The Denver area sees approximately 300 days of sunshine per year. As a car owner and Denver resident, I rarely wash my car. In fact, I wouldn’t consider myself to be particularly loyal to any one car wash. Instead, my buying behavior is quite sporadic and varies depending on the mood I’m in. As a point of comparison, I am fiercely loyal to specific clothing stores, brands, restaurants, and even car maintenance shops. I appreciate a high-end buying experience. Therefore, I consistently go out of my way to frequent the businesses that demonstrably value my continued loyalty. I have yet to find a car wash that emulates my desired buying experience. This is perhaps why so few consumers have loyalty for car washes.
Building relationships with car wash customers
The relationship between the car driver and the car wash attendant is beautifully simple. However, I often leave the car wash feeling more like a number than a valued customer. I can honestly say that no one has ever asked me “How was your car wash today? Are you satisfied?”. In fact, I haven’t the faintest idea of how I would tell the car wash management team if I were unsatisfied with my experience.
The Car Wash and Auto Detailing market is an $11 billion industry. They currently see an annual growth rate of 2.4%. However, they aren’t immune to the pressures plaguing businesses in other verticals. According to IBISWorld’s industry research report on the Car Wash and Auto Detailing industry, the three most important success factors of this market are the “business expertise of operators,” “proximity to key markets,” and “having a loyal customer base.”
Thanx drives loyalty for car washes
Thanx’s mission is to preserve the loyal customer base of merchants by creating deeper relationships between brands and their customers — especially when it comes to building loyalty for car washes. After all, there are real humans on either side of the transaction. As part of that initiative, Thanx prompts customers, via push notification, to leave feedback to management after each transaction. This gives car washes the opportunity to solicit real, feedback from previously anonymous customers. A direct channel between a merchant and customer allows management to address customer complaints immediately and provides the ability to turn a negative experience into an opportunity to invite a customer back to give your business a second chance.
Even better, gathering feedback directly keeps negative reviews off of social media and review sites. And, the best part is, replying to that feedback can result in increases in revenue for your car wash. Who knew?
Thanx is taking that direct channel even further by enabling car washes to sell their wash books via the Thanx mobile app. The purchased in-app wash books are directly tied to customers and, as a result, are tied to a verifiable return on investment. If your car wash is looking to invest in customer loyalty, feedback, and actionable data, contact us.
