This show is a great discussion with operators, association presidents, and suppliers from Australia. Cargroomers was kind enough to sponsor this weeks show and bring everybody together for this discussion. We talk about how this market is different, where they struggle and where they shine. What have they learned from the US market and what innovative things are they doing that we could learn from.

Featuring Ryan Carlson (Your Host)

Blair and Errol Woolcott (Cargroomers Australia) – Soap manufacturer based in Brisbane Australia who sells a water-saving line of chemicals in the US (slipstreamautomotive.com.au)

Chris Johns (Managing Director, Hoppys Hand Wash Cafe – Brisbane) – Chris is the winner of the 2008 ICA Leadership in Innovation Award.

Richard Holloway (Managing Director, Car Wash Headquarters) – Richard is also the current President of the Australian Car Wash Association.

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care, WashCard Systems, Hydraflex Inc.,

This Weeks Sponsor: Slip Stream Automotive – Australian car wash suppliers have had to find ways to reduce water usage and improve wash quality, learn more about this unique product line by visiting them on the web or calling them at ph 0416188858

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We have some very special guests for the big 50th show – we talk about long term planning (or reacting in some cases) and ways in which planning will help grow your business.

Featuring Ryan Carlson (Your Host), Robert Greene (Carwash Express), Kate Carr (Editor, Professional Carwashing & Detailing), Paul Fazio (CEO, Sonny’s Direct)

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care, WashCard Systems, Hydraflex Inc.

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In this weeks podcast we have two operators that are involved in the gated self service business model. Robert Greene of Carwash Express shares his 1-month results of the 8-bay self service location that he remodeled into a gated self service. Robert tells us whether or not he is a “hero or a zero”. We also have Marcus Kitrell, owner of Mark-1 Express who is been considering remodeling a location of his into a gated self service location.

Featuring Ryan Carlson (Your Host), Robert Greene (Carwash Express), Marcus Kitrell (Mark-1 Express)

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care, WashCard Systems

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[please forgive the audio issues - one of the guests had their sound from their speakers causing some strange noises from time to time]

We are back with Fred Grauer, Jerry Nix, and George Spelius to talk about the take aways from the WCA roadshow that was in Phoenix, AZ. Great discussion on remodels and the future of our industry.

Featuring Ryan Carlson (Your Host), Fred Grauer (Owner of Whistle Clean Carwash, and VP of Micrologic), Jerry Nix (Former President of the Western Carwash Association), and George Spelius (Editor, Modern Car Care)

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care, WashCard Systems

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This week we discuss the news with Kate Carr and chat with Kyle Doyle about his recent editorial in MCC “smart ways to attract new customers”. If you want to get caught up on some recent industry news stories and hear about some great marketing ideas, tune in.

Featuring Ryan Carlson (Your Host), Kate Carr (Editor of Professional Carwash & Detailing), and Robert Greeen (Owner, Carwash Express Inc)

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care, WashCard Systems

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On November 11th, Help Honor our Veterans by providing them with a Free Carwash.

It’s not too late to do your part! Please log on to the following website http://www.graceforvets.org/ or phone Jim directly at 717.629.5494 for details on how you can get involved.

There are FREE promotional materials that you can print off and post at your wash and also use in your local newspaper to help promote your event honoring our veterans. Many before you have paid for these promotional materials.

In today’s episode of Wash Ideas Weekly, we discuss how we can better utilize our time at a trade show and follow through with plans, how media is forgetting about professional car washing as an alternative to driveway washing, and discuss new technology that makes marketing our business better.

Featuring Ryan Carlson (Your Host), Kate Carr (Editor, PD&D Magazine), Perry Powell (Wash Consultant), Holly Macriss (Executive Director, Western Carwash Association)

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care

Thanks Again program: To learn more about offering reward miles for YOUR customers when they use your wash visit the Thanks Again ‘More Information’ page and be sure to mention where you heard about their company.

