8 Ideas to rise above your competition

8 Ideas to rise above your competition

Once Lockdown level 3 has been reached and the Laundry industry is back to business, it is the perfect opportunity to implement a new plan of action to help your business increase sales, expand your customer base, and differentiate yourself from your competition. Fortunately, innovation doesn’t have to be expensive. With some imagination, laundromat owners can use a small investment to drive increased revenue, improve customer satisfaction and retention, and set your business apart.

Here are 8 improvements you should consider making to your Laundry business:

1. Promotions & Discounts

By analysing sales and machine usage data, you can find the slowest periods for your business, and set a promotion or discount to drive business at that time. Offering a price discount or special offer can help a company stand out amongst the competition. For example provide free detergent on Tuesdays to drive more business, or a discount on Wednesday mornings.

2. Check out your competition

Audit local laundromats to determine if there are any other services that you could offer. Expanding your service offerings can drive new streams of revenue, and potentially tap into new customer segments.

3. Delivery service

Offer a delivery service as an additional way to attract new revenues. Technology can be applied to help manage these services.

4. Social Events

Identifying and promoting your business as the ‘social’ laundromat is a low-cost, but creative way to drive sales and attract new customers. Perhaps you could start a regular meet and greet event to encourage people to do laundry while meeting their neighbours. Perhaps even a Retiree event is a good way to increase your client database by offering a discount to this group. What about a Children’s playdate? This is a great way to draw parents in who may appreciate the opportunity to socialise while completing a necessary chore. Offering entertainment for the kids at this time (stream a movie, or hire a face painter) is an additional draw – even parents with laundry facilities at home may welcome the chance to use a high-capacity laundry system to complete a week’s worth of laundry in an hour or two, whilst socialising.

5. Loyalty Programs

One way to retain customers is to institute a loyalty program that offers a discount or free service to regulars. A recent American study found that 79% of customers will stay with a company that has a loyalty program, and 73% would recommend it to others. Rewarding your regular customers not only helps convince them to stay, but it can also bring in new business.

6. Upgrade Washers and Dryers

There are many benefits to upgrading your laundry equipment. High-efficiency machines can get customers in and out of your laundromat quicker whilst providing significant savings on utilities including water and electricity. Additionally, new machines can contribute to a pleasing, clean atmosphere while offering modern features like card or mobile payment systems that customers have come to expect. You could look at adding automatically dosed detergents, as a convenience for your customers and additional profit generation. This also protects your equipment against chemical overdosage.

7. Upgrade Ancillary and Vended Products

Your customers might appreciate a wider selection of laundry products for sale, including eco-friendly laundry detergents. Also, consider upgrading the type and selection of vended snacks and beverages that you have available, including healthy alternatives and kid-friendly products.

8. Upgrade Seating and Interior Features

Replace wooden benches and plastic chairs with more comfortable seating. Purchase large laundry carts to move clothes from one station to the next, and install large folding tables. Improve your interior lighting to provide a more welcoming environment for customers and use neutral colours in your design. Upgrade your internet connectivity to provide faster Wi-Fi speeds to customers and lastly, consider creating a safe and visible kid’s play area with age-appropriate books, toys, and floor padding.

The most important thing that you can do as a business owner is to think about your customers – their expectations and their needs, and what your business can do to meet them.

MEGA Laundry Equipment has nearly 30 years of experience with planning, designing and managing Laundromats and commercial laundry systems. As the sole South African distributor of Electrolux machines, and a distributor of LG, GMP and Pony, we provide access to the highest quality equipment available, with the best benefits to our clients.