Nextdoor is considered a word-of-mouth platform accessible online that allows business owners to create Nextdoor Business Pages to post to local neighborhoods, advertise local promotions, share links and engage with current and prospective clients. By creating a Nextdoor Business Page, businesses can connect directly with clients by sharing exclusive offers and announcements via the Nextdoor platform. The online platform allows businesses to engage with potential clients directly but enhances the experience by providing engagement based on a potential client’s location and specific neighborhood.
Getting started on Nextdoor begins with claiming your business page. Before claiming your business, you will need to create a new business account. Once your account is created, you can claim and verify your business page. Following claiming and verification of your business page, you can take steps to begin acquiring additional clients by making use of several of Nextdoor’s available features. The first step is to edit your business page information. Second, you should create a business post. Business posts are viewable within the neighborhood newsfeed giving your business free exposure. Once you make a business post, it will be necessary to draft and post a local deal. By generating a local deal, you can create a promotion or advertise a discount or sale specific to your cleaning business. Once you have developed a small client base, you can acquire more clients by using the recommendations feature of Nextdoor.
To begin acquiring clients for your cleaning business, you should first create a new business account. Signing up for a business account is separate from signing up for a personal account. Be sure that you are visiting the business sign-up page for Nextdoor. Creating a business account will allow you to begin unlocking the many features available to local business owners. Following the creation of your business account, you can claim and verify your business page. By claiming your business page, you will now be able to interact with clients directly and respond to their questions and comments. You will also now be an active participant within your local neighborhood, creating a solid foundation for your cleaning business and its quest to acquire more clients.
When you have claimed and verified your business page, you will want to remember to first edit your business page information. The details within your business page must be accurate and up to date. Details about your business may have been submitted to Nextdoor. This information submitted by previous users may contain wholly erroneous or outdated information. Updating your business page information ensures that clients have the information required to contact your cleaning business.
After editing your business page information, you can create your first official business post. Business posts are visible in Nextdoor’s newsfeed and will assist in attracting clients to your business. Business posts are visible within your selected locality or neighborhood. A successful business post will drive traffic to your business page and create a buzz around your cleaning business, ultimately leading to the acquisition of a more significant number of clients.
Once you have your first business post completed, you can draft up a local deal. Local deals are specials offered within a neighborhood that provides a discount or advertises a special promotion. Local deals are an excellent method for acquiring clients because they allow clients to lessen the risk of trying a new business by receiving services at a discount or promotional pricing.
A final method that successfully leads to the acquisition of new clients for your cleaning business is Nextdoor’s recommendation feature. Recommendations via the online platform are similar to what you would expect to hear from a friend if they were to call you and tell you about their recent experience with a business. Recommendations allow other clients to recommend your company. This can be extremely helpful in acquiring new clients because potential clients can see firsthand how satisfied your current client base is. Many people prefer to try new services based on recommendations, and recommendations can open many doors for your cleaning business if adequately utilized.
Creating Your Nextdoor Business Account and Claiming Your Business
From Nextdoor’s business landing page, click the link that reads “Claim Your Free Business Page.” From here, you can begin creating your business account. To begin the account creation process, you will need to provide your first and last name, email address, and password. When signing up for your business account, there are a few things you will want to keep in mind. If you plan to share your login information with another employee or individual, you must use a separate email instead of your own personal Nextdoor account. If you do not use a different email address and create a business account with the same email address, your business and personal account will be accessible using that email address.
Once your business account has been created, and you have signed in, you can claim your business. The screen following the sign-up screen should prompt you to enter your business name followed by your business address. Once you have entered your information, you will be given one of two options. The first option will ask you to verify your business page via text message or phone call to a number already linked to your business page on the Nextdoor platform. Verify your business here so that neighbors know you are a valid business.
If you are not presented with the option to verify your business page, your business has not yet been listed on Nextdoor, and you will need to continue to the following pages providing your email address, phone number, and web address. When you have finished entering your business details, you must choose a category for your business and then select the option that reads “claim page.” Once you have completed these steps, you will be able to see and respond to clients’ recommendations and comments and post messages and create local deals. It is important to remember that if you did not see the option initially to verify your business via text or phone call, you would need to submit acceptable government-issued documentation to Nextdoor support for your business to be verified.
Editing Your Business Information
Navigating to the “Your Page” section of Nextdoor will allow you to edit your business page information. If you want to be successful at acquiring additional clients, your business page information must be current. Attracting clients means making your cleaning business attractive to those potential clients. The first section to edit is your logo. Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and the presentation of your cleaning business logo here can be crucial to your business acquiring new clients. Be sure that your logo is appropriately sized at 500×500 pixels and expresses the uniqueness of your cleaning business. Unless you have experience with graphic design, it is best to commission a freelance artist to design a log for your cleaning business. This will ensure your logo is eye-catching and memorable.
