A COVID Comeback

At the beginning of 2020, Suzanne Hayzlett’s business, SET Cleaning, was thriving. SET Cleaning had 28 employees and a loyal customer base. By the end of March, however, Suzanne was concerned about COVID-19, and the safety of her employees and her customers. 

As they were creating and implementing COVID safety practices, SET Cleaning began receiving calls from customers to suspend their services. Customers were fearful of having anyone in their home, even with the new safety protocols in place. 

“What am I going to do with all of my employees?”

Trying to balance what was right for her customers and her employees, Suzanne found herself in a position that she never wanted to be in – closing her doors. Further, Suzanne accepted the best thing she could do for her employees was to lay them off and help them with the unemployment process, while praying that she would be able to hire them back soon. 

As she began to contact her customers to advise that SET Cleaning would shut down temporarily, some of her customers told her that she could not quit on them. Some customers even took it a step further that they would find another cleaning service if she shut down. Suzanne remembers thinking, “Oh, boy! How are we gonna do this?” Luckily, a few employees wanted to continue working, even if it wasn’t much, instead of filing for unemployment. 

Armed with 6 employees and determination, Suzanne kept SET Cleaning open. She soon discovered that the impact of COVID extended past her employees and her customers. It also affected the supply of cleaning products. 

SET Cleaning had always used environmentally-friendly products. Once the shortage of supplies hit, however, Suzanne and her team began making their own cleaning products. 

During April and May, Suzanne estimates that SET Cleaning was operating with approximately 20% of the business that she had the year prior. Spring is usually the busiest time of the year for cleaning companies. Suzanne recalls looking in her parking lot, full of SET Cleaning cars that were not being used. “It was a little rough,” she admits. “I had to formulate a Plan B, a Plan C, D, and E. At one point, I was concerned that I would have to start selling one of the cars each month just to keep the business floating.”

Suzanne didn’t give up. She checked in routinely with her customers. “I wanted to see how they were and to let them know of everything that we were doing to help them when they were ready.”

By May, Suzanne had a spike in the number of clients that wanted to reestablish their cleaning services. Suzanne thought this was the breakthrough that she needed. She contacted many of her former employees, only to find that many did not want to return to work. 

In the midst of this, Chris Fawcett from Third Marble Marketing reached out to Suzanne for a routine call. Suzanne had been a client of Third Marble Marketing for years. Suzanne recalls that she was frustrated at that time, because she had tried to find employees without any luck. She remembers telling Chris, “I don’t need you…I need employees.” 

Suzanne figured that was the end of the call. But instead, Chris offered her a solution. 

Chris proposed that Third Marble Marketing help her run Google ads for recruiting purposes instead of running Google ads for her services. Chris was willing to try something unconventional to help her solve her problem. Suzanne was thrilled with the idea.

Third Marble Marketing implemented a recruiting ads campaign for SET Cleaning around early June. After weeks of pursuing leads on employment websites and social media postings, Suzanne finally found qualified candidates for the positions she needed through Google ads. 

By September, the number of employees at SET Cleaning had doubled, as well as her customer base. 

Third Marble Marketing has continued to help Suzanne focus her ads for customers in her service area. Today, Suzanne has 21 employees, almost the same number that she did before COVID hit. 

“Thanks to Third Marble … they made the biggest impact on my business through advertising, from getting new employees to getting new customers.”

Suzanne’s advice to other companies is straightforward: Collaborate with other companies, and trust Third Marble Marketing. 

Suzanne encourages other business owners to utilize their network. “Talk to your competitors,” she says. “Pick up the phone and get advice.” Suzanne has stayed in touch with her competitors and a network of cleaning professionals across the country, even referring some to Third Marble Marketing. Suzanne also found support with her BNI group, where she initially met Chris. 

“It was important to motivate each other, especially when you see other businesses around you falling apart.”

As far as Third Marble Marketing, Suzanne is grateful for Chris’s call that day. “There were days that I was ready to give up.” Suzanne feels confident in Third Marble Marketing to help her in the future, as Chris demonstrated the willingness to think outside the box. “I’m very happy with Third Marble.”

SET Cleaning is located at 2927 Anderson Highway in Powhatan, and currently serves customers in Powhatan, Midlothian, and Moseley.