Your growth playbook · 2026

Prepared exclusively for Dana Whitlock

A growth playbook for the company you built.

Fernbrook Home Cleaning · House cleaning · Recurring cleans, deep cleans and move-outs · Marlow Springs

A growth strategy by Dekodi GroupPrepared Nov 3, 2026

Found Trusted Chosen

9 FRANCHISE ADSFRANCHISE ADS Alder FallsNEW NEIGHBORHOODS Kestrel RidgeLARGER HOMES Marlow Springs · you NEIGHBORREALTORCUSTOMER
Word of mouth reaching youFranchises buying the first search result

Where you are today

Twelve years of trust. A calendar that still has holes.

You started Fernbrook in 2014 with one car and a vacuum. Today three teams clean 92 homes on a regular schedule, and nearly every one came from a neighbor. The work is good. New customers just can't find it, or can't get an answer fast enough.

01

Word Only

"If a neighbor doesn't mention us, nobody knows we're here." Referrals are strong, and they're the only way in.

02

Phone Tag

Quotes wait until you finish your day. Your average reply takes 19 hours. Homeowners want a price tonight.

03

Empty Slots

Your teams can do 60 cleans a week. 46 are booked. Those 14 open slots are paid hours with no home attached.

04

Franchise Noise

Two national brands buy the first result in town. They have 412 reviews. You have 38 and a better reputation.

We don't replace what you've already paid for. We make it work together. Your phone number, your domain, your Google profile and your teams all stay.

How you got here

You built it one kitchen at a time. Then the search moved online.

2014

Dana starts cleaning homes solo in Marlow Springs

2017

First team hired. Referrals fill the calendar

2021

Third team added. Simple website goes live

2024

Two franchises arrive and start buying ads

Today

Good crews, 14 open slots a week

"I want a full calendar without being on the phone every night."Dana Whitlock · Discovery call

What stays exactly as it is

Your phone numberYour domainYour 38 reviewsYour three teamsYour customer spreadsheet

What homeowners see first

A friendly homepage with no way to book.

fernbrookcleaning.example
Fernbrook homepage on desktop, with no booking button
Homepage · Desktop · Nov 3, 2026
Fernbrook homepage on a phone
Mobile · Nov 3, 2026

What works: it feels warm and local, and the services are clear. What's missing: no price, no booking button and no reviews. The only next step is "call us", and that call lands in the middle of your workday.

Keep scrolling · Chapter 02How you show up today

How we evaluate your digital footprint

Every rating answers one question: can a homeowner find you?

Excellent

Top of the results. Homeowners see you first.

On par

In the running. You show up next to the others.

Needs work

Easy to miss. You're there if someone looks hard.

Poor

Hard to find. Searchers land on someone else.

N/A

Not in play. Doesn't count against you.

Audit pending

Not measured yet. We check it in the first ten days rather than guess.

Signal bars are a guide, not a measured share. Measured numbers come at kickoff.

Your footprint, by the numbers

Loved by customers. Hard for strangers to reach.

55Website review of 100

Warm and clear, no way to book.

4.8Google rating, 38 reviews

Strong score, thin count.

1 of 3AI questions named you

Only when asked by name.

14Open slots a week

Teams ready, homes missing.

Design66
Marketing and brand61
Technical55
Buyer psychology52
Search basics (SEO)41

The look scores highest. The search basics score lowest. That's good news: the hard part, a reputation people repeat to their neighbors, is already yours. What's missing is the wiring between "house cleaner near me" and your calendar.

01

Level 1 · Marketing foundation

The four things every search checks.

Needs workVisibility: easy to miss

Website

Scored 55 of 100. No price guide, no booking and no reviews. One page per service would give Google something to send people to.

On parVisibility: in the running

Google Business Profile

Claimed, with correct hours and a 4.8 rating. Only 6 photos and no services listed. Easy points on the table.

PoorVisibility: hard to find

Apple Maps

Unclaimed, with an old phone number. iPhone users asking Siri for a house cleaner get the franchises.

