It’s official: “Green” has transitioned from trendy to commonplace. But as the market is flooded with new green entries the opportunity for confusion also increases. Which products live up to the hype and who’s just jumping on the bandwagon? Custodial staffs are not immune to this confusion.

“The definition of green, or lack thereof, is certainly a source of confusion,” says Peter Criville, president of Shellville Services, a division of Matrix Integrated Facility Management, in King of Prussia, Pa. “It seems as though there are as many definitions of green as there are shades of green.”

But customer confusion may soon come to an end. As green cleaning gains mainstream acceptance, end users are educating themselves on the topic. In fact, distributors run the risk of falling behind and losing credibility.

For example, when CleanPower, in Milwaukee, went through the intense preparation process for Green Seal’s GS-42 certification, company officials did much of the research themselves. And when they needed additional information about green products, they called on a manufacturer for help.

“Most of the distributor’s activity is focused on moving product,” says CleanPower’s president and COO, Jeffrey Packee. “We find we have to go to the manufacturer for factual and applicable information. I would like to see our distributor do more. More often than not, we are bringing information to the distributors.”

Unfortunately, CleanPower’s experience is not unusual among building service contractors and in-house service providers. To avoid this scenario, distributors must know more about green cleaning than their customers and serve as active participants in their customers’ greening efforts, from start to finish.

Have The Answers

To be customers’ go-to source for all things cleaning related, it’s critical to anticipate their questions and be prepared with the answers. If distributors can’t tell a client whether a hand soap includes phosphates or its packaging is recycled, then how can the customer trust its distributor with its entire chemical and equipment budget?

Distributors should first educate their sales staffs on the green movement. Certification is an important — and confusing — aspect of green cleaning. Third-party certification is available for products that meet standards set by Green Seal, EcoLogo, Energy Star, the Carpet & Rug Institute and others.

Manufacturers can also hire independent labs to determine whether a product is environmentally preferable and then place the manufacturer’s own eco-logo on the product; this is called self-certification. Finally, some manufacturers label a product with words like “sustainable,” “green,” or “earth friendly” without any third-party verification.

“The fact that there is not a single authoritative standard to go by adds to the confusion,” says Steven L. Mack M.Ed., director of buildings and grounds service for Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.

One way for a distributor to prove itself as a reliable source of green information is to educate its customers on the various certifications. Mack has attended manufacturer-led training sessions that outline the requirements, strengths and weaknesses of each certification in an unbiased way. Unfortunately, his experience with vendors when it comes to green has been much different.

“A few vendors come in and proclaim that their product is green and yet they didn’t have any outside third-party certification to back up their claim, only their own internal company criteria,” Mack says. “Most of the time these vendors aren’t much help when it comes to making an informed decision.”

To help customers make smart choices, give them the information they need. That means providing documentation and explanation of any third-party analysis of the product.

“I would tell distributors that they need to be well versed in green,” says Marlin Wynia, director of the material distribution center for Oregon State Hospital, Salem, Ore. “If a customer does his homework, then they are going to be asking them some questions.”

Be A Partner

Serving as a knowledgeable resource is the first step in gaining customers’ trust because it establishes a distributor as a partner in their greening efforts, not just another pushy salesperson. This is an area where many distributors seem to be failing.

“To be honest I am not sure that I trust the distributor rep to be any more educated than I am on the different certifications,” says Brandon Baswell, building service manager for Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. “I have received my best education from unbiased third parties that are not trying to sell me their product.”

When looking for a Green Seal sanitizer, Michael Rodriguez, administrative director of building services for South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, N.Y., discovered first-hand that some distributors are in the green business just to make money while others are truly trying to solve their customers’ problems.

“I contacted a vendor who claimed he had the product,” Rodriguez says. “The product claimed to be green and had the same ingredients [as the other product]. In time, we stopped getting the same results as when we first purchased the product so I called a vendor with the Green Seal product and he demonstrated that my product had a short shelf life. In this case, one vendor sold me a product that did not work and another vendor helped me determine why it was not working.”

Rodriguez and the other end users interviewed for this story say they want distributors who are problem solvers. They don’t want vendors to simply sell them a line of green chemicals and call that a green cleaning program. Instead, they need someone who can offer solutions for every aspect of a truly green program, from chemicals and equipment to training and literature.

“The main confusion we see overall is the idea that green cleaning just consists of using some green chemicals, while true green cleaning goes far beyond the product used,” says CleanPower’s Packee. “The more we are able to partner with distributors to educate our clients, the more valuable our service solutions become.”

While this approach takes a big investment of time and energy, the payoff is a committed customer who returns time and time again for solutions to all his needs.

Get Specific

A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for green cleaning. Every facility has unique needs and it is up to the distributor to ferret those out and address them.

“A distributor should have a very personal relationship with the people they are selling to,” says Wynia. “If my salesman didn’t have any clue what we do here, it would be hard for him to give me intelligent answers.”

To offer site-specific green options, a distributor must visit the facility and interview the cleaning staff, management and occupants. Who is cleaning the building, what do they currently use, and what are they looking for? Who is the customer or occupant and what are their needs? What types of spaces are being cleaned, when, and how often?

“My salesperson spent many hours in my offices going over the best approach,” Wynia says. “If you find a distributor worth his salt, he’ll be up front with you about the good, and the bad, and the ugly of green.”

For Wynia, the ‘ugly’ was that green wasn’t the best option for certain applications, such as quarantine areas and with certain types of viruses. A less trustworthy distributor, however, might have pushed a green product to make a new sale.

It is also important to work with the customer to address future needs. If your client prides itself on being ahead-of-the-curve, how can you help them stay there?

“We expect our partners to help us maintain our cutting-edge status,” says Mike Hofer, owner of Marsden Building Maintenance in St. Paul, Minn. “I recently spoke to a group of cleaning equipment sales people from around the country and the one thing that they were most struck by was my request that they strive to make me look good. If you are going to provide added-value materials and tools, be willing to forego your logo and instead customize it with my look and logo. We look for strategic long-term partners, not just the lowest price.”

Stay In Touch

Distributors who make a sale, never to be heard of again, are unlikely to maintain long-term success. Follow-up is always important, but perhaps more so with green products, which may be new to end users.

“Distributors can’t just sell it and walk away with their commission,” Wynia says.

Whenever distributors sell a new green product, they should make themselves available to answer questions. Attend the on-site training session and tell the staff what is in the products, why it is safer for them, and how it will make their jobs easier. Demonstrate how to properly use it and answer any questions they have.

After implementation, check in to see if the product is meeting their needs. Distributors may discover customers are having a problem because they aren’t applying the product correctly. Addressing these problems early prevents a frustrated client who later walks away thinking you sold him something that doesn’t work.

To be even more valuable, distributors can continue offering help long after a sale is made. Send green-themed newsletters, post timely environmental articles on the company Web site, and host in-house seminars on various green cleaning topics.

“Any efforts our partners can make toward supporting our implementation and training has long lasting value and helps build a mutually beneficial partnership,” Hofer says.

Becky Mollenkamp is a freelance writer based in Des Moines, Iowa. She is a frequent contributor to Sanitary Maintenance.




POSTED ON: 6/1/2008