What 2020 Taught the Cleaning Industry
2020 was an unprecedented, uncertain, and highly emotional year. Like many industries, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the cleaning industry, and we had to adapt to meet demand and customer concern.
Our Sales Manager Nanda Makins shares our plans and visions for the future, in a post-pandemic world.
2020 for Rapid Clean
2020 was frantic and uncertain, but also a time that brought a lot of learning. The pandemic was a wake-up call for a huge proportion of the general public about just how important cleaning and good hygiene is. We saw a dramatic increase in demand for our products.
“Pre-COVID, if you talked about sanitising, people thought you were just trying to sell them something. Sanitising should be a standard process of being careful and hygienic,” Nanda said.
Customers also learnt that they had to be prepared with products to meet the sudden surges in demand for disinfection, in a market with overwhelmed suppliers.
Adapting to meet the needs of COVID-19
2020 was all about communication. We had to instil confidence and patience in our customers, and draw on all our product knowledge in order to offer suitable alternative products when things were out of stock. We also saw our clients fall victim to the panic-buying phenomenon. “We were actually encouraging people not to buy too much,” said Nanda.
The pandemic brought along the difficult task of having to prioritise customers as demand soared. Suddenly everyone wanted nitrile gloves, even if their industry didn’t require them.
Our approach was to be honest with people and explain what we were doing and how we were making decisions along the way. “Constant reassurance meant that we didn’t lose any customers,” said Nanda.
What’s comes next
“In 2021, Rapid Clean will continue to educate our customers. Teaching people how to clean and disinfect correctly is more important than ever. We also want our customers to know that quality cleaning products don’t have to break the bank. Certain products perform better, but a product can be both effective and cost-efficient,” said Nanda.
As we discovered last year, always having the correct products in stock is a challenge. However, we saw an opportunity in anticipating our customer’s needs and preparing sufficient options with supporting compliance information. “We need to think outside the square and predict some of the needs that may arise. Those challenges teach us to be more versatile,” she said.
Education and training
Nanda’s advice for anyone in the cleaning community is to train.
“Just like we have responsible people selling alcohol, people supplying cleaning products should be trained and educated on what we sell,” she said. We guide in-store and online training courses can be done by customers at their convenience.
“Infection protection will also be a key focus in the future, as we continue to improve our cleaning and hygiene practices. At Rapid Clean, we’re passionate about educating people on the best ways to create clean, hygienic places to live and work.”
Knowing what products to use and how to clean, sanitise, or disinfect properly is difficult. Different levels of bacteria control exist to meet user expectations. The tools you choose with also achieve outcomes that vary in type, effectiveness, and cost. However, when you speak with Rapid Clean, we can guide you through every step of the process.
To us, it’s not just about making a sale, it’s about equipping you with the cleaning knowledge you need to meet and exceed safety and cleaning guidelines. We’ll talk to you and bring in multiple staff members, drawing on all our expert’s fields of knowledge. We have suppliers on call for any questions that we can’t answer.
If 2020 saw your business or life change, make sure your cleaning practices are up to speed. Call us on 4908 2333 to chat with a cleaning supply expert.
Related Tag: Industrial Vacuum Cleaners