IBA Promotion Ideas

[Redstang]

I was looking to see what others do in regards to promotions when it comes to their In Bay Automatic? I'm looking for some new/fresh ideas in which maybe I could incorporate into my IBA to be different from the rest..

Has anyone tried towel drying upon exiting the automatic, like on the weekends or something along those lines? (I have dryers with my automatic as well)

 

[MEP001]

The best thing we did was to send tokenotes to every home in a 5-mile radius.

 

[BBE]

How about a free vacuum token dispenser on your auto cashier? A free vacuum token with every wash, or your top wash. It's been a huge hit for us.

 

[Car_Wash_Guy]

The best thing we did was to send tokenotes to every home in a 5-mile radius.

What was the offer? A free top wash, discount, etc?

 

[robert roman]

“….what others do in regards to promotions when it comes to their In Bay Automatic?”

Promotion means to spread the word about business to public.

So, good place to begin is advertising at point of sale where customer makes a purchase decision (i.e. digital advertising, topper display, windjammer sign, etc.).

Can customers pay with smart phone?

Advertise on your website, play videos (i.e. interviews) about your premium products, create links to your website from other sites, publish blogs, offer online deals and participate on social networks.

Direct mail is still popular and effective.

Consider mobile marketing strategy and phone app.

Don’t give it away. Offering towel drying, hand prep, wheel deal service can generate significant extra income if done properly.

However, this requires person (labor) to both “sell” and “perform” effectively.

Demonstration - offer free wax for one day to show how good it is.

Loyalty rewards program (VIP) can be very effective is offer is strong enough.

Sponsor a charity wash.

Give donations to community causes.

 

[MEP001]

What was the offer? A free top wash, discount, etc?

It was for a free basic wash. We got some 90% back, although almost no one upgraded to a better wash.

 

[chaz]

...wow 90% return and little upgrade. Hopefully you at least are getting return visits from that 90%, otherwise doesn't seem like a very profitable venture. I'd have lines all day with a free wash. I prefer to be the higher priced guy....I may wash fewer cars than the cheap guy, but I make more $ with less wear and tear. I do make sure everything is running correctly and quickly address any issues.

 

[washnshine]

I was looking to see what others do in regards to promotions when it comes to their In Bay Automatic? I'm looking for some new/fresh ideas in which maybe I could incorporate into my IBA to be different from the rest..

Has anyone tried towel drying upon exiting the automatic, like on the weekends or something along those lines? (I have dryers with my automatic as well)

I'd stay away from providing a service only part time (like weekends). Customers who like whatever services you elect to offer will want them to be available whenever they visit your wash.

Tokens for free vacs, free up-sells to the top package, free premium wax applications, etc. as others have mentioned, will be more consistent for the customer to take advantage of any time they visit your wash.

 

[HCW]

We started the "Happy Hour" from 12 to 2 Monday to Friday two years ago and it's been very successful.

 

[washnshine]

We started the "Happy Hour" from 12 to 2 Monday to Friday two years ago and it's been very successful.

Does the Happy Hour consist of special pricing on your wash packages, or do you offer extra services - or both?

 

[Jeff_L]

I agree with wash shine, don't offer a service part time, it'll confuse and upset some customers who don't realize it's only offered part time. If I were to run promos, it'd be things such as reduced pricing on my slow times/days. If you could get customers to follow you on some social media, you could post temporary discount codes good for day/time.

 

[Waxman]

how you promote depends alot on how much you are staffed. we offer discount on top wash on tuesdays, which made a normally slow day pretty decent. we are staffed so we can implement this program.

i would freshen up your bay with cleaning, paint etc. i put new foam pads on my touchfree and cleaned the bay and painted guide rails on floor and people thought i got all new equipment!

i plan to add some lights in 2016 as well as windows in my bay.

it's all relative though. i have 2 competitors who just installed brand new equipment; one touch free and one cloth rollover. I have had a few busy wash days recently, so while i had line ups at all bays i went and drove to competitors. they were dead.

so...........there are 3 washes in town. 2 are brand new and the third is washing all the cars!

