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 Self-Service - May 2010  |
Boost Sales — With New Ideas
If you think that you have tried everything to get customers to spend more money at your site, take a look at these ideas to see if you can make them spend more time, thus making more money. Through upgrading your equipment with add-ons, enhancing the visual appearance of your site, and/or creating a unique marketing promotion, you will be able to show your customers that you now have even more to offer than before. While other car wash sites may be in fear of the falling economy, you can look for new opportunities to sharpen and refine your strengths. With the economy down, you may need to show customers how to stretch a dollar at the car wash — actually you could have an entire marketing campaign on stretching their money. Educate them on what they can get for a dollar with each self-serve cycle or interior-cleaning function at the vacuum islands. NEW AND FRESH IN-BAY ADD-ONS To entice customers to spend more time and money in the bay, you could consider adding an in-bay dryer. Air dryers help push out water from especially small areas on the vehicle and help to avoid water spots once vehicles drive off. This service just requires updating your meter door and adding the dryer system to the bay. Adding a foam brush is another metered feature that increases revenue. Here again, updating your meter door along with a foam brush and proper components is all you need. Adding triple foam to your foam brush has also proven to increase sales in the bay. Though single colored foam is just as powerful as triple foam, some customers love to use it simply because of the three bright colors and fragrance. Other ways to increase features at your site is to add bill acceptors and/or credit card acceptance to your bay meters. Though this may incur some modification costs, it will pay for itself in the long run. With the growing number of vending machines and kiosks, people almost expect it now. Your customers will know that they can go to your site without having to worry about how many quarters they need to complete their wash. Just offering bill changers should not be your only means of keeping customers in the bay, or their only means of finding correct change. On deciding upon your upgrades, plan ahead. For example, if you are thinking about adding more than one upgrade, it would be wise to do them at the same time, so that you only have to modify your meter door once. NEW AND FRESH APPEARANCE
There is nothing more difficult than trying to get customers to use your wash if your signage, decals and bay walls are an eyesore. It goes without saying that clean bay walls are a reflection on you as a business owner. The cost of either renting a pressure washer or a hired hand is minimal and well worth the expense. Applying new meter-door decals is extremely simple and cost effective, usually under $100 a bay. Some manufacturers now offer several door decals to choose from and even offer custom-made decals with your logo on it or favorite color scheme. In-bay signage is just as important; it educates your customers and can help promote each function on your meter. There are customers who do not know what each cycle offers; signage can do the job of informing them. Bay wall signs, on the average, cost between $30 and $75, depending on size and material. The more your customers know about your products and services, the more they will try them and use them. You also want to entice customers to use other services at your site. Vending areas, vacuum islands, and air/water dispensers can lure them in. Vending machines and vending islands take up such a small area on a site; they are available in different configurations and can be wall-mounted. The selection of vending products has increased tremendously through the last several years; there are a variety of products to choose from to offer customers. The vacuum islands are an easy fix with new domes, decals, and hoses. The more colorful your vacuums are, the better, especially if your vacuums are on the front line. A new dome and side decals are under $300. New hoses are under $40. NEW PROMOTIONS FOR “NEW” CUSTOMERS
Maybe your site is still a bit new and you do not need to update your equipment or the location’s appearance but still need to get new customers in. Let’s keep with the “new” theme. You could implement a “new” marketing promotion. For a small investment, you could purchase a list of all the new homeowners in your area and invite them in for a free car wash, welcoming them to the neighborhood. Sometimes, this list is available for free from your local Chamber of Commerce. Running other “new” promotions for smaller groups of people will work too, such as a discounted car wash for “new” parents or “new” graduates in May. Teaming up with a local car dealership could create a promotion for the “new” car owner. You could also run a special on a free vacuum with purchase of a car wash to promote your “new car” fragrance. How do you reach these types of customers? A small postcard mailing can work. The mailing lists can be purchased through a mail house, or you can create a database yourself with a little research. A local newspaper ad with a code is not too costly and easy to track. Passing out coupons on your site will also work. Displaying coupons on counters or bulletin boards with other local businesses is yet another inexpensive avenue. Even a vinyl banner or plastic yard signs work to promote any of these quick-and-easy promotions. The key to successfully running a group of smaller promotions is to do them on a continuous basis. This makes it more affordable, and you can budget it into your marketing plan throughout different times of the year. By running continuous promotions, your customers will take notice of the effort your business is making in these times of economic challenges. THE NEWEST TREND
The Internet, with its many choices of social networking opportunities is the newest trend in business marketing — and the best part of all is that it is free. Social marketing tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace are becoming more popular for businesses to promote their services or products online without much effort. These Internet platforms can generate “buzz” about your car wash site as well as create online promotions. If your entrance controllers and/or bay meters accept codes, you could begin a “blog” or conversation about a particular service and offer a code for a trial or discounted wash. Tracking the sales from this type of promoting is easy — you control all the factors involved, and the results can be easily tabulated. Using this method also allows consumers to become a “fan” of your site, therefore creating a loyal customer base. Setting up a business website can also reach new customers by offering them coupons that they can download or a code they can use for a discounted wash. Daily codes can be used for shorter promotions, which should entice customers to keep in contact with you for future discounts. The website also allows you to create a loyal customer list and gives you the ability to invite comments via blogging or e-mail. Website creation varies in price, but this is a project that you can do with pre-made “template” websites, store-bought web-software, or a local web designer. The key for this to be successful is to advertise it and make your customers aware of its existence. KEEP IT NEW AND KEEP IT FUN
Turn your site into a “new” site by adding new upgrades or new services. Incorporate some new tactics into your marketing plan — try something that you haven’t done before, such as direct mail postcards or setting up a Facebook page on your website. The key here is it to take action and make the necessary changes to promote your site with quality equipment, enhanced appearance, and effective marketing. Explore different avenues and keep it interesting and fun. As versatility generates continual interest, any one of your products or services can be promoted with creative marketing techniques. Brenda Witte has been with Jim Coleman Company for 15 years as senior graphic designer and marketing manager. She has designed numerous direct mail postcards, logos, banners, and signage for car wash owners across the United States, helping them marketing their car wash. She can be reached at bwitte@jcolemanco.com. |
