BSC Survey Highlights Challenges of Balancing Costs with Client Expectations

Building service contractors (BSCs) are feeling the pinch of meeting their client’s expectations for cleanliness and facility image, while providing services at their customers’ price point, according to the results of CMM’s latest BSC benchmarking survey.

CMM surveys BSCs every year to provide a record of cleaning business challenges, priorities, technology use, and accomplishments. Among the respondents of the 2025 survey, the majority (61%) are corporate managers with more than 30 years in the cleaning industry (33%), and service local areas within 50 miles of their business headquarters (28%).

Most (85%) survey respondents say their company’s experience and reputation sets them apart from the competition. Issues that they listed as large or moderate challenges for their companies included:

• Recruiting and retaining staff (76%)
• Maintaining profitable margins (76%)
• Winning new bids/contracts (74%)
• Validating cleaning results (53%)
• Retaining customers (49%)
• Achieving sustainability initiatives (47%)

Top issues BSCs listed as affecting their clients included:

• Improving facility image (83%)
• Reducing overall cleaning costs (72%)
• Assuring the health, safety, and security of buildings and tenants (69%)
• Retaining tenants (62%)
• Preserving assets (55%)
• Implementing sustainability/ESG initiatives (37%)
• Reducing the number of service contractors (36%)

To help meet some of these challenges, many BSCs plan to adopt new technology in the next year, include cleaning validation programs (48%), artificial intelligence (46%), and smart technologies (37%).

Many BSCs also turn to computer software or tools, including customer relationship management (CRM) software (56%) and email or outreach automation tools (43%).

Download the full survey results here. And be sure to register for a free webinar, BSC Balancing Act:  Facility Image vs. Cost Control, that will explore BSC challenges and reveal growth strategies for 2026.