The “Great Recession” has affected businesses across the globe and carwashes have been far from immune. One big reason why is although consumers are still shopping, they are doing so less frequently. The key for carwash operators is to attack customer loyalty head on and make sure they are doing everything possible to improve customer frequency.
To illustrate the importance of frequency let’s do some math. Let’s assume Acme Car Wash is washing about 50,000 cars a year at an average of $10 per car. Let’s also assume that the average customer comes in once every 12 weeks, or 4.33 times per year. If Acme Car Wash can reduce the average time between visits from 12 weeks to 10 weeks (or 5.2 visits per year), the wash will add another $100,000 in sales.
Wouldn’t we all like to find an extra $100,000 in sales? This is why an effort to increase customer frequency should be on every operator’s priority list.
Loyalty vs. Frequency
In this discussion though, we need to recognize an important difference between frequency and loyalty. People often talk about “loyalty” programs and “loyalty” promotions; however, what they really mean is “frequency” programs and “frequency” promotions.
Frequency is the number of times a customer visits over a period of time. Loyalty is a person’s conviction to remain firm in support of someone or something. Loyalty connotes allegiance. While it is important to pursue both frequency and loyalty, keep in mind that separate tactics are required to accomplish each.
This was illustrated perfectly during a Seinfeld episode in which Elaine loses a sandwich “punch card.” She had earned 23 punches on her card and the next one would have entitled her to a free sub. Frustrated that she lost the card, she laments, “I’ve eaten 23 bad subs; I just need one more!” While this card worked for frequency, it certainly didn’t create any loyalty.
We’ve all had punch cards that accumulate in our wallets. In the vast majority of cases, once we get the reward or realize we’re not going to earn it, we stop going to that store or business.
This is in stark contrast to customers who are loyal to a company. Loyal customers will go out of their way and usually pay more simply because of their loyalty. People don’t buy Apple computers because Macintosh is the cheapest computer or because the fifth computer is free. They buy Apple because they are loyal to the brand.
Similarly, people don’t buy Starbucks coffee because it’s the cheapest coffee or because a Starbucks location is the closest to their neighborhood. They buy Starbucks because they’re loyal to the brand.
This is hugely important for carwashes because loyal customers visit more often and spend more per visit.
Creating Loyalty
How, though, does a carwash go about creating loyalty? Customer loyalty is built the same way that all loyalty is created — by sharing and relating.
Think about the people in your life that you would say you’re loyal to. In every case it’s because you share something in common with them. Maybe it’s a shared bloodline or a shared commitment. Maybe it’s a shared childhood, a shared employer, or some other shared experience. Whatever the circumstance, sharing enabled you to get to know their personalities and helped you relate to them.
Through these shared experiences and the discovery of each others personalities, loyalty was created. You became firm in your support of these people and developed feelings of allegiance.
With that in mind, the first step in creating loyal customers is expressing the personality of your carwash. This is the essence of branding — the effective communication with your market about the unique personality of your business in a way that highlights the valuable differences between you and the competition.
The problem for most carwashes is, even if they have a clean site with effective equipment, there is usually little personality shining through — they are just a carwash. Apple isn’t just a computer company. Apple has a personality, a style, a value set, a way of looking at the world, and these come across in everything the company does. The same is true with Starbucks.
When a company shares its personality, certain people will relate to it and want to enter a loyal relationship. As long as that perceived personality is proven to be authentic over time, those customers will remain loyal.
Loyalty is critical in this economy because carwashes that successfully build a brand and establish a personality will not experience the same declines in sales and decreases in customer frequency as others. This is because loyal customers visit their favorite washes because they relate to the brand, not because they are seeking the cheapest wash in town.
Of course, this is easier said than done. It is vital to realize that consumers are changing and demanding strong brands. Gone are the days where you could simply open a business, do a decent job and rely on the continued patronage of your market.
Building a brand that attracts loyal customers requires these basic steps:
1. Figure out who your target customer is or who you want it to be. It is imperative that you understand your customers and the people in your community.
2. Determine what your values are. This is the foundation of your carwash’s personality. Do you support the