Many carwash owners and operators understand how important an advertising and marketing program can be to their businesses. Impulse carwash customers are on the rise, meaning your wash can potentially win business with each and every car that passes by. However, it is the marketing and advertising groundwork ahead of time that helps realize and maximize this impulse-buy potential.

Carwashes have an opportunity to make each visit memorable, satisfying and fun. From offering quality food services, games for kids and special events to simply providing a good c-store shopping experience and allowing customers to watch their cars being washed, carwashes have plenty of marketing messages to promote.

While an effective marketing and advertising program will vary from location to location and city to city, there are a few consumer buying trends we will explore in this article.

Become a destination for impulse carwashing

Before carwash owners can capitalize on impulse buying, they need to know which types of marketing and advertising strategies geared toward these customers work best. Mediascope, a marketing solutions provider that supplies turnkey solutions for companies looking to build sales, offers the following statistics on its website regarding impulse shoppers, including those visiting carwashes:

• The single most motivating factor for an impulse buy (88 percent) is a sale price.
• Younger consumers with higher incomes have a greater percentage of impulse purchases.
• Around 90 percent of people make occasional impulsive purchases.
• Approximately 60 percent of females made an impulse buy within the last year.

These statistics not only highlight business potential, but they also provide a snapshot of impulse buyers’ demographics and habits. These buyers are motivated to visit your carwash by a low price, creating a marketing need for coupons, regular sales and loyalty programs. Build momentum and exposure in traditional ways, such as the local newspaper and television channel, and then follow through with large, modern sales promotions on-site.

Sound strategies from mobile to visit  

The majority of U.S. customers visit a company’s website before visiting the actual store. Today, traditional advertising and marketing just are not enough for carwash owners and operators. Successful carwash professionals know that print, radio and even television advertising only offer a limited impact on their current customers and potential customers, who are increasingly short on attention span and inundated with more information on a daily basis than ever before.

As a result, many carwash owners and operators have started to focus their attentions on the World Wide Web, increasing their Internet advertising presence and activities as an extension of their marketing and customer service efforts. Successful carwash owners and operators are making investments in videos, content, social media, website design and functionality, such as responsive design and mobile alerts, as examples.

In addition to positioning your carwash in a busy area, ease of access from multiple traffic positions is equally important. Your on-site marketing strategy should include attractive, visible and modern signage, sale notices and even entertainment for the buyer and his or her family.

Start a campaign

Once you condition customers where to find you and how to get the best deals, such as being a social media follower or connection, maintaining a consistent presence should be the easy part. As mentioned in previous articles on carwash.com, focusing on search engine optimization (SEO) and building your content offering are newer ways to add to your customer base.

The better you know your customers, the better your marketing and advertising programs will perform. For loyal customers, find out their birthdays and other important information, such as if they have served in the military. On special days let them know your carwash is thinking about them with a text alert for a free or discounted carwash.

Regardless of your marketing plans and strategies to appeal to new and existing customers, be sure not to lose focus on what matters most: providing a pristine carwash that will keep all customers coming back for more.