The best laundromat in the world can’t be successful if customers don’t know about it. But marketing your business so it connects with your target audience isn’t always the easiest. Here are some basics to make sure you’re on the right track.
Create a website or update your current website regularly.
The internet isn’t going away. Yet 27% of small businesses didn’t have a website in 2023, even though 99% of consumers use the internet to discover and find local businesses. The cost for creating a website shouldn’t be the reason for not having an online presence, however, with the cost ranging between $1,000 and $10,000. About 15% of the 27% of small businesses that don’t have a website say it is because of the technical knowledge needed to create or update one. But there are many easy website builders available that even non-techies can handle, with Wix topping the list.
And if you already have a website, when was the last time you looked at it? Are your hours of operation still correct? Do images need to be refreshed? Have you linked to your socials on your website so your customers can further interact with you? And since the majority of searches are being done on mobile devices, is your website mobile-friendly and optimized for local searches?
Have an active social media presence or improve your current postings.
Much like having a website, having a strong social media presence is another way to add legitimacy to your laundry business. Social media like Facebook and Instagram can also be a great way to connect with customers as both platforms have 2+ billion active users.
If you’re not active on social media, there’s no better time than now to do some research and figure out what platforms might work best for your business. And if your laundromat is already active on social media, there is always room for improvement. You could work to improve your response time to comments and messages, update images and account information, post more regularly and further engage with customers.
Track your results.
You spend time tracking and monitoring the performance of your laundry equipment, but do you take the time to track and monitor your marketing efforts? Knowing and understanding how a particular platform or marketing strategy is performing will help you make better business decisions and understand whether it’s worth investing time and money. So look at impressions, or the number of times your ad or content is displayed or viewed since impressions help boost brand awareness. Next, use tools like Google Analytics to look at your click-through rate (CTR) and gain detailed insights into ad, keyword and content performance.
There are many more free and paid marketing tools that can help you track your marketing efforts, both online and offline. (Just search for “how to measure marketing success” to learn about the various options.) The data you collect through marketing efforts also helps you better understand your customers’ needs and connect with them more efficiently.
Keep up with trends and best practices.
Marketing is constantly changing as social platforms change their algorithms and features almost as often as you change your clothes. Yes, keeping up with the latest marketing news, research, and strategies is time-consuming. But it’s a crucial step for marketing success. So set Google Alerts, read top marketing-related blogs or subscribe to print marketing publications, and use RSS feeds to help keep up on what’s happening in the marketing industry.
Have a documented marketing plan or strategy.
Too many businesses spend money on marketing without a solid plan or strategy behind it, setting themselves up for problems down the road. After all, how do you know where to go when you don’t have clear directions to get there? A solid marketing plan will help you make educated decisions, clearly see your marketing goals, drive conversions and leads, determine which channels and strategies are best to reach your customers and gain awareness in your market. It also enables other members of your team to work more efficiently since you’re all working off the same marketing strategy.
Not sure where to start? Search for “sample marketing plans” online to get ideas and then adjust them to your business.