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In today’s episode of Wash Ideas Weekly, we are talking about customer loyalty, fundraiser carwash ammunition, and lessons we can learn from Jiffy Lube.

Featuring Ryan Carlson (Your Host), Kate Carr (Editor, PD&D Magazine), and Mike Perry (Wash Consultant).

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care

Thanks Again program: To learn more about offering reward miles for YOUR customers when they use your wash visit the Thanks Again ‘More Information’ page and be sure to mention where you heard about their company.

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In today’s episode of Wash Ideas Weekly, we explore the new emerging advertising and marketing opportunities of Facebook and the use of Twitter by small businesses such as car washes. We are joined by Kate Carr of PC&D and Victor Macias of Car Wash Profits.

Featuring Ryan Carlson, Kate Carr, and Victor Macias.

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care

Thanks Again program: To learn more about offering reward miles for YOUR customers when they use your wash visit the Thanks Again ‘More Information’ page and be sure to mention where you heard about their company.

[Click here to subscribe to this podcast via iTunes]

[Click here to download the episode to your computer]

This week we have Fred Grauer of Whistle Clean Carwash and the author of “25 Questions you should ask your equipment supplier“, Robert Greene of Carwash Express, and Bobby Willis of Cool Wave Carwash. We talk about equipment suppliers and their role in making or breaking your business, how to choose them, and what questions to ask them before giving them your business.

Featuring Ryan Carlson, Fred Grauer of Whistle Clean Carwash, Robert Greene of Carwash Express, and Bobby Willis of Cool Wave Carwash.

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care and Carwash Profits

New Sponsor: To learn more about offering reward miles for YOUR customers when they use your wash visit the Thanks Again ‘More Information’ page and be sure to mention where you heard about their company.

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I guess I’m a bit tired of hearing wash owners say, “I know I need to do something but…” which is followed by some excuse that is used to justify not making a change.

The changes in consumer buying trends has not only effected carwash businesses, it’s just that other industries have more successfully adapted to the current market environment. As stated earlier, consumers are becoming immune to the old way of doing business. We are now fighting for discretionary income against some of the biggest marketing machines in history. McDonalds, Walmart, Starbucks, iTunes, Amazon.com, and eBay see that people don’t have as much money in their pockets as they used to.

Here are some of the common places carwash businesses are losing touch with their customers and could look to reinvent or retool aspects of their business to be more relevant with today’s consumer. We will use the above businesses as examples of what to do right.

Be known for something, stay relevant! - You can no longer just be a ‘CAR WASH’ in your community, you need to be known for something. Whether you are the charity carwash, the eco-friendly carwash, the fastest carwash, or the carwash with the convenient club program… You fall from the publics eye when you fail to stand out.

Failure to offer payment options – I feel like a complete broken record here, but look at how consumers purchase goods and services these days. Customers do not want to be held hostage by changers, tokens, or trips to the ATM. They buy value meal hamburgers, rent .99 cent DVD’s from Redbox, order a $2.00 coffee, and purchase songs for .99 cents each with (drumroll) their bank card or credit card every day, all day, all the time. If you do not have a credit card acceptance device next to every coin slot or bill validator you can’t see the giant neon sign in the sky proclaiming that they purchase their everyday services with a credit card – this is an easy issue to tackle, it only takes money.

Ask for repeat business – Customer Data Collection – Have you ever purchased something from Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, or signed up for a ‘Customer Rewards Program’? I’m certain you or somebody close to you has – all of the businesses that are thriving and are not pointing fingers at anybody right now are those that realize it’s FAR less expensive to market to the customers they already have. If you do not have a way to capture your customers contact information (name, email address, mailing address, etc) you are missing out on perhaps the most effective and least expensive way to increase your bottom line. Just don’t go out and build a website with a “give me your information” page without having a plan… You need to create incentives, promotions, or build programs around gathering this information as an end goal. If your collecting the data from your customers good for you! If you are not doing anything with that data shame on you.

