Learning New Tricks from the Local Car Wash
By Al McClain Can mainstream retailers learn anything from the local car wash? If you’ve ever heard retailers lament, “the big box guys are killing us,” you know there is room for improvement, A Wall Street Journal article reports on some of the added services car washes are introducing to better differentiate themselves at a time when big box retailers like If you’re a do-it-yourself car washer, you might want to check out a few full-serve car washes in your neighborhood to see how things have changed. Turtle Wax car washes, for A number of car washes offer pick up and delivery service and/or wash your car while you shop or work. Others offer a satisfaction guarantee, and rain checks if it rains within Many car washes offer frequent washer cards with various offers and some offer monthly passes for unlimited washes, or discount coupon books for 5-10 washes – looking to increase In my area, the local car wash chain “Splash” offers a fast “hand wash,” with a nicely decorated waiting area and a substantial greeting card section to keep you busy for a few Moderator’s comment: Can other retailers learn anything from the efforts of full service car washes to compete with bigger retailers offering self service Too often, retailers (and all businesses) are tempted to look only at direct competitors on a regular basis. All it takes is one good idea from another
and car washes may have a few ideas.
Costco, Home Depot, Sam’s Club, and Wal-Mart are at least testing car washes, and many supermarkets and c-stores offer them as well. (Typically, though, retailers offer limited
service or “outside only” washes, versus the full service and higher priced approach.)
example, have cut the time it takes for a wash from 15 minutes to ten, while adding Wi-Fi in waiting rooms; and next year will roll out aromatherapy scents for cars, internet
kiosks, and turtles in aquariums (to amuse the kids, one would assume).
the first 24-48 hours after your wash. Some have even opened companion dog washes.
revenue and frequency from existing customers.
minutes and add some margin. Another local chain offers free internet access and a spray gun for kids to squirt their car as it rolls by.
or limited service washes?
channel to spark new sales and profits. How about Wi-Fi access and internet kiosks targeted towards men waiting for women at department stores? Maybe an express greeting card
department near the express checkout? –
Al McClain – Moderator
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Adding to the comments of Professor Richard George, we referred to this concept of the 5/1 or 1/5 rule. As a business, do you have one product that you sell to five customers? Does each of your products individually appeal to customers?
Or, when your business adds a new product (or service) does it appeal to five of your existing customers?
The latter is always more profitable as your customer is spending a larger portion of their dollars with you, making your business harder to do without. And, making it less likely that the customer will try to locate, or stumble across your competition.
The lesson from the car wash industry is that to be successful one needs to offer differential advantage. In other words, find unsatisfied needs and meet them. It sounds simple, but consider each of the examples provided. Each one provided a solution to a potential problem. Note that hardly any of the examples involved a lower price. In fact, most require an additional outlay of cash. The moral of the story is that profitable add-on business can be achieved without simply cutting price. Find out what problems your customers give you permission to solve and solve them.
Differentiating in concert with building customer loyalty is the key, and not simply adding on a service that may or may not fill a particular store shopper’s desires. Car washes are an example, but if they don’t meet the specific desires of that store’s shopper, then it’s an added expense vs. an advantage for that location.
Some shoppers may want “concierge curb service parking” (i.e. an older clientele or a cold weather market) while other shoppers may want in-store child care while they shop, (i.e. young families with kids). The key is to understand the specific shopper’s needs and wants for that market, and serve those needs with specific benefits. Find a need and fill it, market by market, and store by store and you will win the shoppers loyalty and frequency to visit.
It’s a little hard to generalize about the car washing industry. Probably the best barbeque joint in L.A. is located in a car wash less than five minutes outside the gates of LAX, but it only has seating for two. The labor model (at least here in Detroit) is also a factor in success and failure. But, one thing is true; car washes are (given the limitations of the enterprise) mini-hot beds of constant innovation. So, the big message may be — never rest on your laurels.
Lateral thinking should be an automatic form of behaviour if you’re running any sort of business. It isn’t simply a matter of copying being the highest form of flattery but one of learning from best practice. You don’t necessarily have to do what anyone else does, just be open to suggestion and find ways of adapting and applying success to your own business. The best example I can think of is with cookery books – good cooks read them for inspiration but rarely follow any recipe they find. More often they use someone else’s idea as a basis on which they can build and imprint their own preferences.
The most successful car wash I’ve ever heard about was in Queens, New York. The work was performed by attractive topless young ladies, until the police shut the place down. Other topless or nude car washes were successful ($24.95) in Columbus, Ohio (the Wet Spot) and Moscow, Idaho, until local authorities objected. Clearly there’s a market for Hooters-type car washes at premium prices. And probably other retail businesses that use X and R rated staff.