Much like any other business, your car wash thrives on return customers. But how do you turn first-time customers into return customers? Here are a few secrets to get you started.
Quality Service
It seems simple, but great customer service is the absolute best thing you can do in order to keep your customers coming back. When asked why they choose not to return to a business, the majority of people will tell you that poor customer service tipped the scales.
Always be respectful even when your customers aren’t, and show that you care. This is not just by being attentive to your customer’s needs, but by connecting with them on a personal level. For example, if you see that they’re wearing a sports team ball-cap, ask how their team is doing this season. Most businesses have kind, courteous employees. But few have employees which reach out to the customer as a person rather than simply a sale.
Stay In Contact
Before your customers leave, take ten seconds to ask for their e-mail address. Then shoot them an e-mail a week or so after their visit to your car wash business.
Thanking them for the visit and welcome them to come again soon. Thank them by name, to make sure they know the e-mail isn’t automated. Perhaps even let them know about an upcoming deal you’re offering!
This will help your customers feel as though you truly value their patronage. Out of sight is not out of mind. Even asking if the service you offered them left anything to be desired is opening the floor to the customer’s concerns to be addressed.
Loyalty Rewards
Many retail businesses have already picked up on the fact that loyalty rewards bring people back time and time again. But for some reason, you don’t often see a car wash business with the same strategy. It’s time for you to change that!
For example, you could say that for every six car-washes a person buys (tracked via a stamp card), the seventh is upgraded to full-service for free. Or for every eight car-washes, they earn an entire wash for free. Things like this bring people back to your car wash with their eyes on the prize.
Employ a little bit of strategy, and loyalty rewards programs will become even more effective! For example, rather than offer a free car wash after eight car washes, offer one after ten – but give them the first two stamps for free. This is essentially the exact same offer. But it makes your customer feel like they’re already a fifth of the way to their goal rather than starting from ground zero.
All in all, if you do your best to offer quality customer service, both while the customer is in front of you and once they’ve gone home, you’ll find business come back for more.