Offering $2.00 car wash certain day. pros & cons?
- Thread starter packerscw
- Start date
I have never done a daily deal. Wacky Wednesday or whatever you may call is not something I would do.
De-values your regular price on the other days
Eliminates many impulse customers. - Not going to wash today I will wait till Wacky Wednesday. Now what if it rains/snows on Wednesday - you lost that business.
Would you rather do 100 cars at $10.00, or 200 at $5.00 ?
seems like a wash to me - except for wear and tear on equipment.
Like I said I have never done it but these are my thoughts.
De-values your regular price on the other days
Eliminates many impulse customers. - Not going to wash today I will wait till Wacky Wednesday. Now what if it rains/snows on Wednesday - you lost that business.
Would you rather do 100 cars at $10.00, or 200 at $5.00 ?
seems like a wash to me - except for wear and tear on equipment.
Like I said I have never done it but these are my thoughts.
Earl Weiss
Well-known member
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What are you trying to accomplish? Generate Buzz? Help a typicaly slow day?
Years ago when we were FS we did a "night owl special" which was basicaly an EE with towel dry. People began lining up for the 6:00 pm start.
Years ago when we were FS we did a "night owl special" which was basicaly an EE with towel dry. People began lining up for the 6:00 pm start.
JeffM
The Canadian
We tried a EE w/ hand dry at a discount from 8am-9:30am and 6-8pm. It lasted about 2 months and we stopped as we found it was just shifting our exterior volume to those times with not much of a gain.
DiamondWash
Well-known member
This is what we offer it has not pushed our traffic to those only times http://www.diamondcarwash.biz/Content.cfm?CopyID=523
robblackburn
Member
I love the print receipt option on your web site. I have been looking to do the same thing. What system are you using to generate the credit card receipts ?
Thanks,
DiamondWash
Well-known member
Ric
Cantree Member
Does your entry system automatically activate/deactivate those codes at the proper time of day?
DiamondWash
Well-known member
Yes they do, we have Ryko Amtt-CS Coinboxes
robert roman
Bob Roman
What are some of the pros and cons that people have noticed when offering a cheap car wash on a certain day of the week?
Discounting price should be evaluated within the context of the marketing plan.
For example, in Florida, I offered seniors $3.00 off regular price on Tuesday’s. The reason was the trade area had a high percentage of low, fixed income retired and Tuesday was my slowest day of the week.
A $2.00 wash may have some value in generating attention if the goal and objective is to build up a customer base as in acquiring a distressed property.
However, I would give it away for a week or two, as some owners do when launching a new wash, rather than $2.00.
$2.00 is a commodity price. To get there, an owner gives up precious goodwill that took considerable time, effort and investment to establish and grow.
This doesn’t make much sense to me.
If sales volumes, lack thereof, are at issue, there are many other methods besides deep discounting that an owner can use to extend market range.
Discounting price should be evaluated within the context of the marketing plan.
For example, in Florida, I offered seniors $3.00 off regular price on Tuesday’s. The reason was the trade area had a high percentage of low, fixed income retired and Tuesday was my slowest day of the week.
A $2.00 wash may have some value in generating attention if the goal and objective is to build up a customer base as in acquiring a distressed property.
However, I would give it away for a week or two, as some owners do when launching a new wash, rather than $2.00.
$2.00 is a commodity price. To get there, an owner gives up precious goodwill that took considerable time, effort and investment to establish and grow.
This doesn’t make much sense to me.
If sales volumes, lack thereof, are at issue, there are many other methods besides deep discounting that an owner can use to extend market range.
Waxman
Super Moderator
I've been offering my top IBA pkg at half price every Tuesday for about a year now. My goal was to mitigate my price increase while encouraging more people to try the touchfree.
It is successful. I allow customers to buy 2 tokenotes at a time on the discount day.
Tuesday was my slowest day and now business is brisk on that day.
I can understand the argument for this type promotion undervaluing the service, but for me it works.
