Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Hitting a Moving Target - Marketing Your Coin Laundry Business


Your coin laundry has been built and is in a good location. The machines are kept in working condition and the interior is clean and comfortable. The signage is proudly displayed and the doors are open! Is that enough? Perhaps that’s enough to keep the place running and the lights on but, to really keep the coin boxes (or the bank account) full, a marketing campaign is important to keep the customers coming in.

While there’s nothing better than a highly visible and well-known location, there is always room for improvement in market share and that’s where marketing can help. For those not familiar with this aspect of the business, this may seem like a daunting task and may feel like hitting a moving target. However, following a few simple guidelines can make your marketing effective and bring more people in the door.

1.         Keep it simple
You’ve heard this cliché a thousand times but in marketing, it’s really a golden rule. Advertising is based on a fleeting moment of attention. Most people have their guard up for marketing and are not interested in getting a full blown sales pitch for something that they are not interested in. A simple message, without too much detail, is the key to catching someone’s eye.

Keep your marketing copy short and concise. “Bullet points” of only a few words each are one way to ensure that message is short and sweet. Your phone number, address, hours of operation, and website are all good things to include as well.

2.         Know your audience
Who are the people who will benefit from and frequent your coin laundry? Where do they live? What forms are marketing are they already receiving? Ensure that you get the most “bang for your buck” by advertising in a location which would reach the most potential customers as possible.

Is there an ethnic group in your area which should be a focus of your marketing? Perhaps you can find a newspaper or even other location which this group of people would identify with. At the very least, adding a tagline in a different language or even other graphical elements can help you connect with this important audience.

3.         Focus on the unique
What makes your laundry better than the competition? Is it the cleanliness of your place? Is the number of large machines? Is it the convenient location? Do you offer WiFi? Do you accept credit cards? Anything that sets you apart and above the competition should be a prominent message within your advertising. Use your uniqueness to your advantage to convince people why they should frequent your location over the “other place”.

4.         Use iconic images
People’s brains make quick and easy associations and you should use this to your advantage in your advertising pieces. Don’t make them wonder what type of business you are advertising. Think of the marketing as a blip in which you have two seconds to make your point. Use iconic images, like a washing machine or laundry basket, so that people can identify what services you are providing. This, along with your business name, are important “must haves” in your design.

5.         Track effectiveness
Developing effective marketing is an ongoing process, full of trial and error. Not every marketing campaign will be a grand slam, filling your business with customers. Track every piece that you create and try to associate how effective each piece has been. Change your ad copy slightly each time. Try advertising in different locations. You don’t know what will work better if you never change your message delivery.

6.         Include an offer
There is a concept in marketing design called the “call to action”. This is the next step that the reader will take, hopefully to visit your store. One of the easiest ways to nudge the call to action along is to give the reader a clear cut reason to visit your coin laundry. A coupon or limited time offer is a great way to encourage people to get in your door.

Also, merely printing the traditional “dotted line” coupon in an advertisement will encourage people to clip the ad and keep it handy for a potential visit to your business. If you can keep your marketing in the customer’s hands, long after the newspaper has been put in the trash, you’ll have a better chance of success.

Also, if your coin laundry offers a Wash, Dry & Fold business, you may be able to offer a “Groupon” or similar coupon arrangement. Groupon.com (www.groupon.com) is an Internet phenomenon in which users sign up to receive an email announcing an offer each day. The offers are usually a 50% savings from normal pricing. For example, you can offer $40 of Wash, Dry & Fold for $20. Some laundry owners have had success with this program, some have not, but it’s certainly worth considering.

Once your marketing has gone out, keep an eye on your store’s traffic. I have found that it is very easy to spot the customer that is new to your store. You will see them walk in through the front doors and pause to look around the store to find out where to start. These new customers are the fruit of your marketing labor and should be nurtured to become valuable, continued customers. If you can, spend a few extra minutes to welcome them to your location, demonstrate how to use the equipment and answer any questions that they might have. They will appreciate this touch to help them navigate the vaguely unfamiliar laundry.

These days, an article on marketing would not be complete without mentioning the Internet. Print advertising, though still important, should be complimented by a strong web presence for a complete marketing approach. The use of technology today, with items like smart phones and GPS units, allows people to find services whenever and wherever they need them. A full discussion of Internet marketing is beyond the scope of this article but it cannot be ignored in creating a complete marketing program for your business.

Using the simple guidelines outlined here can help you to create marketing which will increase your customer base. As I mentioned above, this process of marketing is much like hitting a moving target and should be an ever-changing development to see what works. Keep your marketing fresh at all times by revisiting these concepts frequently and tracking what works for your business. The right message in a good location can certainly help to keep those machines busy!

