Articles Section: Changes Ahead

Changes ahead (Carwash Industry)
From Volume 31, Issue 12 - December 2007
Feature : Industry experts look back at 2007 and make predictions for 2008.
by: Kate Carr, Editor in Chief

Conveyors mold themselves

In 2008, conveyor operators should…
• Expand horizons. Look into multi-profit center ideas that might work well with your business (coffee, gas, c-store, etc.) You’ve already got the management and labor in place, now you just need to find a good fit.

• Create a loyalty program. Club cards (where members are charged a flat fee for unlimited monthly or yearly washing) are one of the easiest ways to maintain a steady source of revenue. Even if you don’t offer a club card, a loyalty program of some kind is a necessity for a conveyor carwash operation in 2008.

"For conveyor operators, the trends are not as significant as determining what sort of customer you want to attract and what sort of business model you want to operate. Much of this is common sense, experts say. If you do not enjoy dealing with labor headaches, it’s time to streamline your operation to an express exterior. If you want to be known in the community as a top-of-the-line service provider, you’re obviously leaning towards a full-service business model.The devil is in the details, though. Menu options, vacuuming options, even your lobby choices will help differentiate your service from the next guy. Thorsby points out the potential for multi-profit centers, which seem to go hand-in-hand with labor and management-intensive conveyor operations.Another small detail? Your customer loyalty program or club card service. According to Kilgore, these cards can keep you afloat when times get tough. His experience is with operators on the west coast, but it is easy to see how adapting this to an east coast operation struggling with weather-related issues could cause a big boost to business.“This is a major change in the way that marketing is going to be done next year,” Kilgore said."


Link:http://www.carwash.com/article.asp?IndexID=6636885