In this interview, Jimmy Starnes — the Chief Strategic Officer of Georgia-based Wash Me Fast — discusses how he improves car wash customer engagement across all the locations in his car wash business.

Figuring out how to improve customer engagement can make or break a multi-location car wash’s future. With more engaged customers, car washes see more frequent visits, higher average spend, and significantly improved lifetime value — i.e. everything required for long-term success.

The best way to improve car wash customer engagement is through the smart use of data

As we’ve seen, car washes face a number of challenges. They have to balance efficiency and service, they need to attract more millennial car wash customers, and car wash advertising has to captivate the viewer’s attention at a moment’s notice.

To put it bluntly, the only way to exceed sales goals in light of these challenges is through the smart use of data. To quote Charity Burns, Editor at The The Car Wash Magazine:

Eventually, companies get too big for owners to manage the marketing themselves and sooner or later successful owners will need to delegate their marketing duties, so they can spend their energy more wisely.”

By smartly using data and technology, car wash proprietors can make themselves more scalable. They can focus on the customers that matter, track feedback that’s actually useful, and pinpoint the exact facets of their car wash customer experience they should improve.

Summary of the best ways to improve car wash customer engagement

Here are the three most important takeaways from Jimmy’s interview:

• Quote: We wish that every customer would post feedback about their experience.
• Takeaway: The only way to improve customer experience is understanding exactly how customers feel — i.e. you need feedback. That said, feedback is only useful when tied to a specific customer at a specific location. Multi-location business owners have to stop collecting feedback mindlessly. They have to make sure that feedback is relevant to their decision-making process.
• Quote: We have created what we call, “Win with Wash Me Fast.” This allows customers to choose the program that’s best for them.
• Takeaway: Effective marketing requires personalizing the customer experience. You cannot rely on a blanket marketing strategy to increase overall customer engagement. Smart managers instead provide options and then use data to figure out exactly which option customers want. That’s personalization, iteration — smart marketing.
• Quote: With rewards, customers visit more often and spend more money.
• Takeaway: Providing customers rewards changes their behavior. By changing behavior, you can increase the potential of your business to earn more money. Jimmy walks through why loyalty program-served incentives represent one of the most important tools to materially grow sales.