Personal touch, professional standards
Earn £100,000+ a year without getting your hands dirty
Poppies' technology, systems and processes make this a business that’s simple to operate and control. The Poppies bespoke business management system minimises your admin and lets you focus on what’s important: stellar service and stellar growth.
By running a successful home based cleaning business you will be minimising overheads, and only move to an office when your cash flow allows – meaning no further investment is required.
Poppies is Britain’s oldest-established domestic cleaning franchise and has been setting the standards others follow since 1980. Our most successful franchisee, Chris Wootton, now owns and operates the franchise network as the Poppies MD. The result is a culture of rare and genuine passion to help people like you with the oomph and the ambition to build your own financial freedom and security, just as he did.
The Poppies Cleaning Service Franchise Opportunity
The primary role of the franchisee is to build and maintain great relationships with both clients and staff. The ability to get on with people and enjoy providing help to other people’s lives is one of the cores Poppies are looking for in their franchisees. The skills around cleaning they can teach; but the understanding of how to create happy clients is something that is invaluable.
As a Poppies Franchisee, you will employ cleaners your customers can rely on to be honest, efficient and discreet. Poppies will share with you their extensive inside knowledge about recruitment in the industry, which has been built up over many decades. From cleaners to managers and administrative staff, rest assured they will guide you through the very best practices to recruit and retain a dream team who will ensure your franchise flourishes.
Note: the above figures are based on 2019 financials for the top 20% of franchisees who have their own management team.
What you’ll need to be a Poppies franchisee
Buying a franchise is a low-risk way of sharing in the success of a high-profile business, backed all the way by the people who know it best and made it all possible.
We’ll let you into our trade secrets, support you with marketing and operations, and mentor you to become a confident Poppies franchisee.
You don’t need to have owned a business before.
1. A great communicator
2. Business-minded
3. Methodical and motivated
4. Proud and personable
5. Willing to reinvest to grow your business
A business journey, taken together
You can have your own Poppies domestic cleaning business either by setting one up in a new territory or by buying one that’s already established. Either way, Chris and his team will mentor and guide you on following the proven business model.
Poppies prides itself on the personal touch – something our customers have appreciated for decades. As a franchise owner, you’ll employ cleaners your customers can rely on to be honest, efficient and discreet. They won’t raise an eyebrow if the house they’ve cleaned is in uproar the next time they visit, and they’ll even park your liveried van around the corner if the customer wants to claim the credit for all their hard work! Like you, they’ll make it their business to keep clients happy.
What you’ll need to be a Poppies Franchisee
Buying a Poppies franchise is a low-risk way of sharing in the success of an established brand, backed all the way by the people who know it best and made it all possible.
Poppies will let you into their trade secrets, support you with marketing and operations, and mentor you to become a confident Poppies Franchisee.
You don’t need to have owned a business before, but you do need to be:
- A great communicator
- Driven and determined
- Methodical and motivated
- Proud and personable
… are a real people-person
… enjoy providing excellent customer service
… want to build and lead your own team
Find out more
If you’d like to know more about the Poppies franchise and…
… are a real people-person
… enjoy providing excellent customer service
… want to build something of your own, surrounded by experienced people
Please get in touch with us below:
The importance of maintaining high standards in a cleaning business
In fact, the rise in demand for high-quality cleaning brands over the past decade has been huge, with one in three households now employing a cleaner1. Meanwhile, expectations for these service providers have increased dramatically, with 96% of consumers now saying that the service they receive is an important factor in their choice of loyalty to a brand2. Considering these points, it has never been more important for cleaning brands to not only deliver on their services, but to make sure those who use cleaning services have a ‘spick and span’ experience with their provider of choice.
Here, Chris Wootton, the managing director of domestic home cleaning brand Poppies, gives his top tips on how home-cleaning brands can ensure that they are providing great, consistent customer service.
Service with a smile
The golden rule for cleaning companies is to never forget that, fundamentally, the end goal of what we do is to improve the lives of our clients. And as we all know, service with a smile goes a long way. This should start from the moment the service begins. COVID has reminded us all that our homes truly are our sanctuaries, and being entrusted with cleaning a customer’s home should be seen as a privilege. In customer-facing roles, taking opportunities to show that you care deeply about what you do is vital for customers to enjoy a positive experience. Keeping a smile on your face, being attentive and maintaining great energy actively shows a customer that your role is not just a job and that making people happy, in turn, motivates you to continue delivering your services at consistently high standards.
Deliver on promises
It may seem like an obvious one, but customers have never been more attentive to the cleanliness of their homes, and as such, they can tell when corners have been cut. Operating in this industry naturally places a lot of responsibility on our shoulders, with our services being required for a whole range of needs. Ensuring that your staff are well trained, show positive attitudes towards their work and believe in your brand’s values and ethos are all important factors in meeting the bare minimum of what you promise as a cleaning brand.
Leverage customer feedback
Feedback from our clients is one of the primary sources that moves our industry forward. Having well-trained staff is vital, but it is important to remember that it is only half the battle. Our customers’ needs and feelings towards their experience with cleaning providers play a huge role in maintaining high expectations with how services should be delivered. Feedback allows us to monitor our performance and alerts us to important changes we need to make, and negative feedback in particular should never be discounted. What is more, with the immediacy of social media, it has never been more important to have an online presence for customers to see that you have acted upon their feedback, whether it be in the operations of the wider business or adding that little extra touch to your cleaning service that is guaranteed to make customers happier. Often, positive actions made by a cleaning company following negative feedback can bring a customer back.
Be responsive
We all know the importance of being responsive and not reactive. This attitude should be projected across your whole business, especially in a customer-facing role that entails employees entering clients’ homes. Having highly trained staff who can respond quickly to customers’ individual needs not only shows off the quality of their training, but demonstrates the value of that individual customer’s experience with your brand.
Show empathy
Clients who take advantage of high-quality home cleaning services need our expertise for a diversity of reasons. And after two years of such limited contact with people from outside our households, it is understandable that consumers are now actively seeking empathy and real relationships from those who provide all-important services to them. These real human relationships are how we show compassion as service providers, which ultimately leads to trust. When those who use our services trust us, their experiences naturally become more enjoyable and their overall relationship with the brand is solidified. Not only providing service with a smile, but going that extra mile and being prepared to have a chat and get to know a someone on a human level goes an incredibly long way for the reputation of the brand and, most importantly, the customer.
Chris summarises, “The domestic cleaning industry has never been more in demand, and it’s an incredibly exciting time to be providing high-quality cleaning services to our customers. We have learnt that the positive human touch remains ever-present and is the most important attribute we can provide to customers who need our expertise. We’ve all been limited in our contact with people over the last couple of years, so we should be enjoying this time and relishing in the chance we now have to show customers that we are proud of what we do for them. With summer around the corner, it’s the perfect time to make sure your customer service is gleaming and truly reflects the high-quality service you provide.”