PROMOTIONAL AND MARKETING

Car Wash Marketing

The whole point of any promotion or marketing strategy for your car wash is to be NOTICED and get a RESPONSE. Excite your potential customers through direct mail, promo cards and special offers. To have a successful car wash business, you need a solid marketing plan. So what CAN marketing do for you? Increase your business -- no question about it. However (and this is a really big however) marketing is NOT going to result in overnight success. Marketing is about slow growth, building on last week's success and learning what didn’t work. Marketing is about frequency -- about your target market seeing your offer over and over again until they're finally ready to buy. Without that very important frequency, your business will start to stagnate and eventually die. Now that doesn't mean you won't have a major success with a campaign. Even a massive, amazing, unbelievable success. You can do that with direct mail, ads, press releases, grand openings, co-oping with non-profit groups and special events. Marketing is also about being consistent. This goes back to building on successes. Your customers need to see your message over and over again. This builds trust and credibility. Plus, your current customers will also respond to that frequency. Not only will they not "forget" about you and go to your competitor, but it will help build their trust in you as well. Lastly, marketing is about working hard. There's no getting around it. To be successful means putting in the time and energy to continually market yourself. Get involved with community groups and always wear apparel that has your logo or name on it--it‘s a walking billboard. Speaking of billboards, don’t forget that colorful, attractive and well-maintained signage adds to a successful marketing campaign. If you remember nothing else, remember this: If you don't implement your marketing strategies, nothing is going to happen. Plan on doing one task or a little marketing every day, so that is not so overwhelming for the “not-so marketing savvy” carwash owner, after all, you still need to run the rest of the business. Marketing is a commitment. There's no getting around it. If you have a car wash business, then you have no choice but to make a commitment to marketing on a consistent basis. This will lead to a loyal customer base.