If you’ve ever dropped your cleaning prices to win a client, thinking it would help you grow faster—you’re not alone. But here’s the hard truth:
Competing on price is a race to the bottom.
There will always be someone willing to undercut you. And that path leads to one thing: stress, low profit, and burnout.
In this week’s newsletter, I’m breaking down why this pricing trap holds back so many cleaning business owners—and what to do instead.
If your prices aren’t high enough, here’s what happens:
Low margins: After paying your cleaners, there’s not enough left over to invest in marketing, recruitment, or admin help.
High-maintenance clients: Price-sensitive clients tend to complain more, demand more, and ask for refunds or free recleans.
More clients = more stress: When margins are low, you need volume to survive. That means more cleaners, more management, and way more headaches.
There is a better path—one that gives you more profit, less stress, and higher-quality clients. And it starts with these 4 strategies:
Most cleaning businesses look the same. “We clean homes and offices, we’re professional, we’re reliable…”
If you sound like everyone else, why would anyone pay more to work with you?
Instead, niche down.
✅ Serve a specific group—like families with young kids, busy professionals, or Airbnb hosts.
✅ Specialize—maybe in eco-friendly cleaning, pet-safe products, or same-day service.
✅ Position yourself as the go-to expert for that niche.
When you stop being generic, you stop being compared on price.
It’s not enough to say you have a niche. Your website, flyers, ads—everything—should clearly reflect your positioning.
If you’re the eco-friendly cleaning company, show it:
Talk about your plant-based products
Highlight your electric vehicles or walkable routes
Share the story of why you started this business
Make it so obvious that even someone skimming your site can tell you’re different.
Test it: Show your website to a friend. Can they instantly tell how you’re different from every other cleaning business in your area?
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Would you like fries with that?”
This upsell tactic made McDonald’s billions—and it can work in your cleaning business too.
When a client books a regular clean, offer high-value add-ons:
Oven cleans
Window cleaning
Laundry or ironing
Fridge deep cleans
These extras often have a higher effective hourly rate, which boosts your overall profitability per client—without needing to book more jobs.
Once your niche and brand are dialled in, your next move is getting in front of the right clients—the ones who value your service and are willing to pay more for it.
This is where smart marketing comes in:
Use Google Ads to target higher-income neighborhoods
Add words like “cheap” or “budget” to your negative keyword list
If using Facebook Ads, target by job title, household income, or location
Don’t just chase anyone looking for cleaning—go after the clients who are happy to pay for quality and convenience.
You don’t need hundreds of low-paying clients.
You need a few great ones who value your service, pay well, and don’t micromanage.
✅ Niche down
✅ Reflect it in your website and branding
✅ Offer profitable extras
✅ Focus your marketing on premium clients
This is the path to growing a profitable, low-stress cleaning business.
If you need any help with client marketing, then I might be able to help. We work with 50+ cleaning companies around the world. Learn more at www.project83.com
