How to Draw an Enthusiastic Crowd to Your Laundry Business With Smart, Impactful Digital Campaigns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever think about how a riot starts? Out of nowhere, large crowds of people rise up and strike out at someone or something that\u2019s invoked a collective rage. It may even start out as a peaceful protest, but then before you know it, something\u2019s on fire and windows are being shattered. Chaos ensues. Madness. Pure, unadulterated energy that\u2019s being funneled into making some kind of statement.<\/p>\n

How does that kind of thing just happen?<\/p>\n

Allow me to clarify something up front: I\u2019m not actually advocating that anyone, anywhere, or for any reason actually start a riot. There\u2019s more than enough evidence to show that riots are much more harmful than helpful, and I really don\u2019t want to start anything that could be misconstrued. I\u2019m simply using the analogy of a riot starting to make you think about a few things \u2013 and I hope it grabbed your attention! (It\u2019s not every day that you see anything about riots in PlanetLaundry.)<\/p>\n

However, more importantly, I wanted to pique your interest regarding a rather significant issue for our industry: How does any group of people get so fired up about something that they actually take action? Better yet, how can that happen for our industry? Or your business?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s table the riot talk for a bit. Instead, let\u2019s talk about starting a large movement that has our industry \u2013 or your business \u2013 as the epicenter. Let\u2019s discuss the \u201chow\u201d and \u201cwhy\u201d of making that a reality. Less burning cars, more wet clothes. Less shattered windows, more shattered sales goals. Now we\u2019re talking!<\/p>\n

How do we build all of this? Campaigns. Digital campaigns, to be precise. I\u2019m not talking about high-end politics here, I\u2019m talking real-life application that educates, inspires and sells. A well-planned and smartly executed digital campaign can lay a foundation for any part of the laundry industry to build on for years to come.<\/p>\n

Of course, a huge group of people doing anything together doesn\u2019t happen in a vacuum. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of influences that motivate people on a daily basis, and asserting yourself as one of those forces is intimidating. Unfortunately, that intimidation has left a lot of potential customers unserved, and it\u2019s frustrated more than one business owner along the way. Let\u2019s change that. I want to attempt to boil down the complex art of digital campaigning in hopes that it helps us all find the right way to approach and sell to new customers. Who knows, we could generate quite a crowd.<\/p>\n

Pick Your Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n

First and foremost, you need to answer one important question: What do you want people to do?<\/p>\n

That may sound a bit manipulative, but I promise it\u2019s not. I\u2019m not saying that people will always do what you want them to, but you always want to start with the end in mind. Take some time and write down your goals. If you\u2019re going to start a campaign, you first need to determine the purpose. Do you want more wash-dry-fold\/pickup\/self-service customers? Are you trying to raise awareness about something you\u2019re doing \u2013 like an event or mission? Or do you simply want people to notice you exist? There are a lot of options here, so don\u2019t limit yourself. When you know your campaign\u2019s true purpose, you can better plan how you actually want to proceed.<\/p>\n

This is a short but crucial point, but it will make or break your online efforts. If even you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re supposed to be campaigning about, then how do you expect anyone else to? Be honest with yourself and set the bar high \u2013 after all, you\u2019re here to achieve something.<\/p>\n

Build Out a Promotion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you know why you\u2019re campaigning, you need to start looking for something that others can get excited about. At this point, let the creative juices flow. You can use simple things like a discount or reward program to spark interest. Or, you can attempt to build your reputation as an expert. Maybe your aim is to let people know about the charity effort you\u2019re putting on. Whatever you decide, the floor is yours. Use it shamelessly.<\/p>\n

Pool Your Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before you fire off your promotion too quickly, my biggest piece of advice is actually to check your enthusiasm at the door. Far too many decision-makers simply start up a campaign without considering the position of their audience. Big mistake.<\/p>\n

What do I mean by that? Everyone you reach with a campaign will approach it differently, and there\u2019s no foolproof way to catch them all. However, the more targeted your message can be on a particular subset of people, the better off you\u2019ll be in the end. For example, pushing people to your website is a different animal than closing a sale or letting people know about a promotion, and it pays to approach each motive separately. I\u2019m not saying you can\u2019t do all of those at the same time \u2013 just that it\u2019s difficult in even the best circumstances. You\u2019re better served to boil down your online promotions\u2019 motives with one of three questions:<\/p>\n

1. Am I trying to attract people?<\/p>\n

2. Am I trying to convert a visitor into a lead?<\/p>\n

3. Am I trying to close a sale?<\/p>\n

Knowing whether you\u2019re attracting, converting or closing can help you determine the right materials to use in any given situation. For example, social media and paid advertising do well for attracting site visitors, a landing page or well-written blog article can help you convert visitors into leads, and the perfect email can close a sale when sent at the right time. If you never stop to consider where your audience is coming from, you may end up allocating the wrong resources to your campaign. Your campaign would be done before it began.<\/p>\n

Follow Through on Your Promises<\/strong><\/p>\n

Checklist time. You\u2019ve figured out your purpose, built a promotion and figured out the best way to allocate your resources. Congratulations, you\u2019re campaigning like a pro!<\/p>\n

The final element to remember with campaigning is that at the end of the day, everything boils down to a promise. You, the campaigner, are promising something to the campaigned. Whether you\u2019re showcasing a charity event, a discount or an awesome customer experience, you absolutely must follow through. Even if you get a lackluster response to your efforts, your reputation is at stake. Think about things in the long term, and keep your small crowd happy.<\/p>\n

Present a promise, then follow through. Once you do, it\u2019s time to go back to the drawing board for the next campaign (and then the next one).<\/p>\n

Tick, Tock<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get back to the riots for a second, shall we? When a riot starts to form, somehow, someway, people in a large, uncoordinated group hear about something and then care enough about it to take action. That type of energy is rare. It happens slowly, and it needs to build over a period of time before the clouds burst. Digital campaigns are the same way. Patience is your biggest ally. You will stumble. You will lose motivation. Just keep going. I promise, it\u2019s worth waiting for in the end.<\/p>\n

I really, truly believe that the laundry industry is at an eleventh hour of sorts. More and more business owners are trending away from traditional campaigning methods and moving to the digital realm. Websites are being updated, social profiles revamped and email newsletters are ramping up. We\u2019re moving in a competitive and exciting direction that shouldn\u2019t \u2013 can\u2019t \u2013 be ignored.<\/p>\n

The clock is ticking, and a crowd is forming. Let\u2019s start a riot!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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