How to get customers who aren't looking for me?
To introduce myself - I have been working in retail management for years, I have excellent people management and customer service skills. My husband is a software engineer so we always felt we were the perfect team to start a business together we just needed the right idea!
My company is brand new, just launched in February. I've only had 2 customers so far and struggling to get more. I know my idea is great, I just can't figure out how to take it to the next level.
Spruce.la is/will be a tech platform to order housecleaning services. We have a website where you can customize your order to choose your own price, and book your appointment instantly online. It's a simple menu of services to choose from and we don't offer anything else. The service is basic and standard to control quality and simplify pricing. Eventually we will be building an app too to make the experience similar to ordering doordash!
There is NOTHING else like that in the industry. Getting a housecleaning now is such a hassle. Most companies charge you per hour, pricing may vary based on square footage , you often have to get a consultation for a quote, and there's no way to control the quality of work. Most people use independent housecleaners that they find through word of mouth because most big companies in this industry are a scam - trying to force you into a subscription, charging your card hidden fees, and not giving customer service to fix their mistakes.
My goal with Spruce.la is to make housecleaning convenient, accessible, and affordable to everyone. I believe that the reason companies like uber, doordash, and instacart are so successful is because they have taken what used to be a "premium service" for the upper class and made it accessible to the middle class. Also these businesses have proven that people are willing to pay extra for conveniences. Everyone knows that you are paying about 25% more to get the food delivered to you that you could just go pick up yourself. I know that everyone hates cleaning their house and would love for someone to come and do it all for them. But most people right now wouldn't consider seeking out a housecleaner. I have to figure out how to introduce my service to the general public and normalize it for the middle class. It wasn't normal for people to take taxis everywhere, but uber made it part of our culture.
Right now I am stuck trying to sell to customers that are actively looking for house cleaning. Either they have used it before, or they need it for a special project - move in, move out, or cleaning their airbnb (my company doesn't offer any of these). Customers that have used house cleaning before have certain expectations for how it should work and my business and my platform don't match those expectations, they are completely different. So when they visit my site I think it scares them away.
How do I reach customers who aren't looking for my service, and convince them that they need my service?
I'm currently on yelp and Facebook, but not much luck.
Why not go for business customers? Especially given your retail background. Surely there is extra resistance for domestic customers currently due to pandemic and not wanting strangers in their house.
This is a generous description of these companies. They are successful because they raise huge funds and screw over workers and suppliers to give customers something their competitors cannot.
Why not if that's what customers want?
I will be blunt hopefully it will help. The site doesn’t look believable. It looks novicewhen it could easily look like something vc funded.
Your value prop is interesting, if I were in your shoes I would hire a Ui designer on upwork to build a pretty highly branded interface. I’d spend about $1,000 on design. Use 99designs for logo and brand kit, then hire an upwork ui designer.
That’s my 2 cents.
This will at least put your best foot forward in terms of design.
If that doesn’t work I would give away something for free in return for business. Maybe their fist cleaning is free. Would get expensive but you could get people in the door this way. I’m expecting a vc backed company in this space would do this.
For a more financially safe path I would find a way to incorporate influencers. Maybe you give an influencer a free cleaning and $500. Then have them take pictures somehow incorporating your concept and how happy they are, feature it on your site. An influencer testimonial will go a long way for the average consumer.
Anyways, just some ideas. Good luck
Hi! Here in the Philippines, hiring house help is so common that there are a bunch of startups who found success in taking it digitally (happyhelp.ph, cleanworks.ph, etc). That said I think there's a lot of potential in this space given what I've seen here - Good Luck!
To answer your question, I think one surefire way is to find groups of customers that already might need your service because they're trying to solve a problem that your service can fix. For example, decluttering / minimalist reddit / facebook groups. Hope this helps!
The home page image looks like you are selling water or facet. I would prefer cleaning people. LOL
The text format and style in the About US is so difficult for me to read.
"Why We're Different" is too wordy. Figure out a way to show what the old process is and your process is easier and better.
Your value propositions on your home page is not clear.
Work on SEO/content marketing. Should do FB marketing (organic and paid).