I’ve only scratched the surface… So if you feel overwhelmed and know you need to do something perhaps it’s time to find somebody you know that can help, attend an association education event, or seek the assistance of a professional.

Episode 7 of the Wash Ideas Podcast – “The Master and Apprentice of Monthly WashPass”

Featuring Ryan Carlson and Guests Perry Powell of Perry Powell Consulting, Robert Greene of Carwash Express, and Marcus Schoeneberger of Texas Shine

Show Sponsors: Modern Car Care and Carwash Profits

This show we interview a wash operator with 10 locations that is 4 months in on marketing a promising unlimited wash pass program. We are joined by Perry Powell and a special guest Marcus Schoenenberger of Texas Shine, a San Antonio based multi-site operation that has over 10,000 unlimited wash passes in circulation. This is a MUST-LISTEN for anybody serious about learning more about this new innovative business model.

[Click here to subscribe to this podcast via iTunes]

[Click here to download the episode to your computer]

Adding credit card acceptance to a car wash location is one of the upgrades every business owner must consider if they want to maximize their earning potential in 2009 and beyond. Every year that passes a new generation of car owners hit the street and they do not carry any cash. The next generation of consumers relies heavily on the ability to use their check cards and credit cards to make every day purchases. Adding credit card acceptance to your wash services is the key to getting more business from current customers and gaining the business of new customers.

What is the cost of doing nothing?

• Wash owners that are not currently accepting credit cards at their wash services are missing out gaining the business of a younger (and successful) demographic of consumers.

• Businesses that are cash-only are susceptible to theft and silent partners – at least with merchant processors they send you a statement at the end of each month that details how much they cost you. Vandalism and employee theft leaves you in the dark and no longer in control of the fate of your own business.

• Carwash owners need to make more money per car and conclusive studies have proven that the psychology of paying with plastic will increase customer conversion to more expensive wash packages.

• Cashless card payment systems eliminate the ‘beat the clock’ mentality that is the primary reason for customers to wash faster and spend less in the self service bay.

What are the real reasons for resisting change?

Over the years wash operators that have been resistant to adding credit card acceptance at their wash have a few reasons and none of them have anything to do with their business becoming less profitable. Some businesses can’t get the financing and others are resistant to change.

Those business owners that are resistant to change usually say things like, “The government doesn’t need to know how much money I’m making” which is quickly followed up with, “I don’t want those credit card companies taking a percentage of my money, they are just a bunch of thieves.”

Oh really? Funny that they say that.

• Can you imagine if your existing customers spent more time washing in the self service bay and were happy about spending more money?

• Can you imagine spending less time counting coins and making fewer bank runs?

• What would happen to your business if you could attract more business vehicles and younger consumers?

Buying new washing equipment will not impact the profitability of your carwash in the same way adding card acceptance hardware and software will. Testimonials of successful car wash owners commonly recommend that credit card acceptance works best when added in conjunction with a customer loyalty and fleet management program. These options commonly bundled with the advanced credit card retrofit systems.

The decision to add credit card acceptance on site and bring in additional business is best illustrated by reading the story of a midwest couple that purchased their first car wash several years ago. They learned a lot and made some smart choices to bring additional value to their customers by retrofitting the wash they purchased with card acceptance hardware and software.

David and Miriam purchased an eight bay self service wash from Ron, an older gentleman that had owned the wash for close to 15 years. They had requested to look over Ron’s books to evaluate the kind of investment they could have and make sure the bank would finance the purchase of the wash. When Ron handed over the bankers box filled with file folders and an assortment of black 3-ring binders with fading tape on the spine. It took the better part of an evening to go through the books for the wash and a full pot of extra strong coffee. It was rather apparent that the business was not as profitable as the owner had claimed and it certainly did not justify his asking price. The next day when they met with Ron he assured them it was a solid business and with that gave them a wink and implied that the actual numbers were  close to 30% higher than the most recent years reported. This made David and Miriam a bit nervous and they asked Ron for a few days to think about it. They went out for a lunch at the local cafe to go over their options and knew that the bank would never approve the financing based on the numbers that Ron provided.