Needs workStrong, but too few

Reviews and reputation

38 reviews at 4.8, with the last one 5 months ago. Ninety-two regular homes could tell this story every week.

Pause for a moment

Needs workWebsiteOn parGoogle profilePoorApple MapsNeeds workReviews

A new family moves to Alder Falls and searches at 9pm. Twelve years of good work is one tap away, behind a phone number nobody will answer until morning.

What would she need to see to book you tonight?

02

Level 2 · Active searchers

When homeowners ask AI, it names someone else.

PoorNot namedCategory answer

Asked for house cleaners near Marlow Springs, AI listed 9 companies, not you.

On parYesAsked by name

AI knows you exist when someone asks about you directly.

Needs work1 of 4Answers citing your site

Most answers lean on directories instead.

BrightNest MaidsTidyPine Cleaning Co.Sparkroute Home ServicesClearbay Maid Co.Lumen and LatherHomestead ShineBrightNest MaidsTidyPine Cleaning Co.Sparkroute Home ServicesClearbay Maid Co.Lumen and LatherHomestead Shine

AI visibility preview, Nov 2026.

Level 2 · Search, maps and ads

Quick, permanent fixes sit under the hood.

Needs work

Local map results

Top 3 for your own town center. Falls to page two within four miles, in both Alder Falls and Kestrel Ridge.

Needs work

On-site search basics

SEO pillar 41 of 100. One page for three services, no schema and no town pages.

Poor

Are you advertising?

Not running on Google or Meta. The two franchises are, and they hold the first result.

Meta descriptionMissing

Service pagesNone, one page only

sitemap.xmlNot found

Structured dataNo schema

Share previewsNo Open Graph tags

Page speedSlow on phones

Mobile layoutReads well

SSL and domain ageValid · registered 2021

Pause and ponder

PoorAI answersNeeds workSearch basicsNeeds workMap rankPoorAds

The franchises don't clean better than you. They're just the names that get repeated, and they answer first.

If a homeowner asks ChatGPT who to trust with her house key, whose name should she hear?

03

Level 3 · Passive prospects

The quotes that go quiet, and the customers who drift.

Poor

Quote follow-up

No second touch. You told us about 30 requests come in a month, and those who go quiet stay quiet.

Poor

Email to customers

A spreadsheet of past customers, never emailed. No reminders for twice-a-year deep cleans.

Needs work

Social presence

A Facebook page with good photos, last updated in the spring.

N/A

Display ads

Not needed yet. Search ads come first, once booking is live.

TWO FIXES BEFORE ANYTHING ELSEPeople search for a cleaner.The franchises show up first.You show up if they ask by name.They want a price tonight.Your reply comes tomorrow.Someone else got the job.fix #1: GET FOUND1 of 3AI questionsname you41search basicsscore out of 10038Google reviewsthe franchise has 412fix #2: ONLINE BOOKING0booking buttonsanywhere on the site19 hrsaverage replyto a quote request14open slotsevery weekMore homeowners in. A way to book once they arrive. Then everything else works harder.Dekodi Group · Prepared for Fernbrook Home Cleaning
Keep scrolling · Chapter 03AI Impact Assessment

AI Impact Assessment™

42 of 100. Reactive, with an unclaimed edge.

42Reactive
Visibility and AI-search readiness10 / 20

Known when asked by name. Missing from the category answer.

Conversion and trust signals9 / 20

A 4.8 rating that never reaches the site. No booking path.

Automation and efficiency7 / 20

Quotes, reminders and rescheduling all run through Dana's phone.

Data and follow-up systems6 / 20

A spreadsheet of customers, with no follow-up attached.

Competitive AI exposure10 / 20

9 others named. No local independent owns the answer yet.

What your score means

You react to referrals. The goal is to be recommended.

