You can make filthy pile carpet look new, you keep your dump tank squeaky clean, and clients rave about your work. Finding new clients is another story. Here are 21 fast, easy, cheap carpet cleaning ad ideas from a survey of 52 carpet cleaning business owners.

Ready?

1. Google Business Profile (GBP): $0

If you don’t have a Google Business Profile yet, you’re in luck.

This is the easiest carpet cleaning marketing idea on our list, and the most impactful.

A GBP is the way people find you when they search online for “carpet cleaner near me.” The average GBP gets 200 visits a month and creates 100 website visits and 600 phone calls a year.

So — Make a free GBP at the GBP creation page at Google. Then keep it optimized and updated with your hours and location.

2. Nextdoor page: $0

One in three U.S. households actively uses Nextdoor to find and recommend local companies. You can make a free business page there fast. They also offer paid ads, but start with the free page to get a quick boost.

3. Facebook ad hack: $0

Want real customers to find you on Facebook?

Forget paid Facebook ads unless you have a social media manager on the payroll. Just make a free Facebook ad with Canva’s generator. Then, put it in the Facebook Marketplace. When someone searches “carpet cleaning” from anywhere on Facebook and even in Google, if they’re near you, your ad will pop up.

You’ll need a free Facebook business page to use this carpet cleaning ad idea, but it’s worth the time you’ll spend. You’ll get views and clicks just by having the page. If you want to accelerate your results, you can pay to boost your posts. See Facebook’s guide on how to boost posts for steps.

4. Referrals: $0

Referrals are pure gold. To get them, do excellent work, ask your customers how it went, and when they say it went great, offer them 10% off their next carpet cleaning when they refer a new customer. You can also offer a referral discount in your emails and social media posts.

5. Door hangers: $0.18 each

List your services and prices on door hangers. Then, place 20 a day at local homes and businesses. You can do this carpet cleaning marketing idea cheap at CleanCraft, VistaPrint, or Zazzle.

6. Direct mail: $0.18 each + postage

Most carpet cleaning companies don’t know this…

Direct mail works because no one does it anymore.

PostcardMania will design and print your postcards inexpensively. All you need is a list of local homes and businesses to mail to.

Be very intentional about the neighborhoods and areas you want to target, so you don’t waste money.

7. Local SEO: $$

If you don’t have a website, consider making at least a simple one on Wix for $17 a month.

If you have one, make sure it has an online form to capture contact info.

Then:

1. Manage your listings: Get listed on as many local listing sites as you can (like Facebook, Yellow Pages, Apple Maps, and Foursquare). Free business listings sites like that can drive up your Google rank in local searches. Keep your contact info and hours up to date.
2. Manage your reviews: The more reviews you have online, the higher you’ll rank, unless they’re bad reviews. The more reviews you answer, the higher you’ll rank, too.

8. Contact property managers: $0

Property managers have lots of living rooms they need to keep clean. So — 

Introduce yourself to all of them in your service area. You can cold call, send flyers, or send an email list. You can also join local property manager Facebook groups or find them on LinkedIn.

9. Contact moving companies: $0

Moving company customers often need their carpets cleaned. Call moving companies in your area and offer to give their customers a discount. A periodic stack of refrigerator magnets with your offer on them can be a good incentive.

10. Reach out to realtors: $0

Realtors often need to spruce up homes and businesses before they list them. Consider sending post cards, pens, and fridge magnets to make this carpet cleaning marketing idea work.

11. Partner with cleaning companies: $0

Soooo many cleaning companies tell their clients, “I’m sorry, we don’t do carpets.” Doesn’t it make sense to partner with them, and even offer them a small percentage for referrals? Call house cleaning companies in your area to implement this easy carpet cleaning marketing idea.

12. Train your team to upsell: $0

Selling to an existing customer is 70% easier than finding a new one. So — Teach your carpet cleaners how to upsell. To do it, train them to understand your customers, how your offerings can fill their needs, and how to spot the perfect moments. Often, it can be as easy as dropping off a special- offer flier or refrigerator magnet when they finish cleaning. You can also turn your booking confirmation email into an upsell sales pitch.

Teach your carpet cleaners how to upsell complementary services like stain guard treatments, upholstery cleaning, or pet odor & stain removal. Be careful not to bait-and-switch. In other words, don’t charge extra for services your competitors include in the original price.

13. Automatically follow up with leads: $$

“I lost the sale because I didn’t follow up.”

The most successful carpet cleaning pros know they’re busy, so they create a system of automatic follow-ups, including drip emails that keep new leads fresh. Use customer relationship management (CRM) software to do it for you.

14: Thank you cards: $1.50 each

Send thank you cards to your former customers every six months. To put this carpet cleaning ads idea to work for you, thank clients their business in the past, and offer them a discount in exchange for signing up again.

15. Email marketing: $$

An email list can build local relationships, help you generate more leads, and book more cleanings. Build your list, create content, include details specific to your area, and make it easy to unsubscribe. Hubspot has a good guide to local email marketing, and you can even find good sales email templates on the web.

16. Cold calls: $0

I know, ugh, right? But it works because nobody else likes doing it either. Call local homes and offices or show up in person. If nobody’s home, leave your door hanger.

17. Facebook groups: $0

Find local groups of realtors and people who buy and sell homes, and get involved in conversations in the group. Don’t be selly — just answer cleaning questions from group members. Once you find some groups you like, search them for relevant discussions.

18. Yard signs: $12 each

Yard signs turn heads and get local business. Ask friends, family, and customers to place your yard sign. You can offer customers a discount if they keep your sign up for a week or two.

19. T-shirts: $15 each

You and your crews can be walking ads and conversation starters. When you’re out shopping or on your lunch break, your shirt can drum up business for you. This is a super cheap carpet cleaning marketing idea.

20. Van magnets: $15 each

Put your van to work as a marketing tool with a simple $15 door magnet. Add your business name, phone number, and logo, and let it do the work. If you’ve got the budget, you can get a full van wrap starting at $700.

21. Fridge magnets

Give stacks of fridge magnets to local realtors, property managers, cleaning companies, moving companies, and customers. They’re handy and they’ll keep you top-of-mind when the pile gets grungy again.

Tame your marketing with a carpet cleaning CRM

Keeping an existing customer is easier and cheaper than acquiring a new one. So — use a carpet cleaning business CRM like GorillaDesk to manage your email list, email marketing, estimates, and other customer communications. GorillaDesk is a full-featured carpet cleaning software tool to trim your workload, tame your schedule, and track your invoicing.

GorillaDesk is the highest-rated cleaning company software on top review sites like Capterra for a good reason. Our exemplary customer service chats with you in three minutes on average, and our interface is legendary for its ease of use and full-featured power. Call for a free demo today.