A second item that you should modify on your business page is your cover photo. The cover photo will be shown at the top of your business page and is a critical visual that potential clients will see before deciding to use your cleaning services. Choose a photo that is representative of your business and reflects the business’s personality. Potential clients may take one look at your cover photo and click the back button without even reading further if they are unimpressed by your initial presentation. This is an opportunity to spark interest in potential clients. Take this chance to express your creativity and originality to potential clients. To complement your cover photo and logo, you should next edit the “Story” section of your Nextdoor business page information. Here you are able to briefly introduce yourself to the neighborhood and provide a backstory as well as one additional photo. This will allow you to give a brief but descriptive introduction of you and your cleaning business. The story you present is crucial in acquiring new clients because potential clients will likely decide whether to continue learning about your cleaning business based on what they read in your story. Be sure to allow yourself ample time to write and edit a one-of-a-kind story that highlights your strengths.
Now that you have your logo, cover photo, and story, you can verify your address, phone number, email address, and website are listed correctly. These are the methods by which potential clients can contact you, so any typos or outdated information can mean a missed opportunity for your cleaning business to acquire a new client. In this section, you will also be able to list your hours. It is essential that your hours of operation are accurate. If your hours list your business as closing at noon, but you are, in fact, open until six pm, you will lose out on clients if individuals decide against reaching out to your business because they believe it is closed.
Finally, you can add an additional personal touch by uploading photos to the photo gallery. Clients who are considering selecting your cleaning business will likely want to see examples of your work. The photo gallery section within your Nextdoor business account allows you to upload photos that can give potential clients a look into your services. Before sharing any photographs, be sure that you have the homeowner’s permission to publicly share the pictures to the Nextdoor website. When you have received the go-ahead from your client, you can show before and after photos as well as photos that represent specific room sizes as examples to assist clients with pricing. The photo gallery is a vital tool to take advantage of because it allows you to present your top transformations to potential clients. They can see firsthand how flawless the services your cleaning business provides are.
Creating Your First Business Post
Creating your first business post allows you to post to the neighborhood newsfeed. A business post can be an update or announcement to clients and will enable you to interact one-on-one with clients. When you create a business post, you want to ensure that the content will keep individuals engaged and presents new information to the neighborhood. A business post can have photos included and can be specific to a certain radius of your business or to a specified neighborhood. Within your business post, you can introduce yourself as the owner and provide more backstory to how your cleaning business began. Creating an initial business post that allows local members to get to know your business will be one of the most important stepping stones towards acquiring new clients. You want potential clients who read your business post to take it one step further, visit your business page, and ultimately choose your services. Business posts should be authentic and provide value to the newsfeed. This is a time to be creative. Having bi-weekly topics or questions is one idea you can try. Businesses can post up to two posts each month, so be sure to be selective in what you choose to post.
Generating Local Deal
Creating a business-post will assist in acquiring clients by simply putting your cleaning business into the mix. As local members scan the Nextdoor newsfeed, they will have to opportunity to view your business post. Since you have generated an interest in your cleaning business with your logo, cover, story, photos, and business post, you will want to keep that buzz going. Creating what is known as a local deal can be that last push you need to convince the potential client to give your cleaning business a try. Local deals can be offered through Nextdoor but do come at a cost. Fees are calculated and presented before being charged, so business owners are completely aware of any fees involved.
When creating a local deal, you can choose from four different options. You can choose to offer a deal that provides a certain percentage off or one that offers a fixed discount, or even one that offers a buy one get one free deal. Alternatively, you can select to create your own custom deal. If you chose a deal offering a percent off or fixed discount, the title of your deal would be automatically generated. For example, if you select the percent off option, Nextdoor will request that you enter the name of the service being offered. If you type “Residential Cleaning” with a ten percent discount, the title will read “10% off Residential Cleaning.” Creating deals is essential to your cleaning business and acquiring new clients because it allows potential clients to test the services at a reduced cost. While you do not want to provide such a steep discount that you lose money, offering an initial discount will help get new clients through the door and can often be a determining factor if someone is on the fence about giving your cleaning business a try.
Utilizing Nextdoor’s Recommendation Feature
Word of mouth is one of the best ways to create a buzz about a product or service. Nextdoor has taken the idea of word of mouth to an online platform. Here, clients can share their feedback, whether positive or negative, and receive recommendations for products and services. To assist in acquiring new customers, your cleaning business must reach out to current clients to have them provide recommendations on Nextdoor. Existing clients can visit your business page directly to recommend your cleaning business or can mention your business’s name when responding to comments.
Many businesses fail to understand how critical this type of advertisement can be. Knowing that multiple other individuals have not only used your cleaning services but have been satisfied enough to share their experience can help potential clients who may be unsure about trying a new cleaning business. Nextdoor’s recommendation feature allows locals of the neighborhoods to share their personal experiences regarding companies in the local area. If you can get your current clients to recommend your business, you can boost your business within the Nextdoor platform and continue the buzz surrounding your cleaning business. New clients will be interested and intrigued by the positive review that your current clients shared, leading to a new set of clients who can, in turn, share their experiences. The more recommendations you garner, the greater visibility your business page will receive.
Overall, Nextdoor is a convenient online resource that allows you to connect directly to potential clients located within specific neighborhoods. Once you create and claim your business, you can edit the information that will be presented to current and potential clients. The type of information you use and how you present that information will be key factors in determining whether you will begin to acquire new clients based on your Nextdoor business page. A unique logo, eye-catching cover photo, and well-written story will form the foundation for your business to reach new clients. Each layer brings the potential client closer to your business. Once they view your business page and local deals and take a moment to review your recommendations, they will know that your cleaning business is the best option available.