US Contract Cleaning Services Revenues, 2009, 2014 and 2019 Cleaning Services Category 2009 2014 2019 Interior cleaning $35.59 B $41.00 B $48.20 B Floors & fabrics $5.160 B $5.665 B $6.295 B Exterior cleaning $2.260 B $2.66 B $3.16 B Swimming pools $2.00 B $2.18 B $2.555 B Restoration & remediation $1.20 B $1.445 B $1.71 B Other cleaning services $2.315 B $2.70 B $3.13 B Total $48.525 B $55.65 B $65.05 B

More Construction Leads to More Cleaning Critical to the success and growth of contract cleaning services is the health and vitality of the construction market. The Dodge Momentum Index (non-residential building projects in planning) increased significantly for June, to 134.4, following May’s 120.8. The Index for the commercial building sub-sector was even higher at 143.6, increasing 7.7% from May, while the institutional building sub-sector increased at the highest rate, or 14.6%, from May’s 107.3 to June’s 122.9. The SAAR, or seasonally adjusted annual rate, for new construction during May (the latest data) was $636.7 billion, a 5% increase from April. Recent monthly fluctuations were due to fewer very large projects during Q2 2016, compared to Q1 2016.

Building Services Contractors Are Upbeat According to the 2016 report on the building services contractor market from Contracting Profits magazine, 78% of the readers responding to the survey were optimistic about their profitability this year, increasing 13 points from 65% for 2015. Of the survey respondents, 26% said their 2015 profits were significantly higher than 2014, 39% slightly higher and only 19% slightly or significantly lower. For 2016, 31% expect their profits to be significantly higher than 2015, 47% slightly higher and many fewer expect profits to be slightly or significantly lower, at just 6%.

Employees Want It Clean According to the Tork Office Trend Report 2016, 79% of respondents from across the globe said “they would inform their office manager or facility manager if they weren’t satisfied with the quality of hygiene products.” In addition, 39% of those surveyed said that restroom hygiene in their workplace was still an issue, while 35% said it wasn’t an issue and 26% didn’t have an opinion.   According to Bradley Corporation’s 2016 Healthy Hand Washing Survey, 74% of Americans said public restrooms appeared dirty or unkempt.

Positive Push of Products Another positive trend for the contracting cleaning services sector is The Freedonia Group’s report that the industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning chemicals market will increase 2.3% annually through 2020, totaling $11.7 billion that year. Similarly, a Q2 2016 study from The Freedonia Group found that the infection prevention products and services market would increase 4.9% annually through 2020, to a total of $27.6 billion.   By 2020, supplies will increase 4.7% annually to more than $21 billion, sterilization and related equipment, especially for healthcare facilities, will increase 2.9% annually to $1.1 billion, and infection prevention services will increase 6.1% annually to 5.5 billion.

Advertising Strategies Early morning news could be excellent programming for janitorial services, targeting business owners with a “Make Your Office a Happier Place” promotion. New one-year contracts include a package of free paper and plastic products. Janitorial services companies can offer a free assessment of a company’s cleaning needs to generate leads, with an appropriate free gift for each assessment: cut flowers to brighten the office, a fruit basket to inspire employee health, etc. Janitorial services companies that include TV in their advertising program can feature staff members, pledging to keep workspaces cleaner and being personally responsible for their work. They could also relate interesting, humorous stories of cleaning offices.

New Media Strategies Janitorial services companies should be proactive about asking for customer comments and respond to negative reviews quickly, as a majority of consumers and business owners rely heavily on reviews during their decision-making process. Videos are quickly becoming the preferred digital content, providing janitorial services companies with the opportunity to create and post videos that detail their careful cleaning methods and offer tips for making the workplace cleaner and healthier. Janitorial services companies can generate substantial goodwill by providing free cleaning services to homeless shelters and similar facilities, motivating customers to volunteer and working with community employment services to provide training and job opportunities.