Promotional Ideas That Have Worked Well for Laundries

Ice Cream Sundays Noting that business was good on Sunday mornings, but fell off sharply during the heat of the afternoon, one enterprising couple decided to try something different to increase their laundry''s business traffic on those summer Sunday afternoons. They announced an after church ice cream social for customers who came in to do their laundry on Sunday afternoons in the summer. They purchased some prepackaged ice cream cups (Dixie Cups), bought wooden spoons, made gallons of lemonade and made coffee to offer their Sunday PM customers. It seemed to work, as throughout July and August their laundry volume stayed well ahead of the previous year, and that was their goal. They felt that even had the promotion not worked as intended, it brought them so much customer good will that they have done it again year after year, and it still works well and keeps business coming. As both husband and wife work full time, Sunday is the only day they both can be at their laundry. Saturday she does errands; he does heavy cleaning and repairs. They have a guy that comes in at night to close, clean up and set the door lock. That guy complains each Monday about the amount of ice cream spills on the floor. Who cares? It works for them and their laundry and has now done so for years. Start your own Fan Club A south Texas laundry operator became concerned because his business fell off so steeply during the summer, while his rent and other costs stayed the same. He was losing money pretty much in proportion to rising temperatures and humidity. Through an advertising novelty firm, he bought some hand held fans that read ''A Fan of Sit Wash''. The fans were to help make customers more comfortable doing wash. Customers left few of these fans in the laundry. When attendants gave out fans, they also registered customers for a drawing that had an expensive looking rotating fan as the main prize. It worked well and has been very successful as the wash and dry income was much better than in prior summers. This fan club idea brought another benefit he never expected. Good advertising! He began to see his fans at little league games. He saw folks flapping them in the park and even using them in church. Thinking he''d found an affordable way to advertise, he began donating fans to every summer event held in the area. Even the mayor used one to cool off during a hot city council meeting. This kind of fan club will work best in warm humid areas. For this owner, it''s now worked well for several years. His is also the best known laundry business in town. Free Sodas on Hot Days One couple wanted to make their coin laundry seem friendly and decided to offer free sodas during days when the temperatures got over 85? in their customer area. It was to differentiate them from nearby competitors, and it wasn''t expensive. They bought off brand soft drinks, in bulk, from a nearby club store, paying about a quarter a can. They cooled the sodas in an old fridge in the back room and hung up a great big thermometer in the customer area. When it hit 85?, drinks were on the house. It became a game for folks to see the temperature rise. Instead of complaining about how hot it was, they joked about it not yet being hot enough for the sodas. It put some fun into doing the laundry, and brought in more than enough extra income to pay for the sodas and thermometer. One of the unexpected advantages of this promotion is how well it worked to acquaint the owner and his wife, and their attendants with the clientele. It gave them a topic to talk and joke about with customers. It also built a sense of camaraderie among those using the laundry. On expected warm days, some of them brought along extra treats to share with others that got the free sodas. The promotion created a lot of good will and kept their cash flow up too. Give-a-way Opportunities When a carnival, circus or rodeo is coming to town, they put up advance posters to draw a crowd. Their front men like to post such advertisements in and around the coin laundries in the area. They give the laundry discount tickets for allowing display posters in the laundry. One operator learned to smile and lean on the poster people to give him extra tickets, which he makes a point of passing along to customers as something of a present from him. The value of these tickets or passes is normally one half off admission. The more they give away, the more they make, so they are happy to oblige the owner with extra tickets. Doesn''t cost him a dime, helps the circus or rodeo draw a crowd and makes the laundry customer feel they are special by getting something extra from the owner. It''s an excellent public relations move and also brings in extra business both from those given the tickets and those offering the tickets. This operator gets hundreds of dollars worth of laundry income each summer from the carnivals or circuses, which stop in his area. That also helps improve summer business. Campgrounds Motels One operator in a major metropolitan area noticed that the small motels and campgrounds in his area become very busy in the summer months. Thinking they could be a source of extra cash flow, he contacted several to see if there were some way he could get more business. Based on what he learned, he made a flyer offering one free wash for coin laundry customers and discounts on fluff & fold or cleaning. He personally spoke with the manager of each facility to request they keep flyers on hand for guests who inquire about laundry or dry cleaning. Each flyer is marked to show which motel or campground it comes from. As a kicker, he offered a small rebate to the managers for any flyers brought in bearing their mark. Most managers ignored this idea, but a few thought enough of the idea to really push it. Those few have sent a lot of business to that laundry. The operator feels that he takes in several hundred dollars per month in extra business during the summer tourist season, due to the flyers. It takes time, but has really paid off for the laundry owner and his business.