Controlling Service Costs Before You Buy


One of the ongoing challenges that every laundry owner faces is the service factor of laundry equipment.  After all, the coin laundry business is really the rental of laundry equipment.  Since that equipment is the key element of your business, keeping it up-and-running is one of the most important concerns.

Today, I’m offering some advice on how to control (or at the very least anticipate) these service costs which can be done even before you purchase your laundry equipment.  The overall objective here is to attempt to get some information on what support is available in two basic areas, warranty programs and service training.  Your commercial laundry equipment distributor is the key since the distributor typically provides both of these services.

Warranty
There are generally two types of warranty which are provided for commercial laundry equipment, labor warranty and parts warranty.  It is important to understand the difference between the two types.  The labor warranty is typically a shorter period of time which is designed to “work out the kinks” of any new equipment and take care of any initial issues with the equipment.  The labor warranty covers the cost of the technician and is typically offered by the distributor, not the manufacturer.  As the purchaser of the equipment, it is beneficial to understand exactly what this labor warranty covers.  Does it cover the travel costs to your location?  Are there exceptions which are not covered?

The second type of warranty is the parts warranty.  This warranty covers a much longer period and is offered by the manufacturer of the equipment.  Admittedly, parts warranties can be confusing but it is important they are understood.  First and foremost, get a copy of the parts warranty and read it carefully, including the fine print.  Some companies don't warrant the wearable components, while other companies offer more comprehensive warranties.  Many warranties have several time periods built in for different parts of the machine.  In fact, sometimes the longest warranty periods will be advertised but these warranties are only valid for certain parts of the machine.  An extra long parts warranty on the cabinet is generally never fulfilled since the cabinet very rarely fails, even after 10 – 15 years.  A good parts warranty covers all parts in the machine, with very few exclusions (like vandalism and gross negligence).  It can take just one part not covered by warranty to more than account for a price difference in a proposal.  It is important to understand what is going to be covered so that you can factor this into the total equipment cost (and not just the price tag).

There are plenty of questions to ask relating to parts warranty.  Do the parts need to be returned?  In a tiered parts warranty, exactly what is covered under each time period?  Is there any paperwork to fill out or will your distributor handle that?  When the warranty parts are replaced by a distributor’s technician, is there any handling or other extra charges?  Also, make sure the lowest priced supplier has a comparable warranty.  Ask the questions before you buy so that you are not surprised later!

Service Training
Although there are surely instances where a trained service technician must be called in to do a repair, many of the common service issues can be solved with a little know how and a screwdriver.  The second area which you should research is the service training opportunities offered by the distributor.  When you purchase the equipment, good distributors offer ongoing service school training opportunities for their customers.  Many of these training sessions are wrapped up as a full day event of food, prizes, presentations and industry networking.  See what your distributor offers in terms of an Open House or Service Seminar for continual support of their customers.  Even if you can’t get to an Open House or Service Seminar before your purchase, a well-developed website might have video of their events available for viewing.

The best training sessions are taught directly by the manufacturer’s representative, so find out who teaches the classes.  How often are these schools held during the year?  The service technicians may also be a very good resource, since they are out there every day dealing with these service issues. Are the service technicians available on these days for one-on-one questions?  Is there any cost to attend the service school?  Attending these classes prior to buying equipment is a good way to experience the amount of distributor support that you’ll have moving forward.

In each of these areas, the most important thing is that you ask questions so that you are not surprised later.  Get to know your distributor well as they are going to be providing these services to you, either directly or as the agent between you and the manufacturer.  The more information that you can gather and understand before you purchase can alleviate frustration and confusion when you actually need the parts or service. Also visiting a bricks and mortar distributor headquarters will provide an idea of how well-established the business is and that there is a physical place you can go if you have an issue with your purchase.  Setting your expectations and understanding of the process early in the ownership process will allow you to concentrate on your day-to-day goals of making your business a success!

Social Media versus Social Reality


Okay, I am a self-professed geek.  I love gadgets, the Internet, and the use of technology to make our lives easier. At the same time, I always like to provide myself with the challenge of ensuring that new technology has a valid and proven benefit and it is not just technology for technology’s sake.  It has to have a tangible benefit to my life without being burdensome.  To me, this “reality check” is needed to validate the benefit.

It is with this exercise that I am examining the very popular social media that has been generating a lot of buzz in the media.  Here, I will present several examples of applying the underlying concept of the social marketing phenomenon in real life applications.

One of the strongest benefits of social media is making a connection with people.  Facebook and Twitter allow the user to communicate with a large number of people who have “signed up” to participate and receive the media stream into their virtual lives.  This concept of having to actively agree to receive this information is what I call “pull marketing”.  In order to get access to an audience, that audience has to agree to be a part of this system.  That’s ultimately the huge challenge with this type of marketing.

