Boost Your Laundry Business by Developing These Critical Skills
Marketing is every laundry owner’s link to the outside world. It’s how you persuasively encourage people to repeatedly purchase your products and services.
Conceptually, it’s just that simple. However, it requires you – the store owner – to possess and develop the qualities necessary to create successful marketing campaigns.
The term “marketing”is often used as a substitute for advertising; however, in reality, marketing consists of far more ingredients than just the singular act of advertising.
In addition to advertising, marketing also consists of numerous other items – such as public relations, attractive vend pricing, proper hours of operation, the right staff, quality signage, the correct and appropriate mix of washers and dryers for your specific marketplace demographics, ample parking space, in-store loyalty programs such as a “frequent washer club,” and an inviting atmosphere inside your laundry, including lighting, heat and air conditioning.
Having taught marketing at the college level, consulted with a variety of self-service laundry owners on marketing issues and practiced marketing myself for many years, I have concluded that there are essentially seven qualities that extremely successful marketers possess in any business – including, of course, the vended laundry industry.
They are:
1. Successful marketers understand that even a fresh smelling lemon, if squeezed too many times, eventually needs to be discarded. As a result, they know they must vary their advertising approaches. They use multiple methods, such as television, direct mail and social media. Some are even clever enough to use billboards, especially in areas where the residents are somewhat transient; with this scenario, although the population comes and goes, the advertising stays in place and is far less costly than constantly advertising to the steady influx of new arrivals.
2. Smart marketers know that every battle is won or lost before it starts, meaning that they carefully plan their marketing expenditures so that they fall into the favorable category of being economically sane. This way, the cost of being wrong is always affordable, and its negative impact on the business is insignificant.
3. Gifted marketers utilize centers of influence to promote their laundries. In other words, they partner with people or organizations that can boost their market access and credibility through referrals, testimonials and word of mouth. A couple of great examples of this marketing method include belonging to civic organizations (such as your local chamber of commerce) and supporting and participating in charitable activities in your area.
4. Intelligent marketers avoid “blast-from-the-past”advertising, which implies that they create fresh new advertising campaigns on a regular basis, rather than repeat past promotions. All consumers love variety, so it’s essential that self-service laundry owners provide their customers and prospective customers with varied, creative advertising experiences.
5. Savvy marketers change with the times. For example, they become proficient and knowledgeable with regard to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media platforms in order to garner positive word of mouth for their laundries – and to set themselves apart from their competition.
6. Proficient marketers understand generational and cultural diversity, and they customize and promote their laundries differently to these different market segments. Some practical examples include providing multilingual interior signage when appropriate, employing bilingual or multilingual attendants, and offering ancillary vended products and services that have appeal to different generational and cultural groups.
7. Introspective marketers fully understand that, in business, you get what you want with your intellect rather than with your emotions. They attempt to understand themselves and conduct their day-to-day business and marketing in a completely objective manner. They also have a firm grasp on the fact that, in the word “business,” the letter “U”comes before the letter “I”- as a result, they are mindful to put themselves second to their customers in all circumstances.
In essence, marketing is applied psychology. The more you know about yourself and what customers expect the better marketer and the more successful you will be.
I’m reminded of the words of French novelist Marcel Proust who wrote, “In every relationship, there is the one who kisses and the one who extends the cheek.”
Metaphorically speaking, I think truly great marketers clearly know which is which.
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