Residential Cleaning Franchises Leave Others in the Dust

Part I

by Patricia Schaefer

A recently released report from FRANdata, an information supplier for the franchise world, shows franchise unit growth in the residential cleaning sector is growing at a 10% compounded growth rate. It reports that in the five years from 2001 to 2005 inclusive, the franchising systems in this sector had franchised unit growth of 47%.

This is no wonder considering the booming home services market, with residential cleaning alone a multi-billion dollar industry which shows no sign of waning. With the ever-increasing two-earner households, Americans appear to have less time than ever for leisure activities. And more and more of the populace are making it clear that one of the activities they don't want to spend their precious time on is cleaning.

A number of residential cleaning franchises have been mopping up the profits in this surging market. Franchise Trade interviewed a few of the most successful franchises that clean homes across the USA and beyond. Whether they believe in two or four-member cleaning teams, mopping or hand-washing floors, what they each have in common is a pride and belief that they're the best at what they do -- this in part evident by the pledge of each to reclean any home at no charge when a customer is not satisfied with the work performed.

Merry Maids

"Relax. It's Done."

Merry Maids is easily the most recognizable name in residential cleaning. With a total of 1,447 franchises and still growing, it is the largest home cleaning franchise network in the world. Merry Maids was founded in 1979 by Dallen Peterson, began franchising in 1980, and joined the ServiceMaster Family of Brands in 1988. In North America alone, it cleans more than 300,000 homes, apartments and condos every month.

Don Slifer, Vice President of Market Development for Merry Maids, recently shared the secrets to their amazing success: "We believe our success comes from granting franchises to quality individuals, and from instituting our 25-year proven franchising system, which includes: initial and ongoing management training offered through regional meetings, annual national seminar, internal communications program, scheduled face-to-face visits, company website and printed manuals.

"In addition to our initial training program, we assign a regional support manager to each new franchisee. The regional support manager serves as a corporate liaison and business mentor providing management support, consultation and initial day-to-day communication. We also encourage franchisees to tap into our marketing communication services to obtain approved company artwork, logos and sales collateral materials.

"We have found a strong correlation between franchisees who take full advantage of our ongoing training and support services and those that prove to be successful."

Quite understandably, Merry Maids prides itself most on the fact that they've never had a month when sales revenue didn't grow since their founding in 1979: "From a franchisee's perspective, that means the market for our services continues to grow."

Slifer says what sets Merry Maids apart from other residential cleaning franchises is its "customized services." Additionally, they do not quote bids over the phone, as they require an in-home visit in order to structure their services around each customer's needs. "Customers can take relief that when they hire Merry Maids," added Slifer, "the employees who visit their home are legal employees of the company -- not a subcontractor. That means that the person who comes to their home is a paid and insured employee of Merry Maids."

On every visit, the Merry Maids team (usually two members) dusts, vacuums, washes and sanitizes each room. Using their equipment and specially formulated products, they clean from left to right, top to bottom, so no detail is overlooked. In addition, each time Merry Maids cleans a home, they take care of a few extra tasks in each room to make sure that the home is well-maintained -- and "with regular Merry Maids service, you never need another spring cleaning again." Some of these "extra tasks" include "vacuuming drapes, moving furniture, and dusting mini-blinds."

Merry Maids also specializes in customized service: "If you want us to skip a certain room, we do it. If you want a special service, just let us know. If you want to change your cleaning routine, simply call our office. We'll take care of it."

Slifer says Merry Maids is "not interested in just selling franchises; we're interested in finding the right people to join our system. We are more concerned with the individual than with their net-worth when selecting franchise owners. Our goal is to build long-term relationships with great people." This residential cleaning leader is seeking to grant franchises to candidates "who are interested in building a business and growing every year -- who are passionate about the business, have a great attitude, are fiscally-responsible, ready to work and can ultimately see the long-term potential of this business."

What makes Merry Maids a good franchise choice, noted Slifer, is that they "want to proactively help our franchise owners build their business while they satisfy their desire for owning their own company and realizing their long-term vision."

Copyright 2006, Attard Communications, Inc.

Stay tuned for Part II of "Residential Cleaning Franchises Leave Others in the Dust."