After taking the reported numbers they copied down from Ron’s books to the bank they were able to get a better idea of what a realistic offer would be based on the ‘reported’ income of the wash. Miriam said that she thought Ron was going to punch her husband after hearing their new offer which was over twenty-percent lower than the asking price. Ron excused himself and said he would be in touch with them.

Months went by before they heard back from Ron and he called to accept their offer. According to David’s friend who was a commercial realtor, Ron had three other interestearties since the first offer was made and they all had backed out because they had all decided it was too risky dealing with a business with off the books income, what else could they be hiding? Since David and Miriam felt the risk was acceptable with the lowered offer they were thrown into the car wash business before they knew it.

Within the first year of operating the car wash Miriam was able to verify that the previous owner had not been reporting all of his earnings, although not the full 30% that he was claiming. It’s a good thing that they were cautious during the negotiation process for the wash.

In their second year of owning the wash Miriam and David attended a seminar at the Western Carwash Association on customer loyalty programs and credit card acceptance. They had the chance to meet a lot of other car wash operators during the education sessions that had taken the plunge with credit cards and decided that they would retrofit half of their self service bays with credit card acceptance. With the additional revenue that was previously “off the books” under the old management they were able to get approved for financing the they needed.

Their decision to start with half of the bays was because David has always been a “cash guy” and was skeptical about adding card readers on every service. They compromised on four bays and four vacuums on the west side of their property. Miriam had been the one to do most of the research at the trade show and felt that they would take the recommendation of veteran operators they had talked with at the show and purchased a system that cost a little bit more than they had planned. The extra money got them a flexible fleet management program and a customer loyalty card program out of the deal. Her decision was in large part because of the QuickBooks accounting integration and cash-counting features hat would save her close to four full days of administrative busy-work every month. Several of the operators that had been running card systems for the past few years suggested that Miriam and David strongly consider leveraging business-to-business accounts (fleet) since very few car washes ever seem to do a good job meeting the needs of local businesses. Buying the right card system could allow them to not only build their business through credit card acceptance but build an entirely new side of their business up in their community that was under-represented.

David had the new credit card system installed in his four bays and four vacuums seven weeks after returning from the WCA show. While David worked out all of the installation logistics Miriam had been out in their community approaching businesses that might be interested in phasing out the use of tokens or handing out cash to employees in exchange for a fleet card for washing their business vehicles. Miriam worked closely with the marketing support department of her card system provider and put together brochures that outlined her talking points and value statements. Within the first three weeks Miriam had over 85 business vehicles committed to washing at their facility once their card system was in place. Miriam said that the business owners she spoke to looked visibly relieved when she talked about never having to hand out untraceable tokens or cash out to their employees anymore.

Two months after turning their card system on it was clear to David that he was in the minority as a “cash guy” based on the numbers they were seeing. The couple made a few other big investments at the wash including updating their sign and putting the “we accept all major credit cards” to where it was visible to all of the drive-by traffic. Within days of making the sign changes over 40% of their customers started using their credit card in the four self service bays outfitted with readers. Weekends had lines two and three deep waiting to use those bays with the card readers. 70% of the revenue generated during busy weekends was from the bays and vacuums with card acceptance. Whereas the cash bays had an average dollar per ticket of $3.50, the bays with card acceptance was averaging $6.00! Customers buying time with a card spent more time washing and purchased a vacuum roughly 80% of the time. The vacuums which had a .75 cent cash start for 4 minutes had a $1.50 minimum for card users (committing them to 8 minutes per card swipe), this pushed the average dollar per ticket to $7.50 for eight out of ten customers which is $3.25 higher than the average cash customer in favorable conditions. After they had the chance to monitor their success and David and Miriam had no trouble going back to the bank for the financing to add card acceptance to their four other bays and vacuums at the wash. Miriam jokes that David agreed to make the additional updates because he was just sick of putting up with the complaints from card carrying customers that didn’t want to wait in line all the time for the bays or vacuums with card readers.

