Spread the Word

By Bob Nieman | Jun 28, 2010

There is a misconception that laundromats are the only businesses in the world that do not require marketing and advertising.

And it’s a misconception that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The actual fact of the matter is that with every self-service laundry’s client base changing every year – people moving, people dying, people purchasing their own washers and dryers – you simply can’t afford to do nothing for very long and remain in business.

“I believe that self-service laundries in the next decade will be divided into those who successfully advertise and promote their stores and those who struggle by holding onto the days when laundries did nothing more than open the doors to attract customers,” said Coin Laundry Association President and CEO Brian Wallace. “The most successful laundries in the coming years will be those who utilize modern advertising and marketing techniques to actively go out and recruit new customers each and every week.

“For many decades, our business relied on ‘Field of Dreams’ marketing: ‘Build it and they will come.’ It was a real luxury to be able to rely on store location and signage alone to grow a business. I believe those days are over – not because consumers are less interested in our services but because today’s consumer has more choice when it comes to doing laundry.

It’s true that a certain percentage of customers will patronize your store no matter what – they need the services you provide and they will seek you out. However, with 15 percent to 25 percent of our customer base owning their own washers and dryers and anywhere from 15 percent to 20 percent of the population moving every year, you need to promote your store just like any other business.

And with the plight of the economy, advertising your business makes more sense now than ever. In fact, a series of six studies conducted by the research firm of Meldrum & Fewsmith showed conclusively that advertising aggressively during recessions not only increases sales but also increases profits – and this has held true for all post-World War II recessions studied by The American Business Press, starting in 1949.

“When the recession started in the summer of 2008, I decided to double our advertising budget,” said Chris Balestracci of Super Wash Laundry in Connecticut. “We sent out more postcards with coupons to a wider marketing area. We increased our coupon presence on the back of register receipts from one supermarket to two, and we put coupons in two of the nearby Dollar Stores. We also paid for a Web site and became active on Google, YELP.com, Yellowpages.com and other Internet-related advertising mediums.

“Because of this, our gross sales from ’08 to ’09 were up 1.1 percent, and our gross for the first six months of this year, as compared to the first six months of ’09, is up 6.7 percent,” he added. “Advertising in our industry must be a constant budget item; 3 percent to 4 percent is ideal. More targeted advertising will translate into higher revenues and profits. You need to know your market and what will attract new and existing customers. Experts say that your mailing list or target audience is 50 percent of your success, the offer is 30 percent of your success, and the remaining 20 percent up to your creativity.”

When the recession hit, Duane King of LMARIES laundromat in Bowling Green, Ohio, reevaluated his advertising campaign.

“I needed to step back and take a different look at what my laundry offers and try to capitalize on the strengths of my store,” he said. “I started to advertise my larger equipment to homeowners, for their large items such as comforters, sleeping bags and so on.

“Since I began this marketing plan, the turns on my larger equipment have increased by more than 20 percent without any decrease in the smaller equipment. This shows me that my marketing plan is working. And with my card system, I can see that the people using the larger equipment are new customers.”

Recession or not, marketing is a necessity for Sel Dale Laundromat in St. Paul, Minn., according to its owner, Jeff Gardner.

“My location has good demographics,” he explained. “However, my location is not on a major thoroughfare, so I don't have the benefit of a large amount drive-by traffic. The key to the success of my location is marketing.

“My primarily source of marketing is the experience we deliver to our customers,” he added. “We are constantly trying to exceed customers’ expectations. By giving customers a reason to promote our business, we have created a marketing machine that has spurred constant growth over the last five years.”

At Embassy Laundromat in Manchester, N.H., co-owner Patti Fielding has tried a number of marketing initiatives to stave off the challenges of the recession.

“With budgets low, creativity is important,” Fielding said. “We have taken advantage of social media – specifically Facebook – to spread the word about the advantages of our laundromat; we hold online contests, where customers will write a review of the store or answer questions about our business. Reviews are great because all of their friends then see ‘on the wall’ why they enjoy Embassy.”

Fielding noted that she has been able to increase neighborhood traffic with a few colorful, inexpensive lawn signs. And she’s also testing the effectiveness of some new direct-mail pieces and door hangers, as well as advertising in a weekly bulletin for the local church, which boasts more than 700 parishioners.

Clearly, the only limitations are you imagination when it comes to spreading the word about your laundry business. The following are a few proven methods for raising your customers’ – and potential customers’ – awareness of your store:

Direct Mail

One of the most common and effective forms of advertising for self-service laundries is direct mail. Localized, narrow vehicles typically enjoy great success in this industry.

Some owners prefer using bulk-mailing services, such as Valpak, to get their stores’ message to the public. For more targeted direct mail campaigns, some laundry operators utilize their local chambers of commerce; they’ll list the apartment buildings they want to focus on, and the chamber will provide the mailing list.

Although direct-mail marketing is among the most effective and personal ways to reach a targeted audience, if a direct-mail campaign lacks sufficient planning, a clearly defined mailing list or an enticing offer, you may be throwing your money and energy out the window.