You · 42
0 to 39 · At riskInvisible to AI and search.
40 to 59 · ReactiveFound when someone already knows your name.
60 to 79 · PositionedNamed in answers for your services.
80 to 100 · AI-advantagedThe default answer in your region.
01 · Read

What AI reads

Your site, your listings, your reviews, and what other sites say about you.

02 · Check

What AI checks

Whether those sources agree on who you are, where you clean and what you offer.

03 · Recommend

Who AI names

The company with the clearest, most consistent story. Today that's a franchise.

Five areas, one answer

What holds each score back, and what moves it.

AreaHolding it backWhat moves itWhere it lives

01Visibility

One page, no schema, not in the AI answer.

Google, Bing, Apple and 50+ listings, town and service pages.

In your plan

02Trust

Reviews live on Google, not on your site.

Weekly review engine, reviews on the site, insured and bonded up top.

In your plan

03Automation

Every quote and reschedule lands on your phone.

Online booking and payments, missed-call text-back.

In your plan

04Follow-up

A spreadsheet nobody hears from.

A customer list, 5-email follow-up, repeat and referral flows.

In your plan

05AI exposure

Franchises and directories own the answer.

FAQ answers AI can quote, backlinks, llms.txt, 2 articles a month.

In your plan

Opportunity map

Effort against impact: start top left.

QUICK WINSDo these firstBIG BETSPlan and scheduleFILL-INSWhen there's spare timeLATERNot worth it yet HIGHLOWIMPACTLOWHIGHEFFORT 12345START HERE
1

Missed-call text-back and instant reply

Impact Effort
2

Weekly review engine

Impact Effort
3

Online booking and payments

Impact Effort
4

Town pages and AI-answer work

Impact Effort
5

Facebook photo refresh

Impact Effort

Higher on the map means more homes on the calendar. Further right means more work to get there. Item 5 sits low because it mostly reaches people who already know you.

Five moves, in order

The order matters more than the list.

1

Answer every call, even when you can't

Missed-call text-back gets a reply out in minutes, on or off a job.

Days 1 to 10
2

Claim and align every listing

Google, Apple, Bing and 50+ directories telling the same story.

Days 11 to 35
3

Launch the site that books

Price guide, online booking and payments, reviews on the first screen.

Days 11 to 45
4

Turn on reviews and follow-up

A weekly review ask, plus a 5-email follow-up for quiet quotes.

Day 36 onward
5

Earn the AI answer

Town pages, articles and backlinks for Marlow Springs, Alder Falls and Kestrel Ridge.

Days 46 to 120

ROI estimate

Six to twelve more homes, using teams you already pay.

One deep clean$340

Your one-time rate for an average home.

One every-other-week home$4,290

$165 a clean × 26 cleans a year.

Yearly range$25.7K to $51.5K

6 to 12 homes × $4,290, of your 28 open.

This is an estimate built on stated assumptions, not a promise. It counts sales, not profit, and reaches that number only once those homes are on the calendar for a full year. We track the real figure monthly.

FILL THE OPEN SLOTS FIRSTBOOKED TODAY46cleans a weekout of 60 your threeteams can doOPEN TODAY14slots a week, or 28new every-other-weekhomes, no new hirenew bookingsgo here firstPAST THE CEILINGa fourth team · small-office contracts · move-out work for local realtorsvolume up only as fast as the teams can take itDekodi Group · Prepared for Fernbrook Home Cleaning
Keep scrolling · Chapter 04Dekodi and the strategy

Who is Dekodi

One partner. One plan. One number to call.

Most agencies build you a website and disappear until the invoice. That's not how we work. Think of us as one general contractor instead of five separate trades: your listings, your site, your reviews and your follow-up, run as one job. You keep the cleaning. Dekodi handles it.

10+Years · founded 2015
100+Businesses served
226Projects delivered and live
4.9Average client rating

The leadership team

The people who will know your company by name.

Syreeta Atiase
Syreeta Atiase
Founder
Elle Willis
Elle Willis
Creative Director
Anaid Perez
Anaid Perez
Head of Design Services
Jason Willis
Jason Willis
Business Development Director

Rooted in community

We give our craft to the towns we work in.