This being new technology, there is a certain level of adoption that is constantly growing.  I have to keep in mind that not everyone is as geeky as I am.  Not everyone has a smart phone (although this is quickly changing).  As a business executive, I commonly use this technology on a daily basis for the specific task of business communication.  As a casual consumer, however, I use the technology, especially social media, to be connected to my friends and family and to find out how to spend my free time to increase these social contacts.  Those are the strongest benefits to social media, hence the self-describing name.

However, for a business owner, I recognize the benefit of tapping into new advertising ideas.  Is there a way to merge the core of social marketing into the real world?  I think we can do this if we step back and look at the ways to increase our social connection to consumers.

Is social media the only (and most effective) way of connecting to people?

The local coin laundry can be perceived as a service that is offered to the community in which it is located.  Ultimately, it is providing a physical location within the community in which people can gather to gain access to equipment that helps them to perform a basic human need ― to provide clean clothing.  Many aspects of a good coin laundry include amenities to make this experience more comfortable.  A clean atmosphere, comfortable seating and some sort of entertainment are among these items.

Can we expand the development of a comfortable location for other purposes?  Is there a way that we could get people to congregate at our coin laundry for a more social purpose?  A Single Parents Night at your laundry could offer a free single load of laundry to single parents while simultaneously offering a social connecting point in the community.  To potentially expand on this idea, there is a webpage called Meetup.com (http://www.meetup.com) that could provide ideas on all kinds of groups that connect with regular meetings.

Also, perhaps a special customer appreciation day could be organized to provide a social meeting atmosphere.  It would be very easy and relatively inexpensive to set up a grill in your parking lot and provide free hot dogs and snacks to your patrons.  Is there an acoustic musical act that is looking for exposure in your area? If your location is visible and accessible (and I hope it is!), passersby could easily see this event and stop by to get to know your laundry.

Although social media outlets provide a way to reach out to new customers, the primary use is to communicate with customers who have already signed up to “like” or “follow” you.  In most cases, these are existing customers.  And not all of your customers are following your posts on the Internet.  Perhaps a better way to communicate with people who are in your store as customers is to post information within the store itself.  By displaying signage in your store explaining different aspects in which you connect with the community, you have the potential to communicate with 100% of your current patrons!

At the recent Clean show in Las Vegas, the CLA sponsored a session in which coin laundry owners discussed their marketing efforts, Upfront and Online: Leading Store Owners Discuss e-Marketing.  In this session, Texas coin laundry owner Louise Messano explained how she used social media to keep in touch with her customers.  When the area suffered a fire in their community, Louise organized a clothing donation campaign.  To me, this is an excellent idea than transcends social media and extends into real life.  The announcement on social media sites is not the main point here, only a small vehicle of promotion of this campaign.  The important fact is that Louise connected to her community and worked with her patrons to supply help.  A campaign like this could easily be promoted to the people that are in your store everyday with signage within the store itself.  There is no doubt that social media is a good way to promote your message and marketing but the important thing is to actually do something to connect with the customers.

What other success stories are out there in the social media phenomenon?  I am wondering if, at the heart of every social media success story, there is a real life social event that is the bigger connection between the successful laundry store owner and their everyday customers.  The beauty about the Internet is that these ideas are now out there in plain view for all to see.  As a business owner, you have the advantage of finding those campaigns and making them reality in your own store.

Social media and Internet marketing is a new way to reach out to your customers, and I am by no means suggesting that you don’t try and leverage this new technology.  If you are adding this type of marketing to your business, you are no doubt ahead of the curve and on the bleeding edge of your marketing efforts.  It can be done for little or no costs, only your time.  Keep doing it and I am sure you will reap the benefits.  However, don’t get trapped in the media buzzwords and loose track of what is happening in your “bricks and mortar” business.  Make sure that your marketing efforts include a social connection to your customers in the real world for maximum benefits!

"I Love Providing This Service" - Former Restaurateur Builds Successful Laundry Chain in Western Pennsylvania

Louie Tsiris left his small hometown village in Greece in 1974 to come to America.  When he arrived in Indiana, Pennsylvania, he had only a suitcase full of clothes and $250 to his name.  He spoke very little English and started working in a restaurant business that his brother had established in the western Pennsylvania town.  Only six months later, his brother left the business with Louie in charge.  Tsiris worked hard in this business and created a livelihood which would serve as a base for his respectable and lucrative career.


In 1983, Tsiris moved to Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania and opened an Italian restaurant in this small college town.  He will tell you that the restaurant business can provide some nice profits but represents long days of hard work.  “I had twenty five people working for me but I found that I had to schedule two people for every one that would actually show up.  When somebody called off, guess who had to work for them?”

