Procter & Gamble Professional, the away-from-home division of Procter & Gamble, released the findings of its national “Digital Usage in the Cleaning Industry” survey, which queried 405 cleaning industry professionals and decision makers. The survey’s findings revealed that cleaning industry managers look to vendors and partners to develop and offer valuable, business-relevant content. In fact, when asked about the types of media used for work-related reasons, 65 percent of respondents say they have used training videos and 34 percent of respondents have used product review videos, while the same proportion (34 percent) say they have used archived webinars. Of the nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of people who have used training videos, 63 percent say they prefer working with vendors or suppliers who provide them.



Receiving online training tools is important to industry professionals. Of the two-thirds (65 percent) of survey respondents who use training videos for work-related reasons:


• 71 percent say they have shared video training content with colleagues.


• 71 percent report that video training is well received in their organization or company.


• 63 percent say that they prefer working with vendors or suppliers who provide training videos.
• 69 percent wish that a greater variety of vendor/supplier training videos were available.


• Of the 35 percent who do not currently use training videos, four in 10 would consider using them as part of employee training on cleaning processes and procedures.


“While in-person support still remains the preferred training method of cleaning industry managers, training videos are widely used, and have even greater audience potential if the content is available online,” said Kevin Wenzel, Associate Marketing Director, P&G Professional. 



Additional Survey Highlights:



• Online Communication: While e-mail communication (43 percent) slightly edges out phone (39 percent) and in-person (42 percent) in terms of their top two preferred methods of communication with vendors, suppliers, or sales, respondents’ attitudes about digital communication with them suggest openness to more online communication.  Additionally, when it comes to communicating with these people, 81 percent are open to receiving electronic documents, 64 percent say it is more efficient to communicate online, and 61 percent would be open to more online/digital communication options.


• Business Apps: Of the 55 percent of cleaning industry managers who have used a Smartphone or tablet with internet for professional purposes, only four in 10 (39 percent) have used a business-sponsored app to help them do their job better or more efficiently. Of those who have not used vendor/supplier provided apps, more than half (53 percent) say they would be interested in an app to receive customer service or to troubleshoot a problem.


• Corporate Websites/Facebook: Three quarters (74 percent) of respondents report their company has a website, and half (52 percent) say their company has a Facebook page.


• Social Media in Business: Three quarters (74 percent) of cleaning operations managers report using social media for professional reasons.


• The most sought-after information on social media sites is company information (64 percent), brand/product information/specs (55 percent) and industry tips/information (50 percent).


• Future Outlook: Looking to the future of the cleaning industry, nine in 10 of those surveyed believe online ordering will become increasingly common, eight in 10 believe digital communication with vendors or suppliers will become increasingly common and seven in 10 believe video training will become more common, while about the same proportion (68 percent) believe that training will be conducted mostly online.



In line with survey respondents’ future outlooks, P&G Professional’s redesigned website is meeting the needs of cleaning industry managers and staff with its business-relevant information and training tools. P&G Professional will continue to develop timely, sought after information through pgpro.com, while still providing traditional methods of training and printed materials through in-person consultations and product demos.