning business doesn’t have to feel like solving a complex puzzle. With ZenMaid, you can take the guesswork out of quoting and make the process as clean and simple as the services you offer. Our software comes equipped with an instant booking form feature, making it effortless for your clients to get accurate quotes online directly from your website.

Say goodbye to pricing woes and hello to a smoother, more professional booking experience with ZenMaid.

Understanding the power of video marketing 

Videos can help you solidify your brand by improving brand recognition among people in your area, as well as establish you as an expert and through leader in the industry. 

When your audience sees you on video, they are able to connect with you on a more emotional level which can make a big impact on how they interact with your brand in the future. 

A huge eighty-five percent of internet users in the United States watch video content every month. And while you may think that the internet is becoming oversaturated with video content, one study shows that 66% of consumers want to see more video content from brands that they support. 

Seeing videos about your products or services helps your audience come to a decision more quickly about whether they want to commit to buying from you. 

As brands continue to produce more videos, video content as a whole is slowly becoming consumers’ favorite way to consume information.

When watching videos, viewers retain 95% more information as opposed to reading the same information. This makes video marketing a really powerful tool when trying to educate your audience or catch their attention about the problem your cleaning business solves. 

Videos also keep users engaged and on your website longer. In fact, the average user spends 88% more time on a website when watching video content. 

While it is true that video marketing is time-consuming and can be costly if you hire someone else to do it for you, most marketers see a great return on investment when it comes to their videos. 

Eighty percent of marketers report being satisfied with the ROI that they’re getting from their videos. 

But we know it’s not always as easy as setting up a camera and hitting “record.” Let’s dive into some common blocks that business owners run into when they first start creating video content and how to overcome them. 

Overcoming common video marketing roadblocks 

Even though we know that customers love video, not many people, especially in the cleaning industry, are utilizing it. 

It’s very likely that your competition are not making marketing videos. 

The idea of making video content tends to make some people feel uncomfortable and requires them to learn a new skill that they may not be willing to learn. 

Overcoming your mental blocks around creating video content can give you a considerable competitive edge over other businesses like yours. You are going to feel uncomfortable being on camera at first. You might find issues with the way that you look or dislike the way that you sound. 

These are entirely normal feelings to have when it’s your first time being on camera. The important thing is not to let these feelings stop you from continuing with your plan to create. 

It’s all part of the process. Once you go through the process a few times, you will get more comfortable with how you look and sound on camera. It’s a skill that takes time to perfect. The important thing is to continue to work through the discomfort. If you can do that, the payoff will be worth it. 

Start where you are and keep working on it until you get better. 

Create a video script that adds value to your audience

Now let’s get into actually creating the video. You might think that you need fancy equipment to create high-quality video content. That’s not true. 

The most important thing you need to create good marketing videos is something valuable and important to say to your audience. This is where your script comes in. Having a solid script can make up for any of the other shortcomings you think you have, such as an average camera or microphone. 

Let’s break down the script into three parts. You will need an introduction, the main value bomb, and a call to action or conclusion. 

One of the hardest parts of the video is just getting it started. When you know how to introduce your video, the rest of the video will fall into place much more naturally. 

Here’s a great example of an introduction that Pam uses in one of her videos: 

“Hi, I’m Pam Washington from Fast Friendly Spotless Maid Services. During these important and uncertain times, many of our clients wonder how to keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe, clean, and comfortable. 

Because Fast Friendly Spotless has 26 years of professional experience in the cleaning industry, I’m here today to let you know what we are doing as an ethical employer to make sure that we’re keeping our neighbors and our essential workers safe. 

We want you to know that you can trust us to care for your family and your belongings during every cleaning. 

Here’s a list of the three things you can expect from our cleaners if you book a cleaning during this pandemic.” 

This is an example of one way you can introduce your video. Start by introducing yourself and then giving the viewer an understanding of what they are going to expect. 

In this example, Pam made it clear who she was, what her businesses did, and what the video would be about. In this case, she shared the three things her maid service is doing to make sure they are responsible when working during the pandemic. 

Next, go into detail about the main topic you mentioned in the video. Break it down into parts. As you’re making the video, verbally number the steps you’re saying to make it easier for the viewer to keep track of what you’ve covered. You can even add text or graphics to the video to help make the content more visual.  

Lastly, add a conclusion or call to action. This can include mentioning your website where a customer can book a cleaning or get a free quote. Another option is to tell them where they can learn more about the topic you covered, such as on your blog or in another video you’ve made. 

Your Cleaning Business Needs Video 

It is important to stay at the forefront of your client’s mind – both as a partner and as a valuable resource. Don’t stop marketing just because you don’t think your customers are using cleaning services right now. 

You want to stay in their minds until they are ready. By creating video content, you’re giving them something to think about and keeping them engaged so that when they are ready for your service, they’ll know who to call. 

Now is a great time to make sure that your company is one of the leading voices in your market and let your customers know that you are there to help. 

Just because you may not be in their homes cleaning due to outside circumstances, you can keep contributing to the conversation and giving them valuable tips through video content. 

If you want to learn more about creating a process for producing video content, including what equipment to use and what tools are best, check out Pam’s full presentation from the 2020 Maid Summit.ย 

About the presenter

Pamela Washington started her first cleaning business, Fast Friendly Spotless, in Las Vegas, NV, in 1993. After almost 20 years of success and millions of dollars in commercial and residential revenues, she opened her coaching business, Build My Cleaning Business, in 2011. In 2018, Pam left the US to become an international nomad, running her cleaning service (and coaching) business from her laptop. In this post, she’ll share her secrets to growing your maid service using video marketing.ย 

This talk first aired at the 2020 Maid Service Success Summit.

The Maid Summit is an annual online event that brings together the most successful leaders in the cleaning industry, like Debbie Sardone, Angela Brown, Courtney Wisely, Amy Caris, Chris Schwab and more. Get free access to masterclasses and workshops that will help you to grow, scale and automate your cleaning business so you can get more leads and create more profit. Make sure youโ€™re on our email list to find out how to get free tickets to the next event.

Check out these other great articles on ZenMaid Magazine:

ZenMaid

Amar is the founder and CEO of ZenMaid Software, Inc. He started and ran Fast Friendly Spotless, a maid service in Orange County, CA. With the help of customized software to automate work he successfully operated the service in under 30 minutes per day. He created ZenMaid scheduling software to help other maid service owners do the same.

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