Cutting Costs to Grow £290k Window Cleaning Empire!

Last updated: October 30, 2024

Aaron Rudman-Hawkins

Aaron Rudman-Hawkins is a dynamic digital marketing expert and a driving force behind The Evergreen Agency's success. With a passion for technology and a deep understanding of the ever-evolving digital landscape, Aaron has become a trusted name in the industry.

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Window cleaning business aiming to grow from £300,000 to £500,000 in annual revenue. Here’s how they plan to achieve this through optimised digital marketing from our advice!

Business overview

  • Current revenue: £300,000 annually
  • Team of six full-time staff members
  • Average service price: £22 per hour
  • Operating within a 30-40 minute radius
  • Mix of residential and commercial clients
  • Strong repeat customer base

Current marketing performance

The business is currently spending around:

  • £800-1,000 monthly on Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads during peak season
  • £400 monthly on Google Ads
  • Achieving a cost per lead of £3-4 during summer months
  • Converting approximately 1 in 2-3 leads to customers

Key challenges identified

  • Seasonal fluctuations: Cost per lead increases significantly during off-peak seasons
  • Limited ad spend: Not investing enough to achieve desired growth
  • Basic targeting: Currently using broad demographic targeting
  • Underutilising retargeting: No structured retargeting strategy
  • Limited creative assets: Relying on single-image ads

Strategic recommendations

Scale Meta advertising

  • Increase budget during peak seasons
  • Implement comprehensive retargeting strategy
  • Capture website visitors and previous customers
  • Create varied creative assets for testing
  • Focus on local, targeted audiences

Optimise Google Ads presence

  • Connect Google Business Profile to ads
  • Implement all available ad extensions
  • Target specific postcodes and localities
  • Focus on search terms with clear intent
  • Increase budget to achieve meaningful results

Improve creative strategy

  • Test multiple ad variations
  • Create seasonal-specific messaging
  • Incorporate video content where possible
  • Maintain personal, local business feel
  • Regular creative refreshes to prevent ad fatigue

Leverage lifetime value

The business discovered their customer lifetime value makes higher acquisition costs viable:

  • Average first transaction: £22
  • Many customers stay 1-3 years
  • Regular recurring service (4-8 times annually)
  • True customer value often £200-300+

Implement offline marketing

  • Leaflet dropping to neighbours after completing jobs
  • Create custom leaflets highlighting recent work
  • Include clear call-to-action and pricing
  • Make neighbourhood marketing mandatory for team

Key learnings for service businesses

  • Consider lifetime value: Don’t focus solely on initial transaction value when calculating acceptable acquisition costs.
  • Maintain consistent presence: Even during off-peak seasons, maintain some level of advertising to keep brand awareness.
  • Focus on local: Use highly targeted geographical campaigns rather than broad reach.
  • Test and measure: Continuously experiment with different creative approaches and messages.
  • Combine online and offline: Integrate digital marketing with traditional marketing methods for best results.

Implementation timeline

For immediate impact:

  • Set up retargeting campaigns
  • Add all Google Ads extensions
  • Create new creative variations
  • Implement neighbouring property marketing
  • Increase ad spend during peak periods

Conclusion

This case study demonstrates that local service businesses can achieve significant growth through strategic digital marketing. The key is understanding true customer value and implementing a multi-channel approach that combines both online and offline marketing efforts.

The business owner’s goal of reaching £500,000 annual revenue appears achievable through these optimisations, particularly by:

  • Increasing ad spend during peak seasons
  • Implementing comprehensive retargeting
  • Improving creative assets
  • Maximising Google Ads presence
  • Leveraging offline marketing opportunities

For local service businesses looking to scale, this approach provides a practical framework for growth while maintaining profitability and service quality.

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