How do you compel someone to enter your business for the first time?

Better yet, how do you keep them coming back?

There are many answers to these questions. To name a few, you have your customer experience, a well-built marketing funnel, and a top-tier product or service. All of these play a part. 

But sometimes you need an edge — something a little extra to push people toward your business with their wallets open. In those instances, you need to consider a promotion, or an outside-the-box effort that’s just too good to pass up. 

The right promotion can not only bring you business, it can create customers for life. With that in mind, we’ve brainstormed three strong laundromat marketing promotion tactics that you can use for your next campaign. You’ll also find some extra ideas at the end of each section! Let’s dive in.

#1: Create a Unique Guide

Uniqueness will make your business stand out from the crowd, which is the perfect tactic for the noisy online world we live in. While you may not think you have anything to offer, you’d be surprised at some of the ideas that can gain traction. 

For instance, is there a guide to proper maintenance and cataloguing for socks? We don’t know — but you can make it (or a million other ideas) happen. These types of novel (yet still helpful) ideas can help you attract and delight new customers in your area. 

Here are some ideas you can turn into a unique, powerful guide for your laundry business:

• Cataloging and maintaining socks
• Hat care
• Shoe care
• Buying, cleaning, and storing linens
• How to up-cycle old clothes
• First-timers guide to a laundromat
• All-inclusive laundry guide

#2: Build a Buzz

Urgency can make people act quickly. If customers are afraid they’ll miss out on a deal (also known as FOMO), they’ll be more likely to spend money at your business. Double bonus for people who have let their laundry pile up in the corner for a while. 

The key to building a good buzz is to make it worth your customer’s time, effort, and money. You have to sweeten the pot, so don’t be too stingy trying to create a “deal” that falls flat. 

Here are a few ideas that can get your next buzz-worthy event started:

• First 100 customers get an item or discount
• Customer that brings in the most laundry gets free wash next month
• Flash sales
• Drip campaigns for upcoming promotions
• Social media contests
• Bogo events for returning customers in their email
• Free washer/dryer uses with a punch card or electronic tracking system
• Referral bonuses — bring a friend and get 50% off (or whatever works)

#3: Partner Up

Sometimes, getting a partner to help share your business is all you need to win new customers. Just think of partnerships like Taco Bell and Doritos, or even GoPro and Redbull.

These partnerships opened up new opportunities for each brand — but you don’t have to be a multi-million dollar corporation to cash in on this tactic. All you need to do is work within your community to get more name recognition and improve your brand. Here are a few ideas we cooked up:

• Partner with your local Oktoberfest to provide discounts on beer stains
• Team up with local high school athletics
• Sponsor a #trashtag event and give participants a coupon
• Host a free laundry day in your community with a charitable organization

Conclusion

Promotions that focus on your uniqueness, get people talking, show your involvement, and reward your customers are sure-fire ways to build your customer base and increase retention. 

And now that you’ve got some ideas, all that’s left is to take action. Carve time out of your schedule to lay the groundwork for a guide, partnership, or marketing campaign. The return on your investment will be well worth it. 

Or better yet, find some time to talk to us here at Spynr! We do these types of promotions all the time, and would love to help you plan your next big thing.