Cheap Vinyl Banners

It’s been a while since my last post. Hope everyone in the Laundromat business is doing well through these trying times.

Like all things though, this situation we all find ourselves in right now can either be a problem (a big problem) or it can provide us with an opportunity. The Laundry business is no different.

That said though it will take a little more effort than just having a good outlook and a positive mental attitude. We will all have to do something to make things happen.

Laundromats like any other type of business really only have one function, that is to serve our customers, right… right. The secret therefore is how to keep a steady stream customers coming through our doors.

Well the answer of course is Marketing. Marketing does not mean TV commercials or huge spreads in the newspaper. It is any function that is performed to help sell our products and services without our being there. Marketing face to face is called “sales”. Some people seem to get these two activities confused.

Now the secret to marketing… now there’s a subject we could fill volumes about, so I will keep this down to the abridged version for you.

Never do any kind of marketing that you cannot measure. If you cannot measure your results, how do you know if it is working or not? You wouldn’t, which takes me to my second point, if it does not work then don’t do it, see it is quite simple really. A lot of people fall in love with their ads and marketing campaigns. This is a BIG no no, your marketing is not there to please you or inflate your ego. It is their to promote your business and find you customers and to help you make money.

In essence, marketing is the only business process that makes us money, everything else is purely an overhead.

Now my next most important marketing tip that I can give you is to do it as Cheap as you can. Remember, with marketing what we are doing is buying customers. Now buying qualified paying customers is akin to buying money. So the cheaper you can get people to become and remain your customers the cheaper you buy your money…

This brings me to a method of marketing my businesses I like a lot, and have been using for years. It is cheap, it lasts a long time, it has cut through and (in my experience) it works. I speak of course of the humble vinyl banner.

A good cheap vinyl banner, will last you for several years. There advantages are they are not surrounded by other peoples messages (like in the Yellow Pages or the Newspapers), so they get noticed. You can have your vinyl banner located where people who can use your business will see it on a regular basis. They are a soft sell and they do not demand attention and therefore cheese people off.

The guy I use to make my vinyl banners for me is Steve Scott in Australia. He has a website that specialises in cheap vinyl banners. He produces his vinyl banners mainly for businesses, though he also has a strong demand for vinyl birthday banners and vinyl photo banners from his clients. His website is www.b2bjv.com, if you are interested, have a look, you may decide you need Steve’s help.

As I said Steve operates in Australia, though I know he has helped quite a few people outside of his own patch, putting together cheap vinyl banners to suit their various needs.

So is this a recommendation, yes it is. A lot of business people I know don’t use vinyl banners because they think they are “Old Hat”, or too expensive, or won’t get noticed. Baloney, like all forms of advertising you have to do it right (Steve can help you here).

Though a vinyl banner can do all this at a fraction of the cost of other means of advertising and getting your message out, especially when you look at the duration of service.

Give a vinyl banner a try, I think you will be very happy with your results.

Best of success to you.

Coin-Op

Laundromat Business - Tines Have Changed Baby

So you have been thinking about a Laundromat business, congratulations. A well put together Laundromat business can be an asset that will pay you a good income for many years.

The famous Entrepreneur and Educator/Author Robert Kiyosaki had a Laundromat business when he was at college, it was one of the first real businesses he had a hand in, and from all reports he still has a soft spot for the Laundromat business.

And why not, the staffing overheads are minimal, most Laundromats are cash businesses (always a good thing), and your clients for the most part will look after themselves. Many Laundromats can also run 24 hours – 7 days a week and there are not many business models that can boast this feature that do not have high staffing costs.

A Laundromat business can be looked at as a walk-in vending machine and to my mind this is only a good thing.

These days our clients demand more of any goods and services they consume than ever before, no longer is the pile of outdated magazines sufficient entertainment for your clients. On average a Laundromat client will spend over an hour at a time washing their clothes and it is your job to keep them fed, watered down and entertained.

Consider having a combined cool drink and coffee machine in your Laundromat, it may even be worth considering a candy machine too. Your clients are sitting in your premises for over an hour, so why not help them to spend a little more of their money. After all you are doing them a service.

Some forward thinking Laundromat owners have even installed internet access in their businesses to allow their clients to be able to jump on the net to while away the time when they are cleaning their socks and shorts.

With the rapidly changing face of technology you may even want to think about offering a wireless internet access point for your clients. This will make it more difficult for you to directly monetize your internet provision, though it will have your clients using you business over the competition because they can use their iPhone to stay in touch with friends and family.

So like all businesses, think a little outside the box, put yourself in your clients shoes (or socks anyway), think of what you would like as a customer of your business and provide it.

Good luck with your Laundromat Business

Cheers for now

Coin-Op