Marketing New Laundry Services at you Re-Opened Coin Laundromat

While there is no one method to market new laundry services and sell your community on a coin Laundromat re-opening, there is a set of universal questions to consider. Answering these questions will help ensure the success of your business. As the new owner of a store which had earned a reputation for poor customer service and dingy facilities, re-branding your coin Laundromat and selling customers on the idea of coming back to try again and invest in new laundry services like wash and fold can require a lot of work.

Before you begin this transformation ask yourself these questions:

1. What was the reason your store closed? 
2. Who are the people who have used your store in the past and who do you want to use your store in the future?
3. Who are your competitors and are there new competitors since your store closed?
4. Is there adequate parking at your coin Laundromat?
5. What sort of businesses surround your store and how can these businesses help you attract customers or market new laundry services?
6. What were the unsuccessful vend prices and to what extent did your store’s pricing affect the decision to close?
7. What are your competitors charging?
8. How old is your equipment and how much of your equipment is out of order?

Take your time answering these questions and be honest with yourself about whether or not you can address and solve the ongoing problems you identify. More often than not the problems that you identify can be addressed through a combination of effective advertising, active marketing, improved store management, hard work and a never-quit attitude.

A mistake many coin Laundromat owners make when advertising new laundry services or a store re-opening is that they send out mailings (which is good!) with the wrong message (which is bad!). As business owners we are always concerned with the bottom line so it’s easy to convince ourselves that a “10% off!” promotion is generous. But before you settle on a 10% discount ask yourself whether you’d be more inspired to try a new store for so little. Would a 50% discount make you more likely to go?

A coin Laundromat that closed likely did so due to poor customer experience, inadequate or unfriendly service and bad management. A successful marketing campaign will identify this problem and address it in the first wave of advertisement flyers – understanding that your message has to be dramatic to get customers to try again. A key to re-branding your store is to include headlines such as “Under New Ownership” or “Grand Re-Opening” – slogans that are a good idea to include as signs on your storefront as well. In combination with a 50% off promotion, this can be enough to convince customers to try your store again.

As a coin Laundromat business owner you should recognize that it takes 30 days for most people to establish a new habit or routine so your initial 50% off promotion should run for a full month. While it can be frustrating to know that your customers are spending an average of $8 per visit instead of $12 (remember that you’re offering ½ off washing costs … the cost to use your dryers is still the same!) you should remember that each customer who spends an average of $10 per visit offers your business roughly $500 per year in revenue. In advertising your re-opened coin Laundromat or marketing new laundry services consider what you would spend to earn $500 in business. Spending $20 in promotional flyers to acquire one loyal customer is a bargain!

Once you’ve reacquired customers with the first month’s promotion your goal should be to retain them. Doubling the price immediately after they’ve established the habit of using your coin Laundromat can leave many customers feeling burned. A promotion in the second month after re-opening to ease the transition could be “one free wash with each paid wash.” This will allow you to raise the cost of your washers to your long-term target price, avoiding sticker-shock in the third month. In the meantime customers will continue to feel they’re receiving value. They’ll bring twice as much laundry (and spend twice as much drying their clothes). Remember – you should think about the customer’s perception and experience in addition to your bottom line … without happy, repeat customers you HAVE no bottom line.

If you’re trying to market new laundry services like a wash-dry-fold service in your coin Laundromat there are several tested strategies that are effective. Offering a $5 off coupon on their first order in addition to a “baker’s dozen” promotion (buy 12 get the 13^th free) can entice customers to consider saving time by paying a little extra for this service. It also helps to establish a habit of using the service as they work toward that 13^th order. Remember that you’re not selling the laundry service to the customer … you’re selling the customer on thevalue of each laundry service you offer.

Identifying your store’s location and nearby destinations can help in promoting new laundry services too. If your store is next to a hair salon or café you could liaise with management to offer a cross-promotion. Offering a pair of local housewives a coupon to your neighbor’s restaurant with the drop-off of their laundry for wash-dry-fold laundry service could earn you and your neighbor weekly customers for years. Cross-promoting to bring customers to your neighborhood once a week is a great marketing strategy.

One final key to the success of re-branding your coin Laundromat and marketing new laundry services is to engage with your community. If your store is located near an office building or apartment complex, consider offering weekly pick-up and drop-off for your wash-dry-fold service. The added convenience you’re providing will often earn you a number of new customers and increase the profits of your coin Laundromat. Networking with organizations and apartment complexes in your community is one of the best ways to renew your coin Laundromat’s reputation and helps to spread the word about your new laundry services and promotions.