 

[rph9168]

I have seen offering limited day towel drying work very well in several areas. The most successful one offered it from 8 to 6 on Friday through Sunday. I do not know how he set it up with employees but I saw the washes on a Saturday (I think he had three or four) do very well. I also think he was able to move cars through quickly since there were employees on site. He also offered interior vacuuming as well. These were options on any of the washes offered. I was surprised to see how many customers used it. The reason he did it was to compete with several full service washes in his area. Like any other new service it might take some time to get your customers used to it.

 

[soonermajic]

Offered half price Washes, as a Christmas present, & did very good. did it on Tues/Wed 22nd/23rd. Went very well. Tripled my business on those 2 days, so it was worth it.

 

[HCW]

Does the Happy Hour consist of special pricing on your wash packages, or do you offer extra services - or both?

No extra service, it's $2 off any wash from 12 to 2pm Mon-Fri

 

[Dayead]

Can you explain this further? What did the tokenote give. ? Free wash? $5 off? And how frequently would you mail them out?

 

[Randy]

You be the judge if I’m being sarcastic. Here is a rundown of what I can remember that happened at 4 car washes since the end of August.
1. August 23, 2017 Bed and furniture Dumped in Bay 6
2. October 10, 2017 Equipment room broken into, bill changers destroyed
3. November 30, 2017 Van Crashed into Bay 1, van is registered to an address that doesn’t exist.
4. December 12, 2017 Car Fire $22,000 in damages
5. December 18, 2017 4 Vac Hose’s Stolen
6. December 21, 217 Semi-Tractor tried to drive into Bay 1 $3500 in damages
7. December 23, 2017 Drunk, passed out Female Bay 6
8. December 24, 2017 Vac 7 Door pried open with crow bar. Vac totaled
9. December 25, 2017 9 large Trash Bags Dumped by Vac #1
10. December 27, 2017 Bay 3 Hose Ripped from Ceiling.
11. January 3, 2018 Abandoned car, note on windshield that they ran out of gas. Car towed.
12. January 4, 2018 Attempted coin vault break-in, tried to drill out the lock.
We also have 4 law suits pending in small claims court.
We’ve had to lock and chain all the dumpsters because every night the homeless come and dig in the dumpsters, pull everything out and make a hell of a mess. We’ve had to fortify the dumpsters to the point that they are more secure than most equipment rooms. All of these things take a tremendous amount of time.
If we had it to do all over again, we wouldn’t get into the car wash business.

 

[Dayead]

Sounds terrible. What area are you in? Sounds like a nightmare.

 

[pgrzes]

You be the judge if I’m being sarcastic. Here is a rundown of what I can remember that happened at 4 car washes since the end of August.
1. August 23, 2017 Bed and furniture Dumped in Bay 6
2. October 10, 2017 Equipment room broken into, bill changers destroyed
3. November 30, 2017 Van Crashed into Bay 1, van is registered to an address that doesn’t exist.
4. December 12, 2017 Car Fire $22,000 in damages
5. December 18, 2017 4 Vac Hose’s Stolen
6. December 21, 217 Semi-Tractor tried to drive into Bay 1 $3500 in damages
7. December 23, 2017 Drunk, passed out Female Bay 6
8. December 24, 2017 Vac 7 Door pried open with crow bar. Vac totaled
9. December 25, 2017 9 large Trash Bags Dumped by Vac #1
10. December 27, 2017 Bay 3 Hose Ripped from Ceiling.
11. January 3, 2018 Abandoned car, note on windshield that they ran out of gas. Car towed.
12. January 4, 2018 Attempted coin vault break-in, tried to drill out the lock.
We also have 4 law suits pending in small claims court.
We’ve had to lock and chain all the dumpsters because every night the homeless come and dig in the dumpsters, pull everything out and make a hell of a mess. We’ve had to fortify the dumpsters to the point that they are more secure than most equipment rooms. All of these things take a tremendous amount of time.
If we had it to do all over again, we wouldn’t get into the car wash business.

Randy,
You really crack me up!!! You are just a ray of sunshine every time you post events at your places. Your insurance company must really love you!
Where are you cruising to this weekend??
Have a nice weekend.

 

[Dayead]

MEP, did you mail the coupons out in an envelope or what? How did you make sure people didn’t just throw out the envelope?