GUIDELINES FOR COIN LAUNDRY ADVERTISING

Provided by Commercial Sales – 2001

q Make your ads easily recognizable. Develop a logo or format that is unique to your laundry, and use it in every single ad. Eventually, people should recognize your ads without needing to read or listen to every word. Repetitive exposure works!

q Use a simple layout. Don’t try to overload your ads with too much information.

q Use white space effectively. In your next newspaper or yellow pages ad, try leaving a one inch white border around the ad. You will see how effective white space is at setting your copy off from anything else on the page.

q Use one dominant element in every print ad. This can be your logo, an illustration or a well-placed block of type, which will dominate the ad. This will draw the reader’s eye into your advertisement.

q Remember your customers. Tailor your ads to your particular customer’s needs. For example, a store located in a lower income neighborhood may want to focus its advertising on price promotions, wash clubs or coupons. A store located in a more upscale area may want to promote their drop off services, or feature a business shirt special.

q Make your copy complete. Be sure to include your store’s address and phone number; also include your store hours.

q Specify brands if appropriate. If your store contains brand name machines you feel your customers will recognize, include this in your ads. If you feel your brand is not as easily recognized, or if your store sports a mix of different brands, use the machines’ features – their size, efficiency, etc. – as your selling point.

q Don’t try to be too clever. Although humor can be an effective advertising tool, use it with caution. If you decide to use humor in your ads, be certain that is it easy to understand, and that is it not used at someone’s expense.

q Don’t use unusual or difficult words. Never use words in your ads that your customers may not be entirely familiar with. Successful ads use simple and concise language. Avoid using coin laundry industry jargon, or confusing abbreviations.

q Don’t generalize. Even if your ad is running for the hundredth time in the same local paper, pretend that no one reading it has ever heard of your laundry before. The idea behind smart advertising is to make new customers as familiar with your service as regulars are.

q Always be up-front with customers. For example, if you advertise the fact that your laundry is open until midnight every night, don’t close early one night just because business is slow that evening. Being reliable and predictable builds customer loyalty.