I’m Mike Berlin from Slam Car Wash Marketing! I’m here to bring you some new ideas to consider when marketing your car wash. I call it the Slam Six. This week is a simple 6-step plan to boost unlimited member conversions.

At Slam we work with many operators to improve conversion rates. By this, I mean the rate of which retail traffic converts into your boosting unlimited member conversions. In marketing we talk a lot about a customer’s journey in sales. We call it a sales funnel.

At the start of that journey or the top of the funnel is awareness. The more people that know about your wash means more people will come to visit. Midway is the consideration phase. This is where a customer is considering your wash versus the wash down the street. Finally, the conversion. In other words, closing the deal.

1. Advertise

Build awareness of your car wash in your community. The best way to do this is through geotargeted digital video ads on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. It’s the lowest cost per impression and easy to measure. When you’re trying to get in front of 30,000 people in your neighborhood within a three to five-mile radius, you can’t go wrong. It’s the best bang for your buck.

2. Catch Hot Leads

When someone is searching for a “car wash near me,” “free vacs” or the “best car wash in town,” they are only a few miles from your wash. You want to show up first and on top of the list. Use Google Search Ads and buy the keywords that matter most.

3. Consideration Phase

With all your ads, now you’ve caught their attention and they’ve clicked on your wash to check it out. You may think the click goes to your website, but usually people are going to your Google My Business page. Potential customers will spend about 15 seconds looking at pictures, reading the reviews, glancing at your ratings and scanning the menu. Make sure your Google My Business page is looking its best and your rating and reviews are solid as a rock.

4. First Impressions are Everything

You pass the stage of consideration and now the customer drives onto your property. Make sure they’re welcomed with vibrant signage that echoes what you’ve been talking about online. Your ceramic special, family plan or your first month for $5; whatever that message is, make sure your team, site, pay stations and signage are all dialed in when they arrive.

5. Smile and Ask for the Sale

Make a game of selling. Set daily goals for your crew and keep track of it on a scoreboard in the back room. Have prizes and rewards for your team so that when they reach those goals they are rewarded for their efforts.

I teach a marketing class at the CarWash College, and I’ve learned by talking with managers from across the country that not every employee is motivated by money. Commission programs work well but they’re very hard to take away once you start. I suggest start off with a team goal in a prize program. Try different incentives and see what works best for your team.

6. Sales Training Never Stops

Practice role playing sessions with your team and continue training with them all the time. You’re never done training. Make it part of your weekly routine and don’t forget to make it fun.

7. Slam Dunk

I get excited about this stuff, so I had to throw in a seventh tip. Sell at the vacuum area. Recruit somebody on your staff to walk around with an apron full of lollipops, doggy treats for the pets, review cards for happy customers and rack cards for first-time visitors. Have that person walk around reading body language. If someone looks happy, ask them if they’d like to convert their wash into a membership. If they love their membership, tell them we rely on reviews and give them a review card. With well-trained employees, conversions will be easy, and they’ll pay for themselves many times over with the unlimited plan so don’t miss this opportunity.

That’s your Slam Six or Slam Seven. I hope this gets you fired up about boosting unlimited member conversion. If you want some advice or need some help, email or call us at Slam. We’re here to help make car washing easy!

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