ADD FUN TO WASH DAY WITH INEXPENSIVE PROMOTIONS

Provided by Commercial Sales – 2001

We offer the following suggestions for easy promotions that go beyond the ordinary.

v Balloon bouquets add fun and excitement to any coin laundry, and are especially appropriate in marking a new addition, an upgrade or a celebration. The installation of new equipment would be a great time to use this idea. So would celebrating your annual Grand Opening Anniversary date, the introduction of a new service or offering, the completion of a remodeling project, or anything else you can dream up.

Have the local party store make up a few balloon bouquets using colorful helium balloons. String some on your storefront, and a couple more over bulkheads. Single balloons can be tied to rolling carts and given to the kids who come to the store with their parents.

v An idea that makes use of what you already have on hand is to use individually vended items as promotional tools. Randomly mark some of your machine-vended soaps and laundry aids, soft drink cans and snacks with small stickers marked with “Free Gift” or similar wording. A customer buying a vended item marked in this fashion could redeem the sticker for a free wash or dry, a new laundry basket or laundry bag, or any of your normal stock items.

v Alternately, you may choose to color-coordinate the stickers so each color matches a designated award. Using fewer of the stickers and adding a

more attractive giveaway or award item is possible here as well. This option really opens up the possibilities to include a coupon for dinner for two, a picnic cooler with a couple of liters of soda inside, two tickets to a local movie theatre, a portable CD player, etc. Make sure to accompany this promotion with clearly worded signage at the point of purchase. Add colorful “Free Gift” signs at your counter area and on the bulkheads to let all your customers know how to take advantage of your promotion.

v One of the simplest promotions is to offer free laundry detergent on select days. Buy large boxes of detergent in bulk inexpensively through a local distributor or discount store. Then on select days simply set out the detergent in plastic containers in a few different spots throughout the store with a couple of hand scoops. Even better, place a nice looking sign next to the free detergent with something like “We appreciate your business! Washing detergent is free today with our compliments.”

v Another inexpensive promotion adds some fun to using the dollar bill changer. Simply add a few colored quarters to your bill changer’s hopper. A customer who receives a colored quarter in their change can redeem it for items similar to those in the “Free Gift” promotion mentioned above. Of course, have signage next to the changer explaining the promotion.

Add your own ideas to these. Word will spread that on laundry day, your store is the fun place to wash!