The report highlights significant industry elements, focusing on industry demographics, business structures, revenue trends, operational challenges, marketing strategies and the use of technology across the United States and Canada.
One prominent trend emerging from the survey is the operational challenges cleaning companies face. The most significant challenges cited include customer retention, maintaining margins and cash flow. These challenges are consistent across all business types. Notably, the residual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still negatively impact about 30 percent of businesses.
Carpet cleaning as a stand-alone service accounts for 25 percent of revenue for nearly all companies surveyed, with most offering upholstery, area rugs and hard surface cleaning.
The most popular pricing structure across the industry ranges from US$0.31 to US$0.40 ($0.48 to $0.62 AUD) per square foot for residential and commercial carpet cleaning. For residential hard floor cleaning, the tally shows that 33 percent charge US$1 ($1.55 AUD) or more per square foot, while for commercial hard floor cleaning, it is tied at 18 percent at both US$0.51 to US$0.75 ($0.79 to $1.16 AUD) per square foot and US$1($1.55 AUD) or more per square foot.
Implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry remains in its infancy. Most respondents (51 percent) have not yet implemented AI technology. However, around 20 percent of businesses are in the early stages of exploring AI solutions, such as automating customer service tasks, improving operational efficiency and partially integrating AI technology.
The affordability of AI technology remains a barrier for many, with smaller businesses particularly concerned about the costs. Despite these challenges, interest is growing in finding cost-effective solutions to integrate AI into business operations, although many surveyed have yet to decide what they will do.
The survey data offers optimistic projections for the industry’s growth, highlighted by 87 percent declaring increased revenue for 2024. Various factors contributed to this growth, including changes in marketing strategies, diversification of services and the addition of new staff and equipment. However, some businesses expect negative growth due to increased competition and broader economic challenges.
Referrals and social media remain the dominant methods for generating new customer leads. Most (67 percent) businesses use Facebook, 27 percent post on Instagram to attract customers and 18 percent promote on LinkedIn to connect with potential customers.
Staffing remains challenging in the cleaning industry, with many businesses reporting difficulties finding and retaining quality staff. The survey reveals that the starting wage for a cleaning technician varies, but most companies pay between US$10 ($15.45 AUD) and US$14 ($21.63 AUD) per hour, while more experienced technicians earn US$15 to $20 ($23.18 to $30.90 AUD) per hour. A mix of wages and commissions is also standard, with 31 percent of businesses offering commission-based compensation.
To read the full report, visit the Cleanfax website.
This story first appeared on Cleanfax.
