How to Successfully Choose Your Car Wash Store’s Target Audience 

One of the biggest mistakes small business owners of self-service and full-service car wash operations make is not developing a marketing strategy geared toward a target audience. Everyone needs to get their cash washed, right? So, what difference does choosing a target audience matter?
It matters because it allows you to focus the bulk of your marketing efforts toward a particular group or market segment. This is not to say you are excluding others from using your car wash and buying car wash supplies. Instead, you are focusing on a specific group which is much more likely to use your car wash and buy your car wash products and supplies.

Developing a target audience is also a more effective and efficient way to reach new customers and grow your car wash business. Plus, it helps you stretch your marketing and advertising budget even further. To help you determine the best target audience for your car wash, consider the following:

• Who are your current customers? You may need to spend some time at your car wash to answer this question. Look for common traits like age groups, styles of cars, and other characteristics.
• Which group of current customers spends the most? Once you have your groups broken down, then you can start evaluating their buying habits. Is there a specific age group that buys the top-tier car washes, uses the vacuums every visit, and purchases items from your vending machines or car wash lobby?
• What groups are your competitors targeting? If a competitor is targeting a specific group like senior citizens, it could be counterproductive to also target the same group. Rather, it is better to look for a group they are not targeting to carve out your own niche market. Granted, in bigger cities where you have numerous competitors, this is not always possible. In this case, you should focus on the group the competitors nearest your car wash are not targeting.
• What are the benefits of the services you sell at your car wash? Start off by writing down each service available at your car wash. Next to each service, list all of the benefits the service provides your customers. For example, one feature you offer is the choice of three different foam waxes. The benefit of this feature is it gives your customers the option to choose which wax is best for them. A benefit of this benefit is waxing cars helps maintain the paint and finish on the vehicle. So, a superior wax will provide better protection.
• What are the benefits of the products you sell at your car wash? Next, repeat the previous step, but do it for all the products you sell in vending machines or in the lobby area. For example, Armor All Original Protectant helps protect interior surfaces and seats and makes them look great. A side benefit is this means interior surfaces and seats will maintain a like-new appearance longer.

Once you have reviewed your customer base, determine which specific group you want to target. Target marketing does involve a bit of trial and error, so it does not hurt to target two or three groups to see which one responds the best. Then, from there, gear your future marketing toward this specific group.
Last, don’t forget to re-evaluate your target group periodically. You may discover the group you were targeting is no longer your top customer group. Most importantly, you can have more than one target group of top customers.

For all of your car wash supplies, hand car wash equipment parts and components, and other items to sell in your vending machines or car wash lobby, please feel free to browse our online store or contact Superior Car Wash Supply directly at 800-554-9274 today!