You built Fernbrook on neighbors looking out for neighbors. We understand that. These are three organizations we build for because their communities need them.

Transformative Living logoTransformative Living, Inc.

A reentry ministry. We built its full brand, photography, video and a site it runs itself.

Dream Center Golden Triangle logoDream Center Golden Triangle

Practical help for families across Northeast Mississippi.

Love Live Christ logoLove Live Christ

Meeting physical, emotional and spiritual needs through service.

Customer Activity Roadmap

You're on the foundation. This plan moves you up two levels.

The C.A.R. pyramid: Marketing Foundation, Active Searchers, Passive Prospects, On Demand
04On demand
Driving · homeowners come to you first
02Active searchers
Established · named when someone searches or asks AI
01Marketing foundation
Surviving · site, listings and reviews in order
Today

Your plan, in one line

The Full-Calendar Cleaning Company.

Obstacle 1

Only neighbors know your name

Result 1

Found across three towns, in search and AI answers

Listings telling one story · town pages · reviews every week

Obstacle 2

Quotes wait until tomorrow

Result 2

A price and a time, picked online at 9pm

Online booking · payments · missed-call text-back

Obstacle 3

Past customers never hear from you

Result 3

Your spreadsheet starts booking work again

A customer list · deep-clean reminders · a referral flow

One goal, in your words: "a full calendar without being on the phone every night."

Three futures, one foundation

Whichever way you go, the same work makes it easier.

What this plan gives that future

Found. Trusted. Chosen.

Four jobs, each answering a question your customers ask.

01

Be found

"Who cleans houses near Alder Falls?"
02

Be trusted

"Can I give these people my house key?"
03

Be chosen

"Can I book tonight without calling anyone?"
04

Grow predictably

"Where will next month's homes come from?"

Four jobs. One outcome: you, chosen first. If a service doesn't do one of those four, we don't sell it.

THE BOOKING LINEFFINDlistings + AI answersso homeownersfind you firstTTRUSTreviews, photos andinsured + bonded onthe first screenBBOOKan instant price anda time picked online,no phone tagRRETURNreminders, referralsand a note when ahome goes quietCHOSEN STACK · all four, your pickevery step handled in one planDekodi Group · Prepared for Fernbrook Home Cleaning

The Dekodi HERO Model

Where booking and automation fit.

H

Have a strategy

Fill the open slots first, then decide on a fourth team.

E

Establish your presence

Listings, site and AI answers that agree on who you are.

R

Reinforce trust

Reviews, insured and bonded, and real crew photos.

O

Optimize operations

Online booking and text-back so the phone stops running your evening.

Not a sequence of steps: four target areas of your business, engaged wherever the need is greatest, unified by a single promise: winning through strategy and technology.

Service deliveries · in your plan

Three services start in year one.

Local reach · Be found

Every listing, one story

In your plan
What we do

Google, Bing, Apple and 50+ directories, claimed and aligned, plus AI-answer visibility work.

What it moves

C.A.R. level 2. AI names you in 1 of 3 questions today.

What you'll see

Searches, map views and AI mentions on your monthly Scoreboard.

Website + booking · Be chosen

A site with a full back end

In your plan
What we do

Service and town pages, online booking, payments and a customer portal. Your domain stays.

What it moves

C.A.R. level 2. Booking buttons sit at zero.

What you'll see

Bookings from the site, counted each month.

Follow-up · Grow predictably

Reviews, emails, text-back

In your plan
What we do

A weekly review ask, a 5-email follow-up, newsletter, referral flow and missed-call text-back.

What it moves

C.A.R. level 3. Follow-up scored 6 of 20.

What you'll see

New reviews, reply time and returning customers.

Service deliveries · when you're ready

Two more wait for the right moment.

Paid search · Be found

Search ads

After launch
What we do

Ads management comes with Chosen. Ad spend is separate, a month minimum, and starts once booking works.

