Dear Waxman:
My compliments on your notion of Holiday promotion. Allow me to expand the notion by telling of what I did. It seems to me with a detail shp you have opportunities I never had. Here goes.
I found there was a food pantry within just a few blocks of each of my washes. They were associated with a local church. I suspect there is such a place near your wash/detail shop.
I'd give $10 in free wash
tokens (could be $5) to anyone who would bring a sack of canned goods to the food pantry - - the volunteers at the food pantry simply handed out the
tokens which I had in small plastic bags stapled to a card telling where the wash was.
It grew and grew. These churches all had weekly bulletins which they passed out after the service. Each contained an announcement about my wash. Word spread, good publicity.
At one church I let the youth group sell
tokens and keep the money. (Volunteers at the food pantry could do the same). The priest announced at the end of Mass that the
tokens were for sale in the back of the church. They sold $1000 worth in one Sunday.
It seems to me you could offer a free "detail" in a drawing for all those who took cans to the food pantry.
Of course banners and press releases help with the publicity. Good will within the community can't be over done, IMO.
I hope you'll try it because the news here has carried stories of food pantries being out of canned goods. Besides it's a ton of fun to see the disblief on the faces of the church staff when you approach them.
Patrick H. Crowe
