If you've been in the commercial laundromat business (or any business for that matter), then you know all too well that not every day can be busy. In fact, some days are completely dead as if all your customers found something else to do with their time. While we can appreciate these slow days to catch up on the books or take care of maintenance tasks that need to be done, the impact to the bottom line can be disturbing. With that in mind, today we'll discuss 4 Ways to Drum Up Business on Slow Days at the Laundromat!
We find that during the holidays, people tend to forgo their normal wash routines. While we haven't quite figured out what they're doing with their dirty laundry (maybe buying new clothes?), we do find that this means commercial laundromats are often much slower than other times of the year. This hardly means that you should assume business will be slow for the remainder of the year, but don't be offended if your days leading up to Thanksgiving or Christmas are a bit slower.
That said, let's talk about ways you can drum up business on slow days at the laundromat.
Drum Up Business on Slow Days with a Holiday Open House
Once you recognize that the holidays can be a little slower, you can start to have fun with it. For example, we love the idea of a holiday open house to get new and existing customers to come in. Now is a great time to offer these types of informal events at least once a week to reconnect with people who may otherwise get distracted with shopping. You might offer hot chocolate, cookies or weekly specials! And if your town has some sort of special holiday event nearby, make sure that you're a part of it. Customers love when local business engage with the community.
Drum Up Business on Slow Days by Offering Incentives
We tossed this point in a few lines ago, but let's revisit incentives for the sake of drumming up business as "coupons" are exciting year-round, and don't necessarily have to be a big production.
For example, if you find that Wednesday tends to be a slow day at the laundromat, perhaps you regularly offer free washes or drying to those who come in on those slower days. This will encourage those who come in already to continue coming in and may encourage those who have been coming in on busier days to change up their schedule. There's no need to advertise or promote the event (unless you want to throw a sign on the door) - just choose a day of the week and go from there.
During the holidays, you can do something similar and call it a "holiday special." Run it for as long as you want. Change the name depending on the season. Throw in a buy one, get one if you'd like. We guarantee that all customers like a deal.
Happy Hour Anyone?
Speaking of incentives, we've yet to meet a customer that didn't enjoy a good happy hour deal, and we're not talking about the alcoholic variety. During slow times of the day, you may consider offering a happy hour deal. During that time, maybe you offer half-price washes or a free dry with every wash purchase. You can always offer free drinks and snacks as well, but this is a wonderful way to drum up business on slow days.
Is Your Laundromat Becoming "Dead"?
If you find that your commercial laundromat is continually slow for periods of time, it may be time to reinvent yourself a bit. This could mean fresh paint on the walls, a deep clean, a little bit of landscaping on the exterior or offering new services such as clothing alterations and tailoring.
It never hurts to talk with your target market about what they may want out of a laundromat or why they haven't been coming to your business; and then address those needs. You may be surprised to learn that while washing and drying is important, the town could really use a local seamstress to perform minor alterations. If that's something you can offer - bam!
You might also consider offering dry cleaning services, adding a prepaid cell phone kiosk or exploring other revenue streams to get people in the door.
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