Originally posted – May 06, 2014
Julie O’Rourke has spent the last 20 years in trade association management. For the past four years, she has served as the director of membership for the Coin Laundry Association. Prior to joining the CLA, Julie was the assistant director of membership for the Association Forum of Chicagoland. In 2009, she earned her Certified Association Executive designation.
Within the last few years, the Coin Laundry Association has revamped its membership structure, creating a tiered format. Can you explain why that change was made, as well as what advantages it offers self-service laundry owners?
Membership is not one-size-fits-all. The CLA saw the need to introduce tiered membership so that owners and researchers could have more of the right resources at their disposal. Additionally, segmenting memberships allows us to better serve our members – the tiers are based on the level of services and benefits the CLA provides.
Briefly explain each tier of membership and its particular advantage to the laundry owner.
Laundry Professional membership – this is designed for the single-store owner. This membership level provides the classic CLA benefits and services, including one free website, access to our DIY Marketing Program, Yext and OMNI Online Services, as well as free phone consultations, and access to all of our research and educational materials.
Laundry Premier – from multi-store owners to those operating the finest laundries in the country, the Premier membership offers additional benefits and added discounts on top of the Laundry Professional membership. The Premier membership includes three free websites, two free hours of marketing consultations, one free hour of web design assistance, 25 free demographic reports and more.
Laundry Researcher – one of the best investments a potential investor can make is a membership in the CLA, because it opens the door to a wealth of information in all aspects of the business. Highlights of the Laundry Researcher membership include four free demographic reports, one-on-one consultations with the association’s CEO or COO, a grand opening consultation and the Laundry Library of books.
Laundry Researcher Express – this is for those thinking about getting into the laundry business but still not sure if it’s a good fit. This membership provides access to all member benefits, including demographic reports, books and webinars at member prices.
Of course, all of these memberships include access to the CLA’s Gold Book Research Series, annual Industry Survey and Customer Profile, New Entrepreneur Video Series, and all CLA webinars.
One of the keys to a successful retail laundry operation is finding the right location. How can the CLA help members as far as doing their due diligence with regard to site demographics?
CLA membership allows members to run demographic reports based on market area. The market area for a coin laundry is typically a half-mile to a five-mile radius around the location. However, those ranges will vary based on population density. For example, for urban or high-density areas, the radius would range from a half-mile to two miles. With suburban or moderate-density areas, the range is two to five miles. And, for rural or low-density locations, the range is five miles or more.
Specifically, what types of information are available through the CLA’s demographic reports?
A demographic report will help you understand an area’s median income and household size, as well as showing the percentage of the population that rents, versus those who own their home.
Will the CLA help owners interpret this data?
After the report is run, CLA members can schedule time to speak with a staff expert – CLA President Brian Wallace or COO Michael Sokolowski will go over the data with them. Additionally, our Demographic Analysis and Site Selection white paper can help members dig a little deeper into what demographic data and site-selection criteria laundry owners should focus on when considering a location for a self-service laundry.
What other resources – such as surveys, statistics, training aids and toolkits – are available to today’s CLA members?
The CLA has a lot more resources available to members than initially meets the eye. We have an entire library of articles and recorded webinars available to members in our Educational Library. Additionally, our Free Downloads section holds our latest Gold Book Research Series of white papers; a host of audio downloads, including audio from the 2013 Clean Show; and video recordings from last year’s New Entrepreneur Workshop. Our Water Evaporation Tool Kit and sample pro forma also are popular items.
Our webinar and audio recordings cover topics like:
• How to set up a Google Voice account
• How to market your self-service laundry online
• How to respond to competition
• Finding the right self-service laundry location
• Water and sewer consumption
• Managing commercial accounts
Annual Industry Survey – Every year the CLA commission Readex Research, a nationally recognized independent research company, to conduct an industry-wide survey of self-service laundry owners. The purpose of the survey is to compose a profile of today’s retail self-services laundry in the United States. Some of the questions asked in this comprehensive industry survey include:
• Do you offer wash-dry-fold services? And, if so, what do you generally charge?
• What do you feel are the biggest problems you face in the coin laundry business?
• What percentage of your store’s gross revenue was spent on utilities?
