In this, the last of our 3 part look at technology and how and where it fits in for the Card/Coin Laundry owner, we are going to take a look at the World Wide Web. How the Internet can make itself useful to you and your small business, and whether or not laundry owners should put their own operations on the web.
In exploring the web looking for information that would be specifically useful to laundry owners, we started off by looking at the web sites of the companies that supply and service the Coin/Card laundry business: the manufacturers, distributors, some of the parts suppliers, and a few of the professional services that operate in our industry.
What we found was a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly. There is a term in the web based business world known as “Information Architecture.” What that means in layman’s terms is, a web site should be laid out so that the people who visit the site can find and access what they need quickly.
We discovered that too many of the manufacturers we looked at, in spite of beautiful, high tech and even fancy web sites, often fail in making the most basic information easily available to the end user.
For example, one major (very major) equipment manufacturer is making even finding out that they offer commercial as well as domestic machinery a true exercise in cyber surfing dexterity.
And yet there are others who have laid out their sites superbly. If you want a service manual or a sales brochure, everything you need to get what you want and get it quickly is just a few mouse clicks away. While flash graphics and video are a lot of fun, and when used properly can enhance your visit to a web site, we also know (as do you) that time is money. If you have to invest too much time poking around a site to find what you want, you will be tempted to go elsewhere.
Unfortunately, there is no way for us to advise you on where to go, and whom to avoid. Reality is, if you own a specific brand of washer or dryer, you will have to go to that company’s web site. Or, call your local distributor.
And the truth is, calling your distributor may be the best way to get your needs met anyway. The NEWS has long maintained that a solid working relationship with your distributor is the best way to get the information you need, because for the most part, these are business people who know that their success is tied to your success.
The web can be a great place for parts and supplies, however. It could be that the only place you will find a motor for that old, it’s been running forever Huebsch dryer might be in Seattle, when you and your laundry are in Dallas.
One thing we also discovered is that some sites will ask you to sign in or fill out a form in order to get at that service manual for your front loader or your changer. While in general we don’t like having to give out any personal information, in reality there is nothing wrong with this. An equipment manufacturer has every right to know who is requesting a service manual. Yes, your information might be passed on to that company’s distributor as a “sales lead,” but the fact is, a call from the distributor’s sales person at your convenience, may be one of the best ways to learn about new ideas and equipment.
Should Your Laundry Be on the Web?
This is a good question. For now and for most of our readers, the answer is probably “no.” But that depends on a lot of factors. More and more people are turning to the web to find things. Just as there has been Yellow Pages advertising for years in the phone book, the yellow pages are now on-line as well. So you have to ask yourself if it is worthwhile in your area for your laundry to be a business that could be found by searching the web.
If the demographic make up of your customer base is young, perhaps you operate near a college, it may well be useful for you to put up a site. The same is true if a lot of your wash customers are travelers.
Having your laundry on the web can also be a genuine benefit to your business when you combine the latest card technology. You can run web specials and the like, and get your customers in the habit of checking your site before their wash day. You could then leverage this into a way of touting your fluff & Fold service, or your other vended products.
What About Wi-Fi?
If you were running an over priced caffeine emporium, the answer would seem to be a resounding yes. For the Card/Coin Laundry operator, again it depends.
Are a lot your customers college students and twenty-somethings? Age is not the only factor however. The main thing that you really have to figure out is, are there people in your area who would benefit from being able to access the internet on their laptop or smart phone while they do their laundry? And will their presence and use of your bandwidth translate into dollars and cents, or just a collection of loiterers who are accessing the web on your good graces but aren’t using your machines to wash and dry their clothes?
Finally, as we discussed last month, always practice safe cyber surfing. We believe it’s fair to say that visiting the web site of your equipment distributor or manufacturer is about as safe as it gets. But there will no doubt be other places you will visit while you are taking care of business, and the time to worry about losing all your valuable data to some type of Malware is BEFORE it happens.
If you use a Windows PC, you absolutely must install and maintain current anti-virus software. Mac users have a little less to worry about today, but as Apple’s computers grow in popularity, you can bet that will change. | 