Ask any great athlete what they focus on, and they’ll all talk about one thing:

Fundamentals. 

Why?

Because that’s what underpins their game. Simple techniques, built into habit over time. 

The same is true of your marketing. 

If you know the fundamentals and live by them, you can improve your marketing. 

So in this post, I want to quickly look at three fundamentals you need in your laundry marketing playbook. 

Key #1: Audience

Knowing who you market effectively to is one of the first steps toward winning more customers. 

Imagine being told you’re going to give a speech in a room full of people — only all the lights are off, and you don’t know who is in the audience. That’s what marketing without knowing your audience is like. 

You don’t know if your message will resonate, or if you’ll be run out of town. 

So how do you find out more about your audience? 

Part of the answer is data (which we’ll talk about later!), but a simpler way to approach your audience is to talk to them and ask questions. 

While you may not be able to get an answer to all of these questions, I highly recommend working through some of these questions:

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The result will be a better understanding of who you’re speaking to. With that knowledge, you can pivot your message to get more traction and, eventually, more customers. 

Key #2: Budget

How you approach your marketing budget can make a difference. Free only gets you so far (although it can still win customers). You need to consider marketing as an investment. 

How much? Well, that depends. 

The US Business Administration recommends allocating 7-8% of your revenue on your marketing budget. This depends on your margins, but it’s at least a starting target to aim at. 

Another thing to consider is the maturity of your business. Newer companies are recommended to spend more on marketing, while established companies can back off a bit:

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So when it comes to your marketing, I want to ask one question:

Is what you’re spending seeing results?

Because if it isn’t, you’re either not spending enough, or you’re not spending in the right areas. 

Neither option has an easy answer, but how much you spend is a fundamental part of your marketing. If you’re not willing to spend to win customers, you’ll have a much harder time than your competition who is probably already outspending you. 

We’ll talk more about how to budget for marketing in the future, but keep this in mind as you look to improve. 

Key #3: Tracking and Analytics

Do you know how many customers you have?

Do you know where they found your business?

Do you know why they chose you over your competition?

If you answered “no” to any of those questions, you need better tracking. 

Why? Because how you track your business’s analytics has some real benefits. You’ll understand your customers, know how to reach them, and make much better decisions. 

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But all of this relies on solid data. 

And data takes time, attention to detail, and has a bit of a learning curve. 

My advice? Start with a solid platform. There are plenty of intuitive, high-quality analytics platforms these days. Find one you like, and start implementing it with your marketing and transactions. 

Here are a few popular data platforms that I highly recommend looking into:

• Google Analytics (100% free)
• Hubspot (has a free option)
• Kissmetrics (paid)
• Qualtrics (paid)

The only issue with current data analytics options is that they’re not built with the laundry industry in mind, so you’ll likely have to deal with some shortcomings no matter what platform you use. 

But in my opinion, some data is better than no data, even if it’s incomplete. Start looking into how you can get a solid base of analytics, and improve from there.

Work on Your Fundamentals!

Fundamentals might be necessary, but they’re barely ever fun. 

Still, I hope this post has helped you re-focus on some important areas in your marketing. 

My goal in the future is to help you find ways to continue improving each of these areas. Stay tuned for more info in future posts!