Vehicle owners have plenty of choices when washing their cars, trucks, and SUVs: fully automatic, attendant-operated, manual, brushless, flex, and more. As a business owner, you’ve put a lot into making a great customer experience, and you want them to be as excited about your venture as you are.
Therefore, marketing programs that bring in new customers and maintain current ones can be especially vital. Additionally, the positivity and pride that resonates with your employees as you improve your business can boost numbers and attract community attention. So let’s examine other ways to attract and keep customers coming back to your car wash business.
Ways to Attract Car Wash Customers
Coming up with new and creative ways to bring in traffic is a vital component of car wash management and ownership. Here are ideas to help you increase revenue.
Improve Your Building
By upgrading your building, you’ll help make your customers feel like you seriously prioritize their comfort and safety. When they have a better feeling about your business, they’ll want to return more often. Make improvements and generate positive first impressions by:
- Remodeling your lobby.
- Offering free Wi-Fi.
- Upgrading or adding TVs to your waiting area.
- Installing massage chairs to boost word-of-mouth and repeat customers.
Upgrade to State-of-the-Art Technology
Improving your technology hardware and software platforms can increase traffic like nothing else. So whether it’s adding an X-Station payment kiosk, a new point-of-sale (POS) software, or new equipment inside your wash bays or tunnel, technology advancements can help you improve productivity, customer experience, and water and electricity savings.
Make Your Wash Truck-Friendly
Different ways exist to transform your business into a truck-friendly wash. For example:
- Some tunnels are installed with wider belt designs to permit multi-wheel trucks to pass through the wash tunnel.
- Extended arch installation to reach longer body sections and tailgates can be installed at automatic car washes.
Once you retrofit your wash to accept larger trucks, create an advertising campaign and reach out to off-road and truck clubs for their business.
Select Signage that’s Fun and Is Influenced by the Surrounding Area
Having signage with clear messaging that’s colorful and well-positioned in high-trafficked areas can mean the difference between deserted bays or more business than your site can handle.
A lot of car wash companies include local landmarks or themes on their signs and logos. For example, colorful seashells and ocean waves are found on beach area washes, or cactuses are used in desert locations.
Establish a Theme
More and more businesses are bringing customers back and attracting new ones with themed car washes.
From Grand Prix racing to dinosaurs to movie theaters, go above and beyond to give your clients a fun experience and something else to look at than spinning brushes and colorful soap bubbles.
Social Media and the Internet
Most consumers will use the internet to learn about your business before dropping by for a wash. Therefore, you must have an online presence that’s active fun. Ensure that you:
- Make use of social media.
- Update your website.
- Educate yourself on search engine optimization (SEO) to improve site traffic.
You can learn more about doing this through industry publications, trade groups, or community colleges. Make sure you link your website to your social media profile which will help you reach hundreds of potential clients for a minimal investment.
Use Your Social Media Accounts for Contests
As soon as your presence online is established, utilize social media to organize exclusive contests. Contests are a great way to attract customers to your business; however, the best contests are events that don’t take too much time away from your customers’ daily lives.
Consider giving away a free car wash for shared Facebook posts or asking for before and after car wash photos. Give away prizes for the most clicks.
Share Online Car Care Tips
As your online presence grows, you can use your website or social media to market content to your customers. For example, share car care tips and other information with your followers. Create YouTube videos demonstrating the proper way to clean your tires or methods for detailing your vehicle’s interior.
At the heart of your online marketing strategy should be unique, engaging, and insightful content. For instance, you may find it challenging to successfully market your car wash without creating superior content.
Additionally, posting news stories or informational blog articles can help you establish a solid dialogue with your followers and customers.
Schedule Events to Bring in Customers
Host a charity event, invite a classic car club, or hold a racecar event onsite. Charity events draw in new customers, build a good reputation for your company, and attract positive media coverage.
Invite car care clubs, and racing teams made up of individuals interested in a car’s appearance and how it’s cared for.
A visit from the local racing team can attract a younger demographic interested in cars. Also, when you meet local car club members, you can develop relationships with them and their families, improving your stature in the community.
Set Up a Live Radio Broadcast
An unexpectedly effective market technique is hosting a live radio broadcast with area DJs. These broadcasts can reach thousands of people prior to planned anniversary celebrations, sporting events, or grand openings.
Washify Can Help You Attract More Customers to Your Business
As a car wash manager or owner, you are likely looking for ways to sell services and promote your wash. Our Unlimited Car Wash Membership Program will help you bring in customers and create loyalty, while our POS system and license plate (LPR) technology let you gather invaluable client data and provide targeted customer service.
At Washify, we build management software specifically for you and your car wash company. Our software programs feature easy-to-use processes to bolster user experience and build on your customer base. Contact our team and complete our online form. A customer service specialist will get back to you soon.
