One of the results emerging from our slow economy is price-sensitive and very discerning consumers. As a car wash business, you have to compete harder and know how to retain customers. Ever wonder what will be your clients’ feedback in terms of your customer service and their customer satisfaction at your facilities? You may think you know your car wash customers well but dig a little deeper and you will be surprised to find out how much more you do not know and can still do to be outstanding in their eyes.

Here are a few tips how to retain customers in your car wash business:

Instill core values into services

The customer experience is all-encompassing of the pre-service, service itself to the post-service phases. The cement that holds all of it together should be the core values of your car wash business. Suppose your core values are excellence, people, integrity, and environment, you have to regularly check that your staff instills them through the service they deliver to your customers. Whether they are taking an order at the pre-service stage, or attending to a complaint, they have to be attentive and have the foresight to know how to go that extra mile for the clients.

Build customer loyalty for better customer retention

The process of courting and getting buy-in from a customer is only the beginning of that business relationship. You have to leverage that momentum in building customer loyalty so that they do not opt for another service provider the next time their vehicles need to be washed. Loyalty programs that offer special discounts or value packages or membership cards with exclusive perks can be developed in a way that helps to convince them to re-use your services and/ lock in the number of times they do so in the near future. It’s a small investment to convert them into regulars as compared to trying to replace them once they have been tempted away elsewhere.

Reward your customers – it helps retaining customers

Be innovative with your benefits or rewards system by ensuring they are current, attractive, fun or of practical use to their recipients. USB drives and iPods are convenient essentials for today’s consumers and in keeping with tight business budgets; discounts for services to businesses are always welcomed. A free added value service such as air sanitation or carpet shampoo on the customer’s every third visit might just sway them to keep coming back to your facilities.

Monitor performance at all times

Your objective of retaining customers can be further facilitated by monitoring the quality of all aspects of the services delivered by your staff. Similarly, you also want to get comments and feedback from your team as well as from customers, old and new. Their experiences, good or bad, will help you determine if the customer services and experience your business offers, is right on the money or is missing the mark. And if you are missing the mark, you need to know where and how, in order to resolve it.
When your customers feel happy and appreciated, they are more inclined to reciprocate with their return custom and even help spread the word about the extraordinary customer experiences one can expect at your car wash services.

Tell is in the comments – how do you improve your customer retention?

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