Back then, Tsiris would work 60-70 hours a week and, at one time, worked a full three and a half years without taking any vacation.  “After a while in the restaurant business, I found that I couldn’t remember what my kids looked like,” he explained.  “There were a lot of headaches.”

The restaurant in Slippery Rock had a basement area that he wanted to use for another potential business.  Acting on the recommendation of a food deliveryman, Tsiris connected with an equipment distributor and decided to open a coin laundry in this space.  He went into business with this individual, who as his partner, could help with the capital investment – and the rest, as they say, is history.

The initial Slippery Rock Laundromat was the springboard for Tsiris’ successful coin laundry career.  The college residents in town provided an instant customer base of patrons who needed to do their laundry.  “There were plenty of college students here who needed to do their laundry and the laundry business was very profitable.  With a low vend price (by today’s standards), I could make quite a decent profit.”

With his initial laundry doing well, Tsiris looked to expand his laundry business, and leave the busy and tiring restaurant business altogether.  So, in 1991, he ventured out on his own, purchasing a laundromat in Butler, Pennsylvania.  “Most of my friends thought I was crazy with the location I’d chosen, but it remains one of our most profitable stores,” he said.  Thus began his coin laundry empire in western Pennsylvania.

Over the next fifteen years, Tsiris and his wife, Beth, developed five more coin laundry locations until they owned a total of seven coin laundries in western Pennsylvania.  The laundries cover a vast area, with stores which are one hour to the north and one hour southwest of their home in Slippery Rock.  Only recently, did they sell one of the laundries in Kittanning, PA, still leaving them with six profitable locations.


In 1999, Tsiris sold the restaurant in Slippery Rock, but continues to run the basement laundry to this day.  In fact, less than a year ago, he bought out his partner to own all of the laundries himself. 

These days, Tsiris spends two days a week collecting the coins from his laundries.  Beth handles the paperwork and management of the stores.  Louie said he loves the flexibility of the few hours spent working in the coin laundry business, especially when compared to his bustling restaurant business of his past.  “I work probably half the amount of hours, and I manage seven laundromats pretty much by myself – and I don’t have any problems keeping up with it,” he said.  “I love every minute of this business.  One of the best things is that the machines never talk back!” 


Two of the laundries that the Tsiris family purchased were existing stores; however, the others were different businesses that Louie remodeled.  “When I started my first laundry, it was a vacant building and I was so excited to get in there and wear my old dirty clothes and remodel the whole building,” he remembered.

The western Pennsylvania area is unique.  The area is covered with rolling hills and large tracts of land between the cities.  Most of the towns there were booming steel towns, when that business was in its heyday.  These days, the cities are comprised of the sprawling suburbs that epitomize middle-class America.  “Those who come into my lundromats are middle-income people, with a lot of elderly customers.  I enjoy having them as customers.”

One of the particular challenges that Tsiris faces is that many of his customers are resistant to change.  All of his coin laundries are unattended, and the introduction of some of today’s modern equipment has been a definite challenge.  “I use mostly top loaders for my single load washers,” he explained.  “People here are used to these machines, and changing their ways can be difficult.  The new front loaders are good machines due to their efficiency, but I have had a hard time introducing them.  As for card systems, forget about it.  People here are used to using coins.”


In fact, only recently has the concept of enhanced cycles been introduced in Tsiris’ laundries.  Equipment Marketers, Louie’s Maytag equipment distributor, has convinced him to offer this feature on his newest equipment.  “In my last purchase of Maytag top loaders, we activated the Super Cycle,” he explained.  “Yesterday, I saw a customer come in, and he used four washers and the Super Cycle in every one of them.  The profit is good because it costs me only about 7 cents, and I collect an extra quarter.”

Since dealing with Equipment Marketers, Louie also travels all the way across Pennsylvania to visit the distributor’s Trade Show which they hold in May in New Jersey.  “I go to the Spring Trade Show and I really find a benefit there.  They show you how to service your machines, how you maintain your machines and the staff from Equipment Marketers, they are a big help to us.  The food is terrific and we look forward to the trip each year.”

All in all, Tsiris couldn’t be happier with his decision to invest in the coin laundry business, and he sees a bright future for the industry.  “I believe that the future of the laundry is going to be good because of the economy, the cost of buying equipment for housing, and the high cost of utilities,” he predicted.  “These days, young people both have to work, and I think everyone goes to the laundry at some point.  I’m glad to be in this business, and I love providing this service for the community.”

Click here for a website video featuring Louie Tsiris and his western Pennsylvania coin laundry business:  http://www.equipmentmarketers.net/testimonial/louie.shtml