Self Service (Cash-only bays)
Minimum Purchase            $2.00 / 4 minutes
Average Time Purchased        7 minutes
Average Cash Ticket        $3.50
Vacuum Add-on rate        5/10 customers
Minimum Purchase            $0.75 / 4 minutes
Average Time Purchased        4 minutes
Additional Revenue            $0.75 cents

Conclusion: 50% of the time the average cash transaction is $4.25

Self Service (Credit Card Customers)
Minimum Purchase                $3.00 / 6 minutes
Average Time Purchased        12 minutes
Average Credit Card Ticket     $6.00
Vacuum Add-on rate              8/10 customers
Minimum Purchase                $1.50 / 8 minutes
Average Time Purchased        8 minutes
Additional Revenue                $1.50 cents

Conclusion: 80% of the time the average credit card transaction is $7.50

David and Miriam’s story is not all that unusual in many regards – they made smart informed decisions and made sure they properly advertised to the public that they now accepted credit cards.  Their runaway success with credit card acceptance in their bays and vacuums could also be attributed to their being the first in their town to offer this service. Consumers had been asking the previous owner for years for card acceptance and fleet accounts. He was both unwilling to make the capitol investment and was in hindsight afraid of having a data-trail of his income.  Success comes in many different forms and for David and Miriam they were able to meet a demand at the right time. Several local businesses had recently issued company gas cards and credit cards to their drivers and David and Miriam were the only ones that could capitalize on what is a growing trend throughout cities across the country. Businesses with employees are looking for car washes that can accept business credit cards or issue fleet cards and send an invoice each month for employee wash usage. Trusting employees with cash or tokens for washing their business vehicles is apparently too much to ask these days. According to business owners one of the top fears is that their employees are ripping them off.

Do it before your competition does

Never assume your safe from competition – American auto makers made the same mistake by not capitalizing on new technology and new business models. Cashless acceptance programs like credit card in the bay is no longer “new” to the car washing industry. It is rare to see a new construction car wash that doesn’t include credit card acceptance on every service. Get established now and start earning more right away – if competitors already accept credit cards in the bay then there is no time like the present to start making up lost ground.

Things to Remember

1. Cash is NOT King with Consumers Anymore – Nearly every person on the street has a credit card in their pocket. A much smaller percentage of those same people will have enough cash on hand for a car wash. How do you take everybody’s money that comes to your wash?
2. Credit Card Acceptance Increases Spending - By changing the way customers spend in the bay and influencing their purchasing decisions at the automatic entry station you make more money as a result of card acceptance. The increased dollar per ticket will always outweigh the cost of transaction fees.
3. Fleet Management Programs Increase Business Opportunities – Most credit card acceptance solutions that allow you to keep your existing hardware through a retrofit kit that generally includes fleet management options. Establishing and managing these business relationships are incredibly important to any car wash business that wants to make it big in their community.

There are three trends that the current generation has identified as ‘important’ to them. We have to face it that the current young population and next generation of drivers and vehicle owners lives in a very different world than the one in which we grew up in. In the pre-Nintendo era we spent a lot of time (and money) on our vehicles. We took care of what we had because the thought of trading-up every few years did not make economical sense.

#1 It’s All About Me

Face it, young consumers are selfish and demand a certain level of convenience, speedy service, and they want it now. A business that appeals to the consumer by making their experience easy and convenient will get the repeat business of this younger generation. Previous generations of consumers knew that good things were worth waiting for and if it meant driving a bit farther, using a frontage road, or running to the bank to get quarters was what you needed to do to get a good wash, so be it. Younger drivers want easy access, simple instruction, quick service, and no-hassle payment options.

#2 Can I borrow a Dollar?

