Monday, November 15, 2010

Increase Your Coin Store’s Internet Presence - “Welcome to the new phone book”


In the coin laundry business, it is important to always keep one step ahead of the pack.  It is not only necessary to keep your existing customers but, perhaps even more importantly, you must obtain new customers to gain market share.  At the very least, you need to replace customers who have moved or otherwise stopped patronizing your laundry.

In the past, the telephone directory was an optimum source for the consumer to find local businesses who offer the services that they need.  In this digital age, a more effective tool for consumers to find your business is the almighty Internet.  How can you ensure that your customers find you?  Building and maintaining your Internet presence is the key!

I’m going to share ideas for building a web presence without creating a custom website.  There are many websites where you can “fill in the blanks” on large established networks like Google, Yelp, and Facebook.  The best part is that basic listings on these sites are completely free—all it takes is time!

I’m listing a few specific options below which I feel are most suited to a coin laundry business (in order of priority):
The most obvious place to start is with the leader in Internet searching—Google.  Since most people use Google as their preferred method to search the web, it makes sense to make sure that Google has complete information about your business.  Start by visiting Google Places at www.google.com/places.  If you don’t have a Google account, you’ll need to start by signing up for one.  After you sign in, click the List Your Business link and follow the instructions.  Include as much information about your business as you can provide.  This will help Google to list your business in the results when someone searches for your business type and/or location.  You can also explore business listings on the other popular search engines like Yahoo, Bing, Ask, and AOL (Ask and AOL get data on their business listings from infoUSA).
Yelp is a website that allows consumers to review their experiences with businesses they have visited.  If your business is not currently on the site, a customer can add your business if they want to write a review.  You may already be on Yelp!
To get started, visit www.yelp.com and search for your business (you can do this without signing up).  If you find your business, you can click the red Claim This Business button to start refining your business listing (you’ll have to sign up first—it’s very simple).  If your business is not listed, you’ll definitely want to sign up and get yourself “on the map.”
Make your listing as relevant as possible by adding store hours, photos and even special offers.  Also, by taking an active role in your business listing on Yelp, you can respond to any review or comment with your “own side of the story,” either publicly or privately.
Yelp also has applications which can run on most of the new cell phones and mobile devices.  Running these “apps” is a wonderful way for customers to find businesses close to them, especially when traveling in an unfamiliar city.  Make sure you capture these customers by ensuring that your laundry is listed!
YouTube allows users to post videos of virtually anything.  What better way to show off your store, equipment and amenities than with a video?  A quick video tour of your store with simple voiceover explaining what is being seen is both easy and informative.  Don’t have a video camera?  Ask your friends or family if they have one you can borrow.  You can even buy a simple video camera that is made to shoot videos and post them to YouTube for just over $100 (click here).  Make sure to keep you overall video short (about 3 minutes).  The attention span of the typical Internet user is short!
Once your video is ready, log on to www.youtube.com and sign up for an account.  Click on the Upload link on the top of the screen and upload your video.  Make sure to fill in the information associated with your video while uploading to get the maximum exposure.  In the tags section, list words that you think people would commonly use to search your business (laundry, Laundromat, your city name, your neighborhood, etc.).
No article on increasing your web presence would be complete without listing the king of social networking sites, www.facebook.com.  However, you’ll notice that I’m not listing this site as the top priority.  Having a Facebook page for your business is probably a good idea and it can be used to promote your business.  However, I don’t think that people are using Facebook like a phone book to find local businesses (although that could change in the future).
To create a Facebook listing for your business, you first need to sign up for an account (for you personally) and then you can create a page for your business with the following link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php  Once your business page is created, you need to get people to connect to your page, generally by clicking the Like button on the page.  By doing this, you will create a network of people who you can connect with.
One important note regarding Facebook: it is best to create new posts frequently.  These can be announcements of special offers, new services, relevant news articles, videos, or anything else.  The most important way to benefit from Facebook is with consistent and fresh listings on your page.
Twitter allows users to post short messages (under 140 characters) and share them with the world.  There has been a lot of talk about www.twitter.com being the next best thing on the Internet and it does have some specific uses.  As far as its relevance to a coin store owner, I’m still not convinced.
If you want to experiment with Twitter, it’s very easy to sign up and start “tweeting” (this is what’s called when you post a message on the site).  If you are using this exclusively for your business, make sure your username contains your business name (i.e. tomslaundry).  In order to use Twitter effectively, you must tweet often and consistently.  In the land of Twitter, anything older than a week is not relevant.
FourSquare is a newer website which is similar to Yelp (listed above) but with more of a social networking style.  With this site, people can locate friends in their social networks and arrange to meet up at featured locations.  They can also leave short, twitter-like comments on the sites that they are visiting.  Although enhancing a location listing on www.foursquare.com couldn’t hurt, this site might be more suited to a restaurant or bar or other social gathering point.  I list it here because it’s an interesting blend of the above sites and it may be something to look out for in the future.
By following these simple guidelines, you can easily create a web presence for your business without spending any money or creating a custom-built website.  I think you’ll be surprised how many people find your coin store by searching the web!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Open the Door to Increased Profits - The Distributor Open House


