Green Cleaning: Change Is Good, So Spread The Word

You’ve bought the program, you’ve bought the supplies, and you’ve trained your crew. Now you’re ready to start green cleaning. The facility managers are pleased. But the tenants have been quiet. So, why bother with the time and work of telling the tenants?

There are many good reasons for telling tenants about your program — good news is the best kind to share with tenants. They’ll appreciate it if you inform them before they ask questions. And, also, never miss an opportunity to promote yourself.

Use a simple marketing campaign to tell tenants about the new cleaning program. The key parts of an effective program are to prepare yourself, get the news out and have a way to get feedback to evaluate your campaign. There are many more elaborate and complex ways to conduct a marketing campaign, but why make things complicated when simple is better and cheaper?

This is an opportunity to share good news — rather than just hear about complaints — with the tenants. There are many benefits of green cleaning for the tenants as well as for the cleaning crew. Be sure everyone on your crew knows at least three key benefits of green cleaning to share with the tenants. The easiest way for your crew to remember key messages is to print them on an index card for each one to carry. Another easy way is to have the key messages printed on a laminated card and add it to the strap of the employee-identification badges.

Another reason to talk to the tenants is because if you don’t, they may notice things are different on their own and think something is wrong. For instance, the fragrances in many cleaning chemicals give many people a sense of security that their office or restroom has been cleaned. If you change the chemicals, they might wonder if the janitor crew is taking shortcuts with the cleaning. This is another opportunity where a small card in conspicuous places is a good way to educate your tenants about the advantages of green cleaning for them.

Also, with competition at everyone’s back today, you cannot miss any opportunity to promote yourself. The growing concern for environmental responsibility is an excellent opportunity to promote yourself and your business as being socially responsible. It provides many ways to maintain productive communication with your tenants. One way is to have a display of the new products being used to clean the building. Show the tenants the safety and the health benefits for them. You can suggest they consider green cleaning methods in their home. Plan short visits to their office to suggest ways you can work together for a cleaner, healthier office and building.

It’s not enough to do the right things in business. You also have to tell your customers about it before they find out from someone else who wants their business. A continuous program of communicating with tenants is the cornerstone of managing their expectations.