Marketing has never been more difficult. With customers endlessly scrolling, algorithms constantly shifting, and more distractions than ever, cutting through the noise to reach more customers is tough. For laundromat owners that means one big thing: if your message isn’t clear, it’s invisible.
The Message Still Matters Most
Customers today are overwhelmed with choices. If your signage, website, ads or social media don’t immediately answer what makes your location better, you’ve already lost them.
Start with a clear statement of value. Are you faster? Cleaner? Offering pickup and delivery? Make it obvious. Then put that message where your ideal customer is already spending time: Google, your front window, your website, maybe Instagram or Facebook. Not everywhere. Just the right places.
If you attempt to be everywhere, you’re at risk of diluting your efforts across channels and you’ll find yourself in a place of analysis paralysis when it comes to where to focus your marketing energy.
Driving Foot Traffic Starts Online
Retail traffic is still vital, even as memberships and delivery rise. But people don’t just walk in anymore – they check you out online first.
If your Google Business Profile is outdated, unclaimed or missing reviews? That’s like having graffiti on your front door. It kills walk-ins.
Keep it current. Add real photos. Ask for (and respond to) reviews. And make sure your hours, services and delivery zones are accurate and easy to find.
A Case in Point: Reviews That Drive Revenue
Want proof that clarity works? Look at CNC Laundry in San Antonio. The owners didn’t renovate the building or invest in expensive equipment. Instead, they simply focused on building a strong Google review profile.
By guiding customers of all ages to leave reviews in-store, they doubled their online feedback in a month. The result? Wash-and-fold orders went from two per week to two per day – and revenue followed.
CNC Laundry co-owner Cristian Cervantez-Watkins was impressed by the return on such a simple strategy. “Even the smallest amount of work we did on Google reviews made a thousand dollars difference,” she said. “That alone made us more money in March than in any of our previous four years of operation.”
Now, the company is looking at ways to further maximize their review efforts with QR code cards for easier review collection and planning permanent wall placards to encourage reviews from waiting customers.
This wasn’t magic. It was clarity + consistency + follow-through.
Next Level
Want to go further? Look into geofenced ads or local YouTube campaigns. Small radius, tight budget, big return.
For example, Burger King ran a “Whopper Detour” campaign where geofencing technology creatively drove local engagement and increased sales. The campaign invited customers to unlock a $.01 Whopper coupon, but there was a catch: they had to be within 600 feet of a McDonald’s location to activate the offer.
This innovative use of geofencing generated buzz and cleverly turned Burger King’s competitor locations into inadvertent advertisements for Burger King. The app users who participated were then guided to the nearest Burger King to redeem their almost-free Whopper.
The campaign was a huge success, driving over one million app downloads and making it the number one app on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store for several days. It demonstrated the power of location-based marketing to create an engaging and interactive customer experience. This approach increased immediate sales and enhanced Burger King’s digital engagement levels, showcasing how traditional competitors can be leveraged through clever marketing strategies combined with technology.
Leveling Up with Data
But to really make things valuable, you’ll want to make sure you’re collecting and using data. For Ariana Roviello, owner and operator of Laundré in California, data makes a big difference. Through her technology stack, she’s able to collect data and act on it to create better offers and targeted promotions. “We target more effectively, follow up with new customers, and use SMS texting and promos to boost repeat orders,” she said. “We leverage customer data to tailor offers, track order patterns and re-engage lapsed customers with targeted promotions.”
As you collect this data on your customers, you’ll be able to create a total experience that is measurable for you. This means you can really dial in on the customer’s journey across the full experience; from before they found your location, to their experience during their visit, to what happens post-visit.
Content Builds Trust — and Traffic
As AI-driven search and voice assistants get smarter, your laundromat’s online presence needs more than keywords – it needs real answers. AI models will favor content that is authoritative and provides a thorough understanding of the topic. To do that, you need to be able to Establish Expertise, Authority and Trust (EEAT).
To EEAT, we need to enhance our existing content. To get started, answer the questions your customers already have:
- How does pickup and delivery work?
- What detergents do you use?
- What happens if I miss my time slot?
Think of your website like your best employee: it should be helpful, friendly and always on-brand.
If you need a roadmap for building that kind of content, the book, They Ask, You Answer, by Marcus Sheridan is an excellent resource. It’s a goldmine for service businesses.
Do the Simple Things Well
Before you chase the latest social media trend or app, ask yourself: Are you showing up consistently with a clear message where your current customers and potential customers are?
- Is your signage aligned with your online ads?
- Are you reminding customers what they signed up for after they join your delivery service?
- Is your follow-up personal, useful and relevant?
- If you promise a fast, clean experience … is that what customers receive?
If the answer to any of these is “no,” fix that first.
Outsourcing vs. In-House: What’s Worth Your Time?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Some operators prefer to run their social and email programs in-house. Others use vendors to handle everything from reputation management to ad placement.
If your team is stretched thin, start small: pick one channel to improve (maybe reviews, maybe signage) and do it consistently. That builds confidence and momentum, and opens the door to test more over time.
What matters most is that someone owns the messaging. Clarity takes intention.
The Bottom Line: Consistency Wins
Your laundromat doesn’t need to be everywhere. But it does need to show up in the places that matter with a message that resonates.
Clear over clever. Helpful over hype. Steady over sporadic.