The survey breaks down the responses geographically.
Gold Book Research Series – A collection of white papers, surveys and other tools designed to provide you with the best industry information so that you can make informed decisions when operating your self-service laundry. Recently released white papers covered such topics as “Demographic Analysis and Site Selection” and “Deciding When to Replace Laundry Equipment.”
Laundry Customer Profile – This is the only survey of its kind. Demographics of both laundry customers and nonusers are compared in this survey. Findings represent the dollar amount spent per week on laundry, washing frequency, distance to laundry and reasons for using a self-service laundry, as well as additional points of interest.
Water Evaporation Toolkit – This toolkit contains all of the materials and basic information you need to request a water evaporation allowance from your local sewer authority, including background information, sample letters, checklists, worksheets and a PowerPoint you can use to present your request.
Attendant Training Kit – Walk new attendants through the importance of professional service, laundry equipment and safety procedures. This instructional training tool covers card technology. The kit includes a professionally produced DVD, with both English and Spanish versions, and a CD of customizable Microsoft Word forms, also available in English and Spanish. The forms include:
• Common laundry equipment complaints
• Sample attendant responsibilities
• Sample opening and closing procedures
• Important phone numbers
• A customer complaint form
• A daily report
Drop-Off Laundry Training Kit – Make sure your staff processes orders the same way – every time. From taking the order to folding and packaging, this professionally produced DVD will help give you and your attendants the competitive edge in your market. This training tool will teach attendants how to process orders from start to finish, which includes proper folding techniques. The Drop-Off Laundry Training Kit can be used to compliment your current training program with this easy-to-follow instructional DVD.
The DVD has both English and Spanish options, and it comes accompanied with an “Owner’s Guide for Establishing a Successful Business” and a laminated stain removal guide.
A recent educational development has been the CLA’s webinar program. Please explain how these webinars work and why this program was created in the first place?
Having easy access to industry education is important, especially when you’re wearing all the hats. Our webinars are a great resource for members to gain knowledge on everything from wash-dry-fold to marketing to training employees to updates on water and sewer trends. Each webinar is one hour long, and they are all recorded and added to our educational library so that they can be referenced later on.
Empowering our members to make more informed, educated decisions so that they can improve their businesses is one of the best ways we can help them become more successful. The beauty of a webinar is that attendees can access sessions from anywhere via their computers or phones, and it doesn’t cost them anything extra.
What types of topics are covered and who have been some of the presenters?
Presenters typically range from CLA staff to CLA members and Board members. Webinars are a great way for CLA members to share their expertise with their peers and offer tangible tips on ways to improve business – so we love it when members share their best practices through a webinar. In fact, if you would like to volunteer to lead a CLA member webinar, just email [email protected].
Past topics have included:
• “Responding to New Competition,” by Brian Wallace, CLA president & CEO
• “Commercial Stain Treatment,” by Jeff Gardner, “The Laundry Doctor”
• “Signing a Lease: What You Need to Know,” by Bob Eisenberg, president of Qualclean Equipment, LLC
• “Finding and Training the Right Attendant,” by Brian Brunckhorst, president of Advantage Laundry, Inc.
• “Exploring CLA Member Benefits,” by Julie O’Rourke, CLA director of membership
• “Social Media: Which Tools Should Laundry Owners Embrace?” by Jamie Sewell, CLA director of marketing
What topics are on the schedule for later this year?
We have a pretty active webinar lineup, and we’re really pushing to deliver more webinar content each month. Some of the topics for later this year include:
• Exploring CLA Member Benefits
• Top 10 Qualities of a Great Laundromat
• The Psychology of Creative Marketing
• Online Marketing for the Laundry Industry
• Maximizing Efficiency through Store Layouts
• New Store Development
• Lease Negotiations
To see the members-only webinar schedule, log into the CLA Member Portal and visit the Webinar Schedule.
Of course, marketing is crucial to the success of any business. Unfortunately, many laundry owners lag behind when it comes to this particular aspect of their businesses. Through DIY Direct, the CLA has tried to make it easier for owners to promote their businesses. What does this program offer and how can members take part in DIY Direct?
