One of the problems contract cleaners often encounter is a lack of customer interaction. Usually, when a contract cleaner hears from the customer, it's due to a problem. Making matters worse, this lack of interaction also makes it easy for clients to move on to another vendor with a lower bid. 
 
It is important for contract cleaning business owners to be conscious of customer communication and encourage feedback. When clients believe that the contractor cares about the facility's best interests, price becomes a secondary issue.
 
With this in mind, this month's Tornado Business of the Business focuses on how contract cleaners can build relationships with their clients. One of the best ways to build customer relations is to plan regular meetings. But, how can you ensure that these meetings are a success? 
 
Here are some helpful tips:
 
• Make sure you have a legitimate reason for the meeting. Even if one of your motives is simply to stay in touch, having a specific focus will help ensure that the client will block out time to meet with you.

• Once a meeting has been called, prepare ahead of time. Email an agenda to all of the meeting's participants that lists when the meeting will begin, where it will be held, who will be in attendance, the topics to be discussed, and approximately how much time it will take.

• Because you have called this meeting, you are the leader. It is the contractor's job to make sure the group stays focused and accomplishes its stated purpose.

• Be sure to arrive on time and make every attempt to end the meeting in the planned time frame.

• To prevent any one person from dominating the conversation, encourage each person attending to address the issues discussed.

• When a decision is reached on a specific issue, be sure to confirm that everyone agrees and understands.

• Follow up after the meeting with a brief "wrap-up" email detailing what was discussed and what was accomplished.

"Also, ask all of the attendees, especially your client, how successful they thought the meeting was," says Jolynn Kennedy, Marketing Manager for Tornado Industries. "Find out what could have been improved to make future meetings with this client or another even more useful."