There are significant studies on demographics and cash usage in North America. The 16-27 age group does not carry cash. Less than 10% of youth ranging from high school sophomores to seniors in college carry cash on their person in quantities sufficient to buy anything more than a soda pop. College campuses have to offer students card-activated systems for their students in order to get them to use the on-campus laundry facilities. Car wash operators that do not accept credit cards at every service will fail to appeal to the younger consumers in the marketplace or just fail to sell those particular services.

#3 The Green Movement

According to market research there are a growing number of young consumers that are falling into a category of socially conscious consumers. Although this has been covered in previous discussions, it is important to recognize that creating awareness about ’sustainable and responsible’ car washing should be worked into your marketing message. Get people out of their driveways, get charities out of the parking lot, and focus on value statements that will resonate with those customers who are willing to pay a little extra for a service that is reducing their impact on the environment.

The sad truth is that there are those that do it right the first time and those wash owners that don’t. I’m asked if it’s “ok” to just add credit card to one or two bays and maybe a single vacuum. This is followed up with, “maybe if things take off I will add it to the rest of the wash.” The problem with this is that adding cashless acceptance to a single bay it will not have the big impact on profits as expected. Making an increased 20-40% in profits from a single bay is not nearly as impressive as 20-40% for the entire wash! Far too many car wash owners are waiting to upgrade until they can PAY for the upgrade on the profits of their cash-only business. This is a Catch-22 situation. Owners that need to make more money will upgrade their wash (to make more money) with profits that will never come (because they need to upgrade their wash).

My Advice: Treat this upgrade as a business decision. Go to the bank, get a loan for the 20-40 thousand dollars to do it right the first time. We all KNOW you cannot lose money by adding credit card and loyalty card acceptance to your wash. You make more money for EVERY service it is added to. Get the loan and have it paid off in less than a year with the added profits from the wash. You know what? You get to keep ALL the money after the small business loan is paid off every month.

Just remember. It takes money to make money in this industry. The good news is that a cashless acceptance system will ALWAYS make you more money by changing the buying habits and spending trends of customers using your wash.

The buying trends in our consumer driven economy make it very clear that it is not always as important where customers buy their car wash, it’s how they buy their car wash. Consumers will make a buying decision based on factors of convenience which could be as simple as accepting their particular credit card or being a member of a prepaid car washing club.

Find a Cashless System That Fits Your Business
The car wash industry is so full of cashless payment solutions that wash owners can easily get overwhelmed by all of the choices. Luckily the vast majority of the systems can be boiled down into those that primarily focus on credit card acceptance and those that offer loyalty programs and tools to market a cashless program beyond straight credit card acceptance. There is also a third category and that is the basic built-in factory option available through most new equipment. Built-in card programs from the factory are going to be very basic. Just like the factory radio in your car, it will handle the very basics of functionality and may even get you by for awhile. Much like your factory car radio, they can be taken out and replaced with any number of non-proprietary solutions to provide additional features not available from the factory options.

Only Interested in Accepting Credit Cards?
If your only goal in purchasing a cashless payment system is to accept credit cards then my only suggestion is to hire yourself a sign consultant, such as Perry Powell, and build the largest, most visible sign allowed by your city featuring the words “We Accept…” followed by the logos of every major credit card you can offer. If a customer does not know you take credit cards they may just keep on driving by. Accepting credit cards is just as important as accepting cash, it’s just smart business sense. The major credit card companies spend billions of dollars to make sure every college student, adult, and child with a bank account has their own credit card.

Tip: Although credit card acceptance may get a new customer in the door there is nothing loyalty building about a Visa. Remember? “Visa, it’s anywhere you want to be”. A customer with a Visa is only as loyal as other businesses in town are to Visa. Credit card acceptance is a wonderful angle for getting new customers on the lot, the trick is giving them a reason to come back.

Looking For a Marketable Cashless Program? Is It For You?
The first thing I cannot stress enough is that the more flexibility your cashless system has the more likely it is to get used. Cashless marketing programs are much like an exercise video. You can buy the video. You can watch the video. But unless you actually do the exercises on the video you will not benefit from having purchased it. And this is why the number one reason for the success or failure of a a cashless loyalty system boils down to owner and employee participation. To successfully implement a profitable cashless program it requires every level of the business to embrace and evangelize it’s benefits to their customers.

