Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

How Do I Advertise My Car Wash Business

Posted by Anonymous on 1/17/2012 at 5:17 PM ET 125 Points
I need to earn some money and start my own business, i have been advised to start a car wash business. How do i advertise it? What do people react positively to and what do people react negatively to? It is a very small business, just me going to local peoples houses and wash their cars in their drive. How do i advertise?
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  • Posted on 1/17/2012 at 7:59 PM Member
    There are so many factors missing that it may be hard to give you relevant advice, but I am going to throw a few ideas out there. It will still take a little $$ to get started so If you don't have any money, I'm not sure starting a business is the best way to go.

    Trust and credibility are two things that any business needs, even small ones like yours.

    Getting a business license, liability insurance, and joining the local Chamber will get you going in the right direction. You are developing a very local business so getting in with the local business community could be helpful.

    --Ordering business cards with your name and contact info. You can pass these out wherever you are.
    --Print a flyer that lists services and place on doors (not in mailboxes).
    --Ask local businesses who are Chamber members (if you join) if you can leave flyers with them.
    --Get a few polo style shirts with your business info on them.
    --Drive around with magnetic advertising signs on your car
    --Work in conjunction with other more established businesses. for example:

    Approach small car lots to see if you can work on-site during weekends as a way for them to attract customers by offering on-site detailing.
    --Have a one page DIY website with your services listed and info about who you are. Add your credentials, license, bonded, member of chamber, etc. This will build trust.

    Think of your business as an on-site "detail" business (not "car wash") offering convenience and personal service for the busy professional, for example.

    A window washing service may be an alternative to a car wash service. I know a college student who started one and built it up to $1500 a month as a part-time income while in school.

    Hope some of this helps. Good luck!


  • Posted by Gail@PUBLISIDE on 1/17/2012 at 8:01 PM Accepted
    Quality, trustworthy work and word of mouth are going to play big parts in your success. You might consider going to a neighborhood where someone can introduce you to a few people. Offer to wash their cars gratis the first time, and tell them you'll come back each week at x-time. Give them plenty of business cards and flyers that they can share with the rest of their neighbors. If you're successful, you could book one subdivision or small neighborhood or more, each day.

  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 1/17/2012 at 9:34 PM Member
    You are getting into this biz cause you have been advised.... so you say and that is reason to get into this small business NOT.

    My advice, decline. Find a business that crawls into your belly and gives you inspiration to get up in the morning. do it for you.

    why are you choosing this, out of the millions of business ventures to get into?

    As far as this biz. Anytime you go to someone's home to do anything-- do you have insurance. You do know that you clean a car and someone sees a scratch that has probably been there for a hundred years but they blame it on you... u get the pix. Do not attemp this without insurance and no homeowner ( I certainly won't ) allow you to clean my car without POI. Who's water do you use? One of my neighbors is mobile with a water tank on his truck and considers himself a detailer vs just someone who washes cars.

    If you do have it, that is where I'd start my marketing. Insured, dependable and ready to go.
  • Posted by Sally on 1/18/2012 at 8:31 PM Member
    Lewis,
    Not sure how the decision for car wash was arrived at, but as noted by others, having a passion for your business is very important...it is not a job with a pay check... it is the passion that keeps you going when the money is not flowing.

    My recommendation is that IF this is something that you really want to do, then develop a business plan..first, research the market - who to sell to, do some testing of your concept, determine the competition and understand how they work, and define your geographic coverage. If the opportunity still looks good, then move onto developing your business plan - define your mobile car wash business, understand your expenses so you know what to charge, understand any licenses or requirements of various municipalities that are in your geographic market, how will the seasons impact your business (not sure of your locale, but winter in the NE can be good and bad for car washes...rainy seasons are very bad, etc). Once you get underway, word of mouth and referrals are absolutely the best way to get business...however, it will take some time. You need to work that into your plan as well.
  • Posted by prhyatt on 1/19/2012 at 8:23 AM Accepted
    Hi, Lewis,
    All of the suggestions above offer great advice- much of it applicable to someone starting any kind of business for the first time. My sense, though, is that a lot of these suggestions are geared to a business that is larger and more permanent than you may have in mind.

    Here's how some college kids in my neighborhood went about starting a successful car wash service a couple of summers ago.

    They printed a very nice flyer listing their services and telling who they were, where they lived, etc. (addressed the credibility and trust factor and made them look more professional than other folks in the area doing neighborhood services). They provided a cell phone number for scheduling and had a recording that mentioned the car wash business. If you left them a message, someone called back within a couple of hours. They distributed the flyer in the neighborhood and also went door to door for people they knew. They carried a calendar and offered to schedule a wash right there (asking for the order). When a wash was scheduled, they called to confirm and showed up on time, bringing everything they needed for the wash except the water.

    Suggestions: On the flyer, they could have told what products they would be using to address any concerns about detergents, etc. In our area there are frequent watering and washing restrictions-- it would have been proactive to talk about how they'd conserve water and schedule washes to fit the local restrictions. Finally, they could have shown references on the flyer itself.

    I also like the idea of a business card- makes the service seem more permanent and again looks professional.

    Offering to schedule a regular weekly wash, providing a rain guarantee (ie re-wash exterior free if it rains withing 24 hours), and selling a package of washes at a discount are good ways to do simple inexpensive promotions that generate repeat business.

    If I'm wrong about the scope of your business, then maybe other readers can benefit from this example.

    Good luck!

  • Posted by marketbase on 1/19/2012 at 3:54 PM Accepted
    One thing to remember is that if you are using the customer''s water source to wash his/her car(s), that should be reflected in the price (cheaper than a drive-through or drive-in carwash or even self-wash). There are many excellent ideas above; the ''package'' deal idea is great especially since there are many two (or more) car families nowadays. Consider offering discounts for additional cars per day/session to get started.

    Best of luck--it''s a very ambitious undertaking!
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