Returns on a properly targeted direct-mail campaign can reap big benefits. Consider that direct mail generates an average response rate of 1 percent to 3 percent, according to the Direct Marketing Association.

With direct mail, it’s all about response, which means you must include an enticing offer that’s right for your target audience. Ask for the response you want and be sure your call to action leaps out. Use colors, fonts and placement to ensure this information is the first thing the reader sees. Since different people prefer to contact you in different ways, make it simple by including your phone number, Web site URL and store address.

Print Advertising

Most communities have at least one daily or weekly newspaper, and some areas even publish a local magazine. In addition, nearly every town has a community “shopper,” a regularly produced publication filled with ads and coupons.

An advertising representative from each publication can tell you the rates available for one-time, as well as multiple, insertions. Prices are determined by the size of the advertisement you choose. Typically, the more often you advertise, the less expensive each insertion will cost.

In addition to getting the prices for the ad placement, find out how much the publication will charge you for the design, layout and typesetting of your ad. Many newspapers will perform this service free-of-charge, as a courtesy. But many won’t.

“Newspaper advertising probably has been the most effective advertising I’ve done in the past 12 months since my marketing plan was geared toward homeowners, most of whom subscribe to the local paper,” King explained. “However, with an unattended store, it is difficult to question each new customer to find out how they discovered my store.”

When planning your print ad, avoid the temptation to cram as much information as possible into your allotted space. Try to keep your ad crisp and uncluttered. A few “musts” include: your store’s name, your store’s address, a local landmark to help customers find you, and an “attention-getter” – words like “free” and “limited time offer” work well. (Of course, much of this design information can be used for your direct mail pieces as well.)

Also, when offering coupons, make them worthwhile. What’s more, place time limitations on your coupon offers. You want your offer to last long enough to give people a chance to take advantage of it, but you don’t want your offer to last indefinitely, thus killing any sense of urgency to respond.

Radio

Although statistics vary, it’s generally agreed upon the 70 percent to 90 percent of Americans listen to the radio and consider it a big part of their lives. For advertising, the medium offers major benefits and will go a long way toward helping small businesses, like coin laundries, gain customers and boost sales.

Former CLA Chairman Mike Floyd had written in a past issue of The Journal:

“The first step with radio advertising is to determine your target market. Are your customers young, old, professional or blue-collar workers? Once you know which markets you need to reach, it’s simple to select a radio station. Each station in your area can provide you with listener demographics, which may change according to the aired program or time of day.

“Radio ads are sold as spots – usually 30 or 60 seconds long. Each spot can be aired over and over – up to thousands of times per month, depending on your budget. Typically, radio stations will allow you to purchase advertising packages that will air your ad a specific number of times per day over several months. Look for time slots that work for your budget. Simply call the radio salesperson for details and suggestions. They will help you find a good fit for your advertising dollar. I’ve paid for ad packages that only cost $200 to $300 per month – and delivered great results.

“Developing a radio spot isn’t that difficult and doesn’t require a professional to be effective. Most radio advertising departments will write and produce (record) the advertisement for you at no cost.”

If your laundry is located in a large urban market, radio spots can be a bit pricey for the average owner’s budget. However, if you’re located in a Hispanic neighborhood, for example, perhaps you could target only the Spanish-speaking radio stations, which might make things more cost-effective.

Cash Register Receipts

Balestracci is a big fan of placing coupons on the backs of cash register receipts at the local supermarket.

“Our most effective advertising over the previous 12 months – and over the last 10 years – has been coupons on the backs of Stop & Shop register tapes,” he explained. “We get an average of five to seven a day during the week, and eight to 12 a day on Saturdays and Sundays.”

Yes, they are a bit expensive and, yes, existing customers represent many of those responses. But, think of it in financial terms, Balestracci suggested – if you get three new customers, with average annual business of $550, every three months, you have more than covered your cost, which is about $1,200.

“We definitely get more than three new customers every three months, and it builds loyalty and a great relationship with existing customers,” he said. “We pay for a double coupon space and have three offers on every coupon: $2 off our giant 60- or 80-pound washers for the self-service customer; $5 off wash-dry-fold, 15-pound minimum; and 10 percent off drycleaning. Both the wash-dry-fold and the drycleaning need to be prepaid. The $2 off coupon is limited to one per family per day.”

Online Marketing

These days, it’s imperative to back up your advertising with a solid presence on the Web. A Web site for your coin laundry should clearly describe your services, location and equipment, as well as any advertising or marketing promotions. A professional Web site offers instant credibility. Customers know immediately that your store is a professional business offering services they desire.

Balestracci has two Web sites promoting his laundry business, and he’s constantly searching for new ways to boost his rankings on Google and other search engines.

“Owners of unattended stores are always asking what they can do to promote their laundries besides coupons, since there are no attendants on duty,” he said. “Think of how many of our customers are using their computers or smart phones to Google a laundromat near them. Studies show that 95.8 percent of Web searchers never go beyond the first page. My goal this year is to be at or near the top of every Web search for laundries in my area.”

Balestracci also sends a monthly e-mail blast to about 200 customers in his database. “Each month we offer a different special,” he said. “This is a work in process. I’m learning more and more about what the customers want and how to make this an attractive marketing program.”