DIY Direct is a service that the CLA offers to help save their members time on direct mail marketing. It offers everything you would need for a direct mail campaign from start to finish, including templates, stock photos, sample headlines and more. Product templates include personalized brochures, business cards, door hangers, posters and table tents.
The biggest benefits to using DIY is that it saves you time through pre-made, customizable templates – and you can drill down and target your audience based on demographics, so you don’t need to purchase any lists. The demographic information comes from U.S. Census data.
The CLA recently added several new marketing benefits to its list of store owner options. Why the addition of so many marketing benefits?
The need to stay current with trends and technology can be a full-time job, especially with rapid changes to technology as we know it. With the expansion of mobile devices, consumers are turning to their mobile devices for everything. So, it’s critical that your store be listed online – in Google Places, Google+ Local and all of the online directories. And you definitely need a website.
We know that marketing is not one-size-fits all, so we’ve put together what we believe is a pretty solid assortment of marketing benefits depending on your needs and budget. As technology continues to change, marketing will change with it – we want to make sure we give you as many tools as we can to help you reach your business goals.
The new additions to our benefits include:
• OMNI Online Solutions – coinlaundry.org/omni
• Yext Online Listings – coinlaundry.org/yext
• Web/Design Assistance
Additionally, we’ve tried to do a better job of communicating all of the different marketing benefits that members have at their disposal. You can see all of the marketing benefits available at coinlaundry.org/marketing.
Many store owners feel they don’t have the time or ability to invest in marketing. What options does the CLA have for them?
Store owners wear a lot of hats, and staying on top of marketing trends might not be one of the hats you want to wear. So, the CLA offers as many resources at as many price points as possible.
Having a website is a must. At the bare minimum, you need to take advantage of the free sites that the CLA hosts on findalaundry.org. We have five templates to choose from, and they all use “responsive design,” meaning the sites will adjust to fit the size of your screen.
Getting a website through the CLA takes almost no time at all – there is a request form that you fill out, we generate the site, test it, approve it and give you the account information to update it or customize it as you wish.
If you want to build a site that’s more representative of your brand, we strongly recommend exploring OMNI Online Solutions. They offer several different packages at different price points and will build you a custom website, take professional photographs of your business, write the copy for your website and manage your whole online presence. Best of all, the CLA has negotiated significant discounts off of their standard pricing. The discounts you’ll save through the CLA will more than pay for your membership.
Yext is another great benefit in which the CLA has negotiated a significant price discount. The advantage of Yext is that it will get your business listed in more than 50 online directories with just one form – you can upload photos, create special offers, update your store information and even manage your social media profiles from Yext. It can save you a ton of time – no more juggling 50 different logins for 50 different online listings.
The CLA also can get members set up with Google Places, add their locations to the GPS listings on Tele Atlas and get all of their locations added to the laundry locator.
Of course, the CLA has a lot of members who just want a little bit of help customizing their websites on findalaundry.org, or they may want a logo or custom flyer created for their business. We don’t have the resources in-house to support all of this, so we’ve partnered with Evelon Creative Group. They’re familiar with the CLA and the CLA’s LaundryWeb Network. They have great design sensibilities and are well-versed in marketing best practices.
CLA Premier members receive one hour of assistance from them for free, while the cost is $60 an hour for CLA members.
How does the association’s website-building process work?
We’ve made the site request process as simple as possible, and it likely will take you about 10 minutes to complete the request form. Once you request your site, it is typically processed within two to three business days.
We build the site and host it, and you manage it. Once we approve the site, it is yours – you can update the content, change colors, headers, add pages and so on. The sites are built on WordPress, so anyone familiar with WordPress will easily be able to make updates, but we also have a handy users’ manual for the non-WordPress folks.
The CLA is known for its long-running insurance program. What are the latest happenings at CLA Insurance?
Last year marked CLA Insurance’s 25th anniversary of providing insurance services to its members. This program constitutes the association’s most used membership benefit. As the insurance market hardens, we continue our work to advocate to insurance carriers to preserve broad and affordable coverage for the self-service laundry industry.
What type of coverage is offered to members through CLA Insurance?
We are a full-service agency, which can cover property/liability packages, workers’ compensation, business auto and many more. CLA Insurance also can now help you bundle coverage for other businesses or real estate you may own, along with personal coverages such as auto and home.
