Don’t Overlook Some of the Tried-and-True Methods for Promoting Your Laundry Services
It’s been said that, to be truly noticed, you have to go where everyone else isn’t.
I once met the governor of New Jersey and got her autograph at a campaign stop at a local supermarket. Her bus pulled up outside the store, where there was a throng of people waiting for her. She went into the store and went down one of the aisles. I went down the very next aisle – and, when she turned the corner, it was just her, a state trooper, and me. I literally had her undivided attention for that moment and was able to coax an autograph.
And isn’t that what we all want to do with our prospective customers? Don’t we want to cut out of the noise and distractions so that they see only us?
In today’s technological world, most people think in digital – and there’s definitely a place for that. Of course, the best website in the world will never be seen without strong SEO.
However, if everyone is going left, I want to go right – where I might be the only one. I’m talking about utilizing the boring, old strategies that never stopped working, yet have been largely forgotten because they don’t necessarily involve an iPhone or a computer.
The Sales Letter
With everyone emailing and texting, people receive very few letters these days. I have three adult children, and I’m not sure they know how to address an envelope.
With that said, I recently sent a very basic letter to a golf course, touting our laundry services. The course manager called me back, and after a five-minute conversation, we will be handling all of their laundry next season.
Letters cost a stamp and an envelope. And the best thing is that you don’t need to send out thousands of them. I simply look for businesses that might have laundry needs and that are within a few miles of my store.
And, you don’t need to be a wordsmith. I write in big letters, “Got Laundry?” Then, I list bullet points as to why they should hire us to do it for them.
The Chamber of Commerce
Joining your local Chamber of Commerce is a lot like joining a gym. If you don’t go and participate, it’s a waste of your money.
During my first year as a member of our Chamber, we had a ribbon-cutting ceremony as new business owners, and we hosted a “Networking After Hours” event.
Although you might not have a ribbon cutting at your store, you certainly can celebrate an anniversary, a milestone, a clothing drive, and so on. For the networking event, the Chamber promoted my laundromat, another member donated food for the evening, and it got a number of other Chamber members to visit my laundromat.
Clearly, I don’t expect everyone who belongs for my Chamber of Commerce to bring me their laundry; however, none of my competitors are members, so I will be top of mind if someone’s washer breaks or they can’t quite fit that king comforter into their home machine.
When people say they don’t have time to get involved with their local Chambers, I always ask them if they have time for more business.
The Laundromat Library
I was talking to the director of our local library – who happens to be a member of the Chamber of Commerce – and I told her how my kids loved going the library when they were growing up. And she asked if I would be interested in installing a “mini-library” in our laundromat. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity.
The Chamber purchased a bookcase, and the library provides all of our books, which are overflow titles that the library can’t use. Additionally, our policy is that customers can take books home with them. There’s no need to return any books.
It costs me no time or money, and only about three square feet of floor space. The customers love it because we’re working with the community, and the library let’s their patrons know that they also can visit my laundromat for free books. It’s a “win-win” for everyone.
[Editor’s Note: Those interested in this community- and business-building idea also can contact the LaundryCares Foundation for more information about that organization’s Family Read, Play & Learn Centers, which are ideal for all types and sizes of laundromats. Visit www.laundrycares.org.]
The Business Card Drop-Off
It’s easy to delete an email or brush off a cold call. But it’s a little harder to shake someone who’s at their business, standing right in front of them.
I’ve stopped by nearly every business within my store’s marketplace, just to say, “Hi.” I introduce myself as the owner of a laundromat, and I ask if they have any laundry needs. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t – and very often they don’t even know that pickup-and-delivery laundry services even exist. We assume that everyone knows about commercial PUD, but many potential clients have no idea.
If we can’t do business at the moment, I leave my card and ask the business owner if he or she knows anyone who wears clothes and, if so, to please pass along my information. That typically gets a laugh, and at least they will remember me.
The Door Hanger
I know, I know… door hangers so 1990s. But, if you open your door, I know that you at least saw the information about my laundromat.
Whenever we land a new pickup-and-delivery customer, we’ll place door hangers on all of the nearby houses or apartments in that neighborhood. After all, I assume that if one house on the street can afford it, there’s a good chance their neighbors can, too.
However, you don’t need to offer pickup and delivery to take advantage of door hangers. Simple pick out a nearby neighborhood or apartment complex and start hanging.
I recently had some new door hangers printed for about 12 cents each. That’s right – you can hit 100 apartment units for just 12 bucks and get in all of your steps for the day at the same time!
The Town Celebration
Many towns have a special day during the year where they celebrate with food, music, games, kids’ rides, and a gathering of local vendors.
The town I live in has one of these annual, family-friendly celebrations, and the town where I grew up has a Labor Day parade, which serves as its big yearly event.
Our laundromat happens to straddle two towns, so we attend both of their special days as vendors, and hand out coupons. I’m happy to speak to anyone about our business, but I specifically looked for families with kids – and, if they have a stroller, that’s a bonus. Kids and babies mean a lot of laundry – and parents who make for good wash-dry-fold prospects.
The total cost for vendor booths as both of the towns’ events was $200.
The School Fundraiser
When my kids were young, we would get flyers from the PTA about going to a local restaurant on a certain night, and 10 percent of the proceeds would go to the school.
So, I decided to contact our local school’s PTA with a similar offer. If anyone used our wash-dry-fold or pickup-and-delivery services – and used the school’s predetermined code – the school would receive 10 percent back.
This wasn’t a one-night fundraiser. We kept it going for the entire school year. Each time the code was used, the school would get money – so it was in the school’s best interest to promote it.
From the laundromat owner’s perspective, you can’t lose. If no one uses the code, it costs nothing. We spent a little time working with the PTA president and came up with a flyer. If it works, the PTA is doing the heavy lifting of driving customers to the laundromat. As the owner, you give back 10 percent, which goes to the local kids, and you’re helping out the community.
As a small-business operator, I always preach that we have to “get out of our box.” In our case, it’s the four walls of our laundromats. We need to be aggressive and go out and “get” customers. Too many small-business owners – in all industries – wait for customers to find them. Even in the digital world, we’re waiting for people to search for “laundromat” or “wash and fold,” and then hoping we did enough to climb to the top of the search list.
Everything I’ve mentioned above takes no business skill and very little money. What it does take is a commitment to go out into your community and educate people as to why they should do business with you.
How many people do you meet who don’t have a clue that wash-dry-fold is even an option? I’ll admit that, until I started looking into the laundromat industry, I had no idea that some stores provided full-service offerings – despite the fact that we had three kids and plenty of constant dirty laundry.
In today’s business world, entrepreneurs need to utilize a combination of both the old and the new. The key is to get in front of potential customers, and it doesn’t really matter how you do it.
Personally, I prefer to use the entrance that’s less crowded.