I still get many people who say they have never tried the wash and those types may be encouraged to try it on half price day. Maybe not, but that is one theory.
Some will only come on the discount day, but many I see are repeats and they come other days too and pay full price.
People like to feel they are saving money and a discount day lets them feel this way. Perhaps the residual good feeling carries over to other days when they need a wash and pay full price? I don't know. But I do know customers will plan a trip to my wash on the discount day.
It is successful. I allow customers to buy 2 tokenotes at a time on the discount day.
Tuesday was my slowest day and now business is brisk on that day.
I can understand the argument for this type promotion undervaluing the service, but for me it works.
I still get many people who say they have never tried the wash and those types may be encouraged to try it on half price day. Maybe not, but that is one theory.
Some will only come on the discount day, but many I see are repeats and they come other days too and pay full price.
People like to feel they are saving money and a discount day lets them feel this way. Perhaps the residual good feeling carries over to other days when they need a wash and pay full price? I don't know. But I do know customers will plan a trip to my wash on the discount day.
smokun
Consultant - Rainmaker
Integrity Erosion
Dewey & Roman both recognize the volatility of price shifting. The obvious risk is devaluing your primary service... and once you lose it, getting it back can be a challenge.
While there can be many, there seem to be 2 basic reasons that motivate selective discounting:
1. Incentive for building overall traffic by exposure to newcomers.
2. Building traffic selectively to a target group.
It all depends on your marketing strategy. As Bob mentioned, FREE has been one of the most effective tools for creating awareness and building traffic for new or recently renovated operations because it provides an opportunity to achieve sound market research. But it is absolutely imperative to provide your best service and extend genuine appreciation for visitors to come in, even for a FREE WASH. The idea is to create relationships and repeat visits. Typical time spans for the promotion: 2-weeks to a month. And it must be promoted for optimum awareness. And it's wise to gather data for future initiatives.
Targeting selective groups or limiting the promotion to a specific day of the week may simply shift traffic or compromise sales when weather confounds plan. I've seen operations that offer a special wash group each day of the week, thus imposing some counterproductive incentive for consumer groups... and creative a negative feeling. It's a slippery slope that may cost you in a way that you'll never see until it's too late. If you choose this concept (ladies day, seniors day, etc) be sure to have a customer service advisor on duty to clearly explain and engage customers who seem miffed at missing a good deal. We've all seen promotions backfire with unintended consequences.
Finally, never ever devalue your service. Your value proposition is the basis for customers to rely on your consistency and engender trust.
Dewey & Roman both recognize the volatility of price shifting. The obvious risk is devaluing your primary service... and once you lose it, getting it back can be a challenge.
While there can be many, there seem to be 2 basic reasons that motivate selective discounting:
1. Incentive for building overall traffic by exposure to newcomers.
2. Building traffic selectively to a target group.
It all depends on your marketing strategy. As Bob mentioned, FREE has been one of the most effective tools for creating awareness and building traffic for new or recently renovated operations because it provides an opportunity to achieve sound market research. But it is absolutely imperative to provide your best service and extend genuine appreciation for visitors to come in, even for a FREE WASH. The idea is to create relationships and repeat visits. Typical time spans for the promotion: 2-weeks to a month. And it must be promoted for optimum awareness. And it's wise to gather data for future initiatives.
Targeting selective groups or limiting the promotion to a specific day of the week may simply shift traffic or compromise sales when weather confounds plan. I've seen operations that offer a special wash group each day of the week, thus imposing some counterproductive incentive for consumer groups... and creative a negative feeling. It's a slippery slope that may cost you in a way that you'll never see until it's too late. If you choose this concept (ladies day, seniors day, etc) be sure to have a customer service advisor on duty to clearly explain and engage customers who seem miffed at missing a good deal. We've all seen promotions backfire with unintended consequences.
Finally, never ever devalue your service. Your value proposition is the basis for customers to rely on your consistency and engender trust.