What it moves

The first result the franchises hold today.

What you'll see

Bookings per dollar spent.

Done for you · On demand

Digital Engine

Next Stack
What we do

Every layer managed: social, video, 8 articles a month and an annual photo and video day.

What it moves

C.A.R. level 4. Worth it when a fourth team is on the table.

What you'll see

One Scoreboard, across every channel.

Your first moves, free

Six things you can do this week without us.

1

Claim Apple Business

Fix the old phone number while you're there.

2

Add one proof line

"Insured, bonded and cleaning here since 2014."

3

Ask ten regulars for a review

Pick ten who'd be glad to. Send your Google link.

4

Post a starting price

"Regular cleans from $140" saves a lot of calls.

5

Add services to Google

Regular, deep and move-out, each with a few lines.

6

Upload twenty photos

Your crews, your cars, real kitchens with permission.

That's the start, not the whole job. Keeping it current every week, across fifty directories and every AI tool, while you run three teams: that part, Dekodi handles.

Keep scrolling · Chapter 05Your investment

Every plan comes with web

Your site, built for visibility and access, and it stays yours.

01

Visibility

Search engines and AI tools can read every page, every service, every town you clean in.

02

Access

A homeowner on a phone can pick a time and pay in under a minute.

03

Yours to keep

Every listing, review and page belongs to Fernbrook.

What changes between plans is how much the site does: Found gets you found, Trusted is built to book, Chosen adds the full back end and the follow-up behind it.

Dekodi Stacks 2027

Three plans. One 12-month agreement. Fixed setup.

Be found

Found Stack

per monthSetup + Starter Site Year one
  • Starter site, 1 to 3 pages
  • Google, Bing, Apple and 50+ listings
  • AI-answer visibility and backlinks
  • Weekly review engine
  • Monthly Scoreboard · 2 design requests a month
Be trusted

Trusted Stack

per monthSetup Year one
  • Everything in Found
  • A site built to book, up to 6 pages
  • FAQ answers AI can quote, llms.txt
  • 2 articles a month · reviews on the site
  • Press release · quarterly review · 5 requests
Be chosen

Chosen Stack

per monthSetup Year one
  • Everything in Trusted
  • A site with a full back end
  • Customer list, free guide, 5-email follow-up
  • Missed-call text-back · referral flows
  • Ads management · bi-weekly meetings · 10 requests

Why Chosen, for you

You don't lose work to bad cleaning. You lose it to slow replies.

About 30 quote requests a month, a 19-hour average reply, 14 open slots a week. Be Chosen is your weakest job, and Chosen is the Stack that fixes it. You told us a month was workable if it fills the calendar.

Included · Chosen Stack
  • Listings on Google, Apple, Bing and 50+ directories
  • Online booking, payments and a customer portal
  • Missed-call text-back and a 5-email follow-up
  • Weekly review engine · bi-weekly meetings
Billed separately · only if you want it
  • Ad spend, a month minimum, paid to the ad platforms
  • Extra pages, each
  • Extra press release,

Quoted in writing before any work starts.

Waits for the next Stack
  • Managed social, 12 to 20 posts a month: Digital Engine
  • 8 articles a month: Digital Engine
  • Annual photo and video day: Digital Engine
HOW FEW HOMES IT TAKESEvery-other-week homes needed to cover each plan's year one, at $4,290 per home a yearFOUND2homes a year$8,888for the yearTRUSTED2homes a year$8,888for the yearCHOSEN3homes a year$88,888for the yearour pick for you$If just 1 new home joins each quarter:4 × $4,290 once all are on the calendar · math on your numbers, not a promised return$17,160Dekodi Group · Prepared for Fernbrook Home Cleaning

Know your number

Try it with your own numbers.

Start from a customer type
New customers a month
1
Paid per clean
$165
Cleans a year
26
Yearly value once they're all on the calendar
$51,4808.8× the Chosen year one
New customer value$51,480
Chosen Stack, year one

Customers needed to cover year one at this value: 3

This is math on your numbers, not a promised return.