In addition to a Web site, King also has developed a Facebook page and a presence on Twitter.

“With site statistics, you can see how many people have viewed your site and how many have looked for directions,” King said. “My Web site gets several hundred hits per day. How this relates to increased sales is hard to accurately measure. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have several benefits. First, they develop a following of users that can offer feedback on your store. They also generate a larger Web presence for your store, which assists Web search engines in moving your site to the top of the first search page. Another advantage of a Web site or social media site is that they offer inexpensive marketing tools to promote your store to existing customers in addition to new customers. Using sites like Twitter, it is possible to give followers discounts.”

Fielding also is a big fan of Facebook, which she said enables her to interact directly with her customers on a daily basis.

“For instance, the contest on Facebook where customers write a review of the store has been awesome, because I'm kind of forcing people to do some old-fashioned word-of-mouth advertising,” she said. “Who stands around work talking about where they enjoy doing their laundry? Where they went for a great dinner – yes. But not where they enjoy doing their laundry. I know my customers love my laundromat, I just need to get them to tell everyone else they love it.”

For Gardner, more than 50 percent of the new self-service customers are finding him on the Internet. What’s more, nearly 80 percent of his store’s full-service personnel and commercial laundry customers located his business via online marketing.

“It is the most successful part of my overall marketing plan, and it is growing all the time,” Gardner said.

Yellow Pages

With the digital age upon us, are the humdrum Yellow Pages – long an advertising staple for the coin laundry industry – still a must for store owners?

The answer for many laundry operators these days is a very lukewarm, “Yeah… I guess.”

“I have only a very small ad in the Yellow Pages to maintain a presence, but I believe it is becoming much less important for advertising a business,” Balestracci noted. “Everyone is using an Internet search engine to find what they are looking for.”

King concurred.

“The use of a phone book keeps dwindling as more and more people discontinue their home phone service and use their cell phones as their main phones,” he explained. “A store with demographics of an older generation may still benefit from a phone directory ad, but as time goes on, the money spent on the ad may be better spent on other types of advertising.”

Most new cell phones have Internet access and GPS, which allow users to search for a local laundry, and then can direct them to the store they select. The cost of an ad for a phone directory will cover the cost of a Web site for your laundromat, King pointed out.

“I have reduced my ad in the phone book because I believe the Internet has more of a presence when it comes to finding a place,” Fielding said. “But it's still important. I would never eliminate it. In fact, our local phone book is now getting into social media advertising and will manage Facebook, MySpace and Twitter for clients for a fee. That tells you where their focus is going.”

CLA Helps Laundry Owners Spread the Word

The CLA believes so strongly in advertising and marketing that it has created a couple of new benefits aimed at empowering individual store owners to promote their businesses:

• DIY Direct. Clearly, a single ad in the Yellow Pages no longer cuts it. DIY Direct is the CLA’s online marketing center.
 
To aid its members in their promotional campaigns, the association has created professional templates, which laundry owners can customize and send – directly from their home computers.

CLA members can simply log on to coinlaundry.org, select a template, customize the copy, and add or rent a mailing list. The system then prints, addresses and mails the advertisement.
 
DIY Direct features nearly 100 templates with advertisements touting drop-off laundry services, the time-saving conveniences of self-service laundries and the benefits of card stores, as well as advertising messages geared toward new movers and grand openings. The pre-designed and pre-written templates include postcards, door hangers, business cards, print ads, brochures and interior signage.

Mailing lists available for rental include homeowner/renter, new mover and business. Members can customize these lists by ZIP code radius, renter status, annual income and property type.

• LaundryWeb Network. To compete in today’s marketplace, a Web site is a must. As a result, the CLA is building free Web sites for its members.

Unveiled at last year’s Clean Show, the LaundryWeb Network entitles every CLA-member laundry owner to a free Web site, as well as free hosting for the site.

Each site contains vital store information on every page – location, hours and a map with driving directions. The four initial pages include store services, photos and a contact form.

So, whether it’s targeted direct marketing through DIY Direct or gaining a presence on the Internet through the LaundryWeb Network, never before have there been this many tools available to help coin laundry owners get the word out.

Still Not Sold?

What type of marketing and advertising you do to promote your self-service laundry business, as well as how much you spend to get the word out, depends on your particular marketplace and your specific budget. But whatever you do – you must do something to let people know about your store.

“When we try to read the tea leaves and take a peek into the future of our industry, the vision may still be a bit cloudy,” CLA’s Wallace said. “But one thing is clear to me – the laundries that invest the time, money and energy needed to go out and capture new business will be the ones celebrating during the decade to come.”

Balestracci took matters a step further.

“Advertising our laundries are an absolute necessity,” Balestracci said. “How many of you have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new or existing laundry and do one grand opening and then wonder where all the customers are?

“Advertising must be a 3 percent to 4 percent budget item on a consistent basis. Find what works for your area and keep doing it. I guarantee that most, if not all, of your competitors are not advertising. Whatever money you are making now, you could make a lot more if you advertise. If you are not going to advertise your laundry business, you shouldn't be in business.”