Advertising is a must!!

[SEFlaundry]

Today i was at the mat and a older guy walks in.
He says hi to me and askes me if we just openned up.

I told him that the Mat has been here for about 40 years.

He could not believe it.

So my point is that you HAVE to advertise!! Not everyone knows you are there for them.

[bodman]

If you are not advertising you are not growing your business. It can be as little as a sidewalk sign . giving a free wash to a customer that brings in a friend to wash. making a washer outfit to wear and standing in front of your mat and waving to the cars going by in the evening. going on the radio station that caters to you clientel. or fliers on doors. contact the local paper and offer to educate the public how in these tight money times it makes more sense to do their wash at your mat. to save the earth's resources ( work up the cost to do a wash and dry at home using their utilities and their time. ) explain how they are using 80 gallons of water to wash two loads and your front load machines only use only 44 . WOW where did all that come from must have more coffee. bodman

[MichaelG]

I agree. I am a new mat owner. Open about 5 months now. Originally, did not invest much in good signs. I have learned that that was a dumb move. New highly visible signs seem to be helping within 2 weeks of going up.

Any thoughts on bus advertising? I have a busy bus route in front of my store. I can advertise either on the exterior of the buses or on the interior. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience using bus ads?
Thanks.

[DaveLevenson]

I bought a mat about three years ago. The former owner did almost no advertising. I run a weekly newspaper ad featuring a coupon good for $2 off any WDF job. Business increased almost 20% over the first few months when the ad began to run.

I also advertise in the yellow pages, and on the web. I'm considering advertising on the shopping carts at a nearby supermarket. Has anyone else tried that?

[Howard]

Dave:

How many coupons do you find get redeemed? Any clue how many customers the newspaper ad brings in?

[laundryaj]

I retooled my store with new washers over-time and business tripled with no advertising. I did a penny saver ad ran for 2 -months and got 1 coupon from a customer 3 miles away. I do a discount wash for senior and have done .75 wash during holiday - customer appreciation. But no other form of advertising. Others I know have done door hangers and a free wash.

aj

[RichA]

I have a simular problum with a mat I just took over a few months ago. Small place in a small town. Poor visability from the road. This place has been a mat for over 50 years,but many people don't even know its there. Closest competitor is 6 miles away. I have to get my butt in gear and do some advertising done.

[DaveLevenson]

[ QUOTE ]
Dave:

How many coupons do you find get redeemed? Any clue how many customers the newspaper ad brings in?

[/ QUOTE ]

Two or three coupons per month. Almost nothing. But when I ask customers where they found us, about a quarter of them mention the newspaper. Another quarter mention our web page. About half answer something like: "you've been here for as long as I can remember." (The store was opened in 1953 by the father-in-law of my current landlord.)

I noticed a significant up-tick in August and September compared with last year; average tpd went from 2.9 to about 3.6. I think it actually started in the third week of July -- when the front of the building was partially rebuilt and my neon sign was renovated. Several customers said things like: "you really fixed the place up!" or "I never realized that the store had a name!"