Most commercial laundry equipment distributors host an Open House at least once per year and it’s a good idea to make plans to attend!  The coin laundry store owner who takes advantage of these events will surely benefit and help better their business.

I’m sure that you’ve heard it before, but it’s worth repeating here.  The business that is ignored and stagnant is the business that will be surpassed by the rivals.  This is especially true with coin laundries.  In order to keep your business competitive, thriving, and alive, you must nurture and attend to it.  One of the simplest ways to do so is to attend your distributor’s Open House.  Besides taking a fresh look at your business, you will receive tangible benefits from actively attending these events.  Do yourself a favor and take advantage of them!

Service Maintenance and Troubleshooting
Typically, a distributor’s Open House is centered around service seminars taught by industry experts.  These representatives are well-versed in their field of service and preventative maintenance of laundry equipment, and any time spent in these seminars is worthwhile.  Even if you are not planning on servicing your own equipment, it is still a good idea for you (or a representative from your store) to attend this seminar to learn about preventative maintenance.

Network with Other Owners
In this industry, it is rare to get an opportunity to rub shoulders with other people in the same business as you and potentially speak to them and see what’s working (or not working) in their specific businesses.  Many Open Houses facilitate networking sessions where owners can come together and share ideas and thoughts about their industry.  Surrounding yourself with other people in your business inevitably leads to learning about ways to improve your own business.  Why not take advantage of these rare opportunities whenever possible?

New Product Demonstrations
New products are being developed every day and it’s a good idea to be aware of these industry innovations, even if you are not ready to buy new equipment now. At an Open House, you can see, touch, and examine new products that can help your business make (and save) more money in your day-to-day operations. In the last several years, great strides have been made by commercial laundry equipment manufacturers to reduce the energy consumption of laundry equipment. When the coin laundry business is “selling utilities,” that alone is a good reason to attend the event.

Sales Prices
During an Open House event, you can be sure to be offered the best deals on everything the distributor has to offer.  This will include items like financing specials, one-day-only coupons and sales, and excellent pricing on replacement parts.  Make sure you take the opportunity to stock up on commonly used parts since the best pricing is available during these events.

Seminars and Self-Improvement
A good Open House event will most likely include various seminars and informational sessions designed to improve your knowledge of industry topics.  There are very few opportunities for this type of instructional learning and it’s a good idea to attend as many of these events as possible.  A well-done seminar will not only teach you something about the topic at hand, but will also generate questions (and answers) regarding your business.

Industry Vendors and Guests
Many Open Houses bring in industry representatives and other related guests to be available for customer questions and information.  Speaking to these representatives may spark something that benefits your business or answer a question you’ve always had regarding their products.

Solve Specific Problems
Are there challenges that you face with your equipment or daily operation that you can’t seem to resolve?  Making a list of these issues and attending an Open House with clear goals is a great step to getting them resolved.  At these events, you can typically speak to nearly every employee at the distributorship and with several manufacturer representatives as well.  If it’s a service issue, there are generally technicians available to speak to.  If it’s an equipment feature that is not working, you can speak to the manufacturers themselves.  If it’s a sales problem, many times this is an opportunity to speak to the Sales Manager or even the President of the company.

Free Food & Prizes
Open Houses are typically fun-filled events with plenty of food and the opportunity to win prizes all day long.  Take advantage of the free food and drink throughout the day!  In addition to door prizes, many distributors give out incentives and grand prizes as large as a free piece of laundry equipment.  That definitely makes it worth a little of your time!

Don’t miss out on a distributor’s Open House as a business-building experience for yourself.  These events are a valuable resource for the coin laundry store owner and a good opportunity for you to breathe some life into your business.  “One of the most valuable things you have to offer is your personal time,” according to Richard LaMaina of Equipment Marketers. “The Open House is an opportunity to spend that time investing in yourself!”  See what’s out there, learn about the industry, solve a problem that’s been nagging you, and invest some valuable time into your future!  At the very least, I’ll bet you’ll walk away with a full belly, some new knowledge, and a few free samples!