Add-ons, quoted in writing

Only the extras that fit a company like yours.

Extra pages

One more town or a commercial cleaning page.

+

Logo + brand identity

From $750, if the fern is ready for a refresh.

Extra press release

Useful if you announce a fourth team.

Step up

When the Scoreboard says so

Move up to Digital Engine when the open slots are gone and you're ready to run more teams.

Secure your start

Begin with your first payment.

Chosen Stack · first payment
  • Chosen setup, including your site with a full back end
  • Then a month, 12-month agreement
  • Year one total
Get One of Your Own ↗

This is a sample. Your Playbook comes with your own plan and price.

Setup is fixed and agreed in writing.

Keep scrolling · Chapter 06The plan and next steps

Your first 90 days

Measured in ten days. Live in forty-five.

Days 1 to 10

Baseline

Rank grid, profiles, ad libraries and reviews measured. Missed-call text-back switched on.

Days 11 to 35

Build

Site with booking and payments, service and town pages. Listings claimed and aligned.

Days 36 to 45

Launch

Site goes live. Review engine and follow-up emails start. First Scoreboard.

Days 46 to 90

First full cycle

AI-answer and backlink work. Monthly review of bookings, replies and open slots.

Most launches go live within 45 days. Quick approvals from you keep it on schedule. Google listing and directory changes typically show results in 4 to 8 weeks. Organic rankings take 60 to 120 days depending on local competition.

YOUR FIRST 12 MONTHSDAYS1-30SET UPbaseline audittargets in writingtracking installedDAYS31-90BUILDonline booking + paymentslistings alignedreview engine onDAYS91-180LAUNCHfollow-up emails runningmissed-call text-backfirst resultsDAYS181-365GROWtune what worksreferral flowfourth team? decideresults start showing hereDekodi Group · Prepared for Fernbrook Home Cleaning
WHERE YOU ARE → WHERE WE'RE HEADEDAI answersTODAY1 of 3IN 12 MONTHS3 of 3when homeowners askWebsite scoreTODAY55IN 12 MONTHS80+book from screen oneGoogle reviewsTODAY38IN 12 MONTHS120fresh every weekQuote repliesTODAY19 hrsIN 12 MONTHS5 minday or nightTargets we plan toward and report on monthly, not guarantees.Dekodi Group · Prepared for Fernbrook Home Cleaning
WHAT WE PROMISE, WHAT WE PLAN FORWE PROMISEthe workTargets agreed in writingbefore we startEvery deliverable liveon scheduleA Scoreboard every monthWE PLAN FORthe resultsAI answers: 1 to 3 of 3Website score: 55 to 80+Reviews: 38 to 120Open slots filling upYOU KEEPeverythingYour listings, reviewsand pagesYour customer listYour phone numberStay with us, or don'tWe can't promise a revenue number. We can promise the work, and show you the results every month.Dekodi Group · Prepared for Fernbrook Home Cleaning

Why Dekodi

We don't build and disappear. We stay.

No Wasted Foundation

Your name, number and reviews carry forward.

Honest About AI

Your voice and your photos. AI only helps behind the scenes.

Numbers, Every Month

One Scoreboard you can read in two minutes.

Built to Book

Every page has one job: fill an open slot.

Right-Sized for You

Volume turned up only as fast as your teams can take it.

Next steps

Ready when you are.

1

Walk through this playbook

Take your time with it.

2

Pick your plan

Chosen is our pick.

3

Pay the first payment

for the Chosen Stack.

4

Schedule your strategy call

We set targets together at schedule.dekodigroup.com.

5

Start the week you choose

Day 1 begins with the baseline audit.

When you're readyGet One of Your Own ↗

No decision is needed today.

Found on Google. Trusted on sight. Chosen before they call anyone else.

The growth partner local businesses hire when every marketing dollar has to come back.

Questions? Jason at Dekodi Group · schedule.dekodigroup.com

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