Have a Slow Week at Your Car Wash? Tips to Increase Sales
Here Are 19 Strategies to Quickly Boost Wash Sales
When you own a car wash, there will be times when you have slow weeks for various reasons, such as inclement weather. However, when the weather is nice, and sales are slow, you may be wondering how to boost your business sales. You can start by reviewing the following strategies that could quickly boost wash sales and make for a much busier week.#1. Reevaluate Your Pricing
You need to ensure your pricing is appropriate for your car wash location. For example, if your car wash is in an upscale area, customers can afford a bit more for their car washes. However, if your wash is in a more “normal” area, you will have slow weeks if your prices are too high.In addition, pay attention to your customers’ pay periods, especially if they are paid every other week. Your slow week could be the “off” week when they aren’t paid. So, you could run “flash” sales throughout the week to entice your customers to stop by for car washes.
#2. Promotions and Flash Sales
Promotions and flash sales can improve your car wash business and boost your sales. For instance, you could offer a free tri-color foam wax with a regular wash or buy one / get one free on select merchandise, such as Little Tree air fresheners. Remember to be creative with your deals and rotate them to keep them fresh and enticing.#3. Host a Car or Motorcycle Club
One way to get people into your car wash on a slow week is when you host a classic car or motorcycle club. People will stop by to check out the vehicles. When they see how clean they are, they are enticed to get their cars washed too.#4. Sponsor a School Fundraiser
Another way to get people into your car wash and boost business sales is to sponsor a school fundraiser. Most people like supporting their local schools, so with the right promotion for the event, your wash should be packed.#5. Partner with a Local Radio Station
Another great way to attract customers to your car wash is to have a local radio station broadcast live from your car wash. You could have them entice people to stop by to win free washes and other promotion items, as well as advertise flash sales.#6. Partner with a Local Pet Shelter
You could host an adopt a pet event at your car wash to help pets find their forever homes while offering special wash incentives for people who adopt a pet. For example, you could give them a free basic wash with options to upgrade to higher wash packages for a nominal amount.#7. Liven Up Your Wash Bays
For automated washes, consider adding colored LED lights to create a light show while people sit in their vehicles and go through the wash tunnel. You could even sync the light show to music people can play over their radios.For self-service car washes, you could add colored LED lights to wash bays that change colors based on the wash setting the customer selects and program them to start flashing red when they have a minute or less left of wash time.
#8. Create Different “Day” Events
You could have a seniors’ day, a veterans’ day, a mothers’ day, a fathers’ day, etc. These “day” events can offer different incentives like discounted washes, free items with a purchase, free snacks and drinks while they wait, and so on. Just be creative when deciding what offers you want to feature.#9. Open a Convenience Store
The ability to complete multiple transactions in a single location is a big draw. That is why you see many convenience stores with gas stations and car washes. If there is a convenience store next door, partner with them to develop cross-promotions to send customer traffic to each other.Otherwise, consider adding a selection of c-store items, such as snacks, milk, bread, and other essentials. You could even start selling lottery tickets.
#10. Partner with a Quick Change Oil Shop
Another way to attract customers to your car wash is to partner with a quick change oil shop. First, you could feature a coupon on the bottom of your receipts that offers so much off an oil change. Then, the oil shop could feature a coupon at the bottom of their receipts that offers so much off a car wash.#11. Reconfigure Your Car Wash to Accommodate Trucks
There are different ways to reconfigure wash bays and wash tunnels to accommodate trucks. If you can accommodate full-size trucks and larger trucks with multi-wheel configurations, it will boost your business sales.#12. Host a BBQ
You could sell hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and drinks. Rent some picnic tables and set them up to give customers somewhere to eat their food. You could even sweeten the deal by offering a free hot dog or hamburger with a bag of chips for every car wash purchased.#13. Partner with Local Food Truck Owners
Food trucks are a big draw to improve your car wash business. Depending on the space available at your car wash, you could have more than one truck onsite to give customers a wider variety of food options.#14. Offer Double or Triple Wash Points
If you have a customer rewards or loyalty program where they earn points on purchases, you can entice them to stop by on slow days with double or triple wash points offers. If your program tracks dollars spent, you can still double or triple the amount spent on a slow day.#15. Give Your Car Wash Exterior a Makeover
Take a look at how appealing and eye-catching your exterior is. For example, can people easily see your car wash signage from the street when driving by? Could you stand out better if you upgraded to eye-catching neon lighting?#16. Update Your Car Wash’s Technology
When you want to boost business sales, one sure-fire way to do so is with technology upgrades, such as LED lighting, free Wi-Fi, water-conserving equipment, enhanced payment options, etc. For example, if you install LED lighting and new water-conserving equipment by recycling as much wash water as possible, you could advertise your cash wash as an eco-friendly or “green” business.#17. Offer Concierge Services
People like being pampered and spoiled. You could start a concierge package option, where you pick up your customers’ vehicles from their home or office, bring them to your car wash to have them cleaned and detailed, and return them to where you picked them up.Alternatively, you could create a special concierge lounge at your car wash where concierge guests have access to massage chairs, televisions, and free snacks and drinks while they wait for their vehicles.
#18. Stream Live
Another way to get people to stop by on slow days is to stream live on social media. For instance, you can do a walk-through to show a “behind the scenes” at your car wash or show off a new featured product that you just got in. In addition, you can tie in special deals like giving them a special code word for a discount on a wash if they stop by that day only.#19. Host a Contest
Contests are a great way to attract customers to your car wash. You could offer a wide range of prizes from “instant win” to grand prize offerings, such as:- Discounted Washes
- Free Basic Washes
- Free Washes for a Year
- Free “Scratch and Win” Lottery Tickets
- Free Powerball/Mega Millions Lottery Tickets
- A Brand New Car
- Cash
- A PS5 or XBOX Gaming System
- You can cross-promote your contest online on social media as well.