How Do I Market A Cashless Loyalty Program?
There is no magic handbook or miraculous software that can provide all of the answers and this article is by no means, going to provide all of the answers. Some cashless products come with ‘marketing tools’ in the form of thick books that have not been updated in years, leaving you to decipher their use. Other products come with practical advice, marketing literature, and marketing consultations with experts. The best tools in the industry are from wash professionals and wash operators themselves. It used to be that car wash operators would only have the opportunity to learn more about being successful business owners in-person at the car wash conventions. The Internet has been an invaluable tool in learning “what works” and “what doesn’t work”. Websites such as talkcarwash.com and autocareforum.com give a voice to car wash operators from around the globe to ask questions and give answers to other car wash operators that might be in the same situation as themselves.

Marketing Option 1: Selling Cards Face to Face
The most basic approach in sales is meeting your customers face to face and explaining to them the merits of your loyalty program. Perhaps you give bonus wash dollars when customers pre-pay or recharge their prepaid account. As employees meet and greet customers on the lot it never hurts to carry a few extra prepaid cards to hand out to customers as they are finished washing their vehicles. It gives them incentive to come back a second time and if properly presented they will add additional value back onto their prepaid card. Obviously the drawback of selling cards by hand is that you are limited to how many cards you can physically hand out or sell in person.

Marketing Option 2: Target Local Business with Commercial Accounts
The most successful wash owners all attest to the amazing profitability of targeting local businesses with a fleet card program. Commercial fleet business is a profitable and predictable ongoing volume of business you can count on every month. Since several systems on the market can generate itemized invoices at month’s end, many car wash owners can bring in huge accounts including municipal vehicles, city vehicles, and local law enforcement. Car wash operators that were previously selling tokens or token notes found that their commercial business customers washed far more often once they were no longer reliant upon getting more tokens when they ran out and no longer had to distribute tokens and token notes among the various fleet drivers once new coin tokens or token notes were purchased.

Tip: In a recent survey of commercial business customers, the number one concern of managers had nothing to do with the quality of the wash their vehicles were receiving. Their top concern was whether they were being ripped off by their own employees every time they handed out bags of untraceable tokens or stacks of token notes. A proper cashless fleet management program will give the peace of mind that business owners are looking for.

Marketing Option 3: Sell Prepaid Cards in Vending Machines or Specialized Card Dispensers
Offering prepaid loyalty cards in standard vending machines allow for 24/7 sales. Several manufacturers offer specialized card dispensing machines that give prepaid customers the ability to purchase a card with either cash or credit card. These machines automatically apply the loyalty bonus for prepayment and will dispense a prepaid card loaded with the appropriate value. The greatest benefit of these machines is that it allows customers to check the value of an existing prepaid card and add additional value if the balance is running low. These machines consequently give consumers the ability to use their large bills that cannot be broken in a bill changer.

Tip: Adding a specialized vending and recharging machine gives the perfect opportunity to completely phase out coin tokens with a far more profitable cashless solution. No more sorting tokens from quarters, electrical blanks from tokens, and your wash tokens from the local laundromat or casinos coin tokens.

Marketing Option 4: Sell Wash Accounts On the Internet
In the same consumer economy that lets you buy your groceries on the Internet it should be no surprise that consumers will buy their car washes on the Internet as well. Having a web presence for your car wash gives customers an opportunity to learn more about your wash services. Like many car wash owners that offer cashless payment options, they use their website as another way to generate revenue from online wash sales.

