Increasing your average ticket has always been an important part of a successful carwash, but with car counts shrinking or stagnant at many locations, there has never been a more urgent time to focus on getting the customers you do have to spend more per visit. That means that a focus on — or even better, an obsession with — increasing your average ticket should be at the top of the priority list.
Indirect Ways to Increase Averages
Most discussions about increasing ticket averages start with greeter upselling techniques and/or menu sign design. While these are important (and we’ll get to them shortly), we should start with an obvious, but often forgotten, principle: consumers pay for products and services that they value.
Therefore, if you want people to give you their money, you need to make sure you offer them something of value during each visit. If you want more money, offer more value. The following methods are indirect because they relate to your business as a whole, not just the methodology of getting a specific customer to spend more at a specific moment.
1. Perception is Reality. I know this sounds obvious, but to get consumers to spend more (or at all) you have to do a good job of cleaning their car. What’s less obvious is that perception is more important than reality. For example, I once visited a carwash site where the owner had recently replaced his ancient equipment with a brand new rack. At the same time he switched over to a top-quality chemical. The owner was proud of the results and the cars were coming out better than ever.
However, he was surprised that his average ticket went up only a little. The problem was that while he improved the equipment, he didn’t do anything about the dimly lit tunnel, its filthy walls and windows, the rusty radiant heaters, or the exposed rusty overhead girders.
Even though he had invested money to produce a cleaner car (and the cars were cleaner) the perception was not equal to the reality. A basic assumption held by average consumers is that a clean car cannot come out of a dirty tunnel. Conversely, some operators can have basic equipment (in good condition, of course) and earn a higher average ticket because of a great soap foamer and bright, bubbly triple foam.
In fact, the prevalence and selling power of triple foam over “hot wax” proves that consumers value perception. I believe that in the future we’ll see more “perception-focused” equipment from manufacturers. One example is the Bubblizer from NS Wash Systems, which adds theater to the pre-soak process by dropping big bubbles on top of the car.
Bottom-line: Keep your site and tunnel spotless and make sure your foamers are in tip-top shape (if you don’t have a foamer, put it at the top of your “equipment to buy” list). Take a step back from your wash and look at the overall perception from each point in the washing experience. Consumers will spend more when there is a higher perceived value.
2. Branding = Perceived Value. Branding might sound like just another marketing buzzword, but it could be the most important aspect of your operation. It is essentially the personality of your business. There are many branding definitions, but the one I like the most is from famous ad man Marty Neumeier: “A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or company ... When enough individuals arrive at the same gut feeling, a company can be said to have a brand.”
Effective branding increases perceived value, differentiates your carwash from competitors and creates a more loyal customer.
Bottom-line: Don’t be just another carwash. Stand for something and make that stand evident at every point of customer interaction.
3. Pricing. Pricing might not be a sexy topic, but it is one of the most basic marketing tools. If you haven’t analyzed your pricing lately now might be the time. Make sure you have an up-to-date spreadsheet comparing your prices to your closest competitors’. If you are able to raise your prices even by pennies (hopefully anchoring on a clear promise of value), it can make a big difference at the end of the year.
Bottom-line: Take the time to make sure your pricing is where it should be and don’t be afraid to raise it if competition and/or your level of perceived value warrants it.
Direct Ways to Increase Averages
While these methods are more obvious, they still are not set-it-and-forget-it solutions. I highly recommend experimentation with even minor variations over time to see what works and what doesn’t. Remember, even an increase in pennies will make a difference at the end of the year.
1. Greeter. No single element improves average ticket more than a trained greeter/salesperson. A trained salesperson can point out the value in each wash and can adapt to each customer and vehicle. While we cannot deny the higher cost of labor and energy it takes to train a salesperson, if done right it is well worth the cost.
In selecting a salesperson, look for someone with good communications skills. This should be someone who is fairly outgoing and wouldn’t be described as “shy.” You want someone who can look you in the eye and is not afraid to smile.
When it comes to the sales pitch there are dozens of ways to do it. A lot depends on your market, as well as the style of the greeter. One of the best methods is the “service adviser” who looks over the car as it approaches and