What are some of the advantages of purchasing insurance coverage through the CLA?
There are two primary advantages. First, our team carries a dual expertise in both insurance and the laundry business, giving you the best protection for your laundry. Second, we operate as an independent agency that can shop your policy to several carriers at once, which brings you competitive pricing. You can’t overrate the importance of knowing our industry – the right coverage is critical to protecting your largest investment.
The CLA and its local Affiliates were forced to fend off threats to the coin laundry industry’s sales tax exemption in several states in 2013. Can you discuss last year’s flurry of legislation – as far as what caused it and why you think the industry was so successful in staving off these threats?
In a non-election year, several states attempted tax reform, which included broadening the sales tax base to include services such as ours that had previously been exempt. We were lumped in with wider attempts to “close loopholes.” The industry staved off all five threats to the sales tax exemption by monitoring legislation, engaging top lobbyists in each state and working together with CLA members to have our voice heard. The flurry of activity tested our capabilities, but our Affiliate chapters and everyday members made the difference by donating their time and money to avoid this devastating tax on laundries.
What plans are in place at the CLA to monitor future legislative activity?
The CLA continues to invest in its relationship with MultiState Associates, which monitors every piece of legislation and regulation looking for any potentially harmful efforts. It also serves as our source for engaging local lobbyists when the threats dictate that action. The CLA remains vigilant and committed to protecting our industry’s best interests.
The association’s local and regional Affiliate program is clearly a huge benefit that the CLA brings to laundry owners. How many Affiliates are currently active and in which regions are they located?
The CLA has 15 active Affiliates throughout the U.S. They include: Delaware Valley, Florida, Golden State, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, MO-KAN, New England, North Carolina, Ohio, Southern California, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
How can laundry owners become active within their local Affiliates – and what benefits would that provide owners, beyond what they receive from the national organization?
CLA members are automatically added as members to their local Affiliate, if there is one within their region. The Affiliate chapters provide an outstanding opportunity to network with others in the industry, share best practices and discuss industry-specific topics. In instances where there is pending legislation that could impact self-service laundries, local Affiliates are in the best position to advocate for the industry – and we’ve found there most certainly is strength in numbers when it comes to legislative issues.
If there is not an Affiliate program in place in a certain area, is it possible to get one started?
Our Affiliates are run by dedicated volunteers who work to make an impact in our industry. If you would like to pursue starting a local affiliate group, please contact us.
Of course, CLA educational events, such as the association’s seminar program at the Clean Show every two years, have grown in popularity over time. One such event is coming up later this month – Excellence in Laundry 2014, in Key Largo, Fla. What can those attending this event expect?
Excellence in Laundry focuses on one thing: excellence. Attendees are going to get a great mix of networking, education and fun. In addition to networking with other top laundry owners, attendees are going to hear from leading branding expert Bruce Turkel and top business strategy and entrepreneurial expert Chuck Bamford.
The differences that separate great businesses from good ones can be small, but the devil is in the details – and these speakers are going to teach attendees how to capitalize on some of those items.
What advice would you give to prospective or current store owner members on how they can maximize their membership?
As a store owner, you are asked to wear many hats – and taking advantage of the many CLA benefits is like hiring a part-time marketer, researcher and advocate for your business.
How can prospective or current Researcher members maximize their membership?
Make sure you do your due diligence up front – run demographic reports, call and take advantage of our experts, ask questions and network with current owners on best practices.
What would you say to laundry owners who have been in the business for many years and think the CLA has nothing left to offer them?
What would an 8 percent loss to your bottom line each year mean for you? Fewer employees? Less store improvements? Fewer family vacations?
One of the often-unsung benefits of the CLA is its advocacy on behalf of the industry – year after year. Last year, we preserved the self-service laundry tax exemption in five states, saving laundry owners in those states 8 percent each year. This year, we’re monitoring currency issues that could potentially cost the self-service laundry industry $200 million to $400 million – and would cost individual store owners an estimated $5,000 to $15,000 per laundry location. Could your business afford a hit like this?
Each year, the CLA fights to protect your business. Can your business afford to have the CLA stop fighting for you? For the low cost of membership, I don’t see how it’s even a question.
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