Example: An example of effective cashless marketing on the Internet can be seen by visiting the website of the independently owned car wash Swipe-N-Shine (swipenshine.com). Swipe-N-Shine is located in Murray Utah and is owned and operated by Brett Pace. Brett uses his website to not only sell prepaid cards but he also gives his loyalty card customers the option of registering their card on his website to protect the cards value should it get lost or stolen. Customers have the option to sign up for a free birthday wash and when customers register their prepaid card online they can also qualify for his Swipe-N-Shine referral program. Customers that refer their friends and family to the loyalty program can net themselves and their friend $5 in free wash value. Lastly, Brett gives all of his fleet customers the ability to manage their own commercial account from his website, much like online banking. Commercial fleet customers pay their invoices online with their company credit card, much in the same way prepaid customers add additional value to their prepaid accounts online.

Tip: Put your website address on everything. Signs, shirts, prepaid cards, even company vehicles! Again, if customers don’t know it’s available, they won’t use it. In the case of a website, they won’t visit it.

Marketing Option 5: Sell Prepaid Washes via Charity Fund raiser
School sports teams, youth groups, and organizations can only sell so many frozen pizzas, holiday wreaths, and cookies to raise money. Deal directly with the organization and sell them discount prepaid cards to cover your costs and let them make a few bucks for bringing scores of new customers to your location. Either way, the goal of a charity car wash or Fund raiser is not to make a pile of cash on the initial investment. Instead, wash owners should keep two primary goals in sight at all times. 1) Become more visible in the community. 2) Focus on the new customers that the Fund raiser sales will bring in. And when in doubt realize you can write off the entire thing on your taxes. It is a proven statistical fact – the more loyalty cards you have in circulation, the more repeat business you will have on a regular basis. Wash owners that get loyalty cards into the hands of everybody they do business with has no idea what a ’slow month’ at the wash is like.

Marketing Option (Necessity) 6: Properly Advertise Your Program!
Just like with credit cards, if customers do not know you offer a loyalty card program they will not participate. Every bay should have a sign, the menu board should have a sign, and the vending area should have multiple signs. The most effective place to put a sign is anywhere customers will look while they are waiting for a customer to finish washing in front of them.

What can I do that I’m not doing now?

• Fund raisers (Charity Donation)
• Running a web-based marketing campaign (using a website as an ‘anchor’ for marketing efforts)
• A ‘Discount Wash’ program for loyalty card/key/code users
• Successfully marketing to fleets with an automated fleet management program.
• Developing business relationships with local mechanics shops, automotive dealerships, super markets, and C-Stores to offer promotional ‘first wash free’ deals, or discount wash packages / fleet accounts.

Cashless System Buyers Guide
Don’t get burned by being unprepared when looking at card/key/code systems! Know your facts and have your questions ready! The last thing you want to happen is spend a lot of money on a solution that will not meet your needs beyond accepting just credit cards.

• How many cards/codes/keys can I have in the system at once?
• How do I collect the data? Do I need to physically go to the wash?
• How often do I need to go and collect the data before the memory fills up and data loss occurs?
• How does the information get into my accounting software? How do I do billing?
• How does the system protect against the loss of transaction data? Is there a data backup system?
• Does the system allow customers to use Credit Cards? If so, is it batch processing or at time of purchase processing?
• Are the cards/keys/codes rechargeable? How do they get recharged?
• How do customers purchase the cards/keys/codes? Is there a way to automate dispensing?
• Does the system require an attendant?
• How much do the cards/keys/codes cost a each?
• How does the system handle upgrades and feature adds? Do I need to pay for these upgrades?
• Does the hardware work with my auto cashier or self-serve bay timers?
• How durable are the cards/keys/codes?
• Is customization available? If so, what can I customize?
• Can lost or stolen cards/keys/codes be removed from the system and replaced with a new card/key/code?
• How flexible is the system in terms of offering discounts or running promotions?
• Does the system offer both pre-paid and credit accounts for fleets?
• How much development has been made to enhance the system since it launched? Are there future plans to continue innovation on the product?
• Does the system offer online promotional tools? Can they be integrated into my existing website?

As seen in the trade publication America’s Car Care Business, 2006

by Ryan Carlson