How Laundry Businesses Can Attract Student Customers

The laundry business never goes out of commission. People from all walks of life require this service regularly. The demand may not always be high, but it is consistent. The appeal for this service now depends on several factors, such as location and target demographic. Take for example laundry services near university campuses. Students and even professors choose to acquire the services of these providers to save time, effort, and money.

Granted that the laundry and dry cleaning service caters to a regular household chore, there is little need for advertising. In a sense, this is one of the services that are created because of a pressing need and not the other way around. However, despite its steady demand from the consumers, commercial laundry service owners should not be complacent. Competition is all around, and you need to devise ways to get ahead. 

The question now is how do laundry and dry cleaning shops gain traction and be ahead of the competition. 

Similar to how to start a business, know your target market. The target demographic for laundry services is pretty broad and varied. The target both the working and non-working population. Express laundry services are also widely popular among university students. If you want a steady flow of customers at any time of day, focus your advertising efforts on university and college students. 

University and college students have a lot on their plate. There is the never-ending struggle of balancing several lives at once; as a student, as a friend, as a child and sibling, and as a person for themselves. So when they see a service that takes some of their responsibilities off their plate, they jump on it. Laundry services are one of the prime examples of a service that they take advantage of. 

So, how exactly does a plain laundry and dry cleaning service appeal to busy university students?

Offer Discounts and Perks

Go for the easy and surefire way, offer discounts and perks for students. Even if your location is not the most ideal or convenient, students living on a limited budget will always go for the cheaper option. At the end of the day, all they want is clean clothes. The price will be the decision-making factor. 

To attract an influx of student customers, you can either offer a completely different rate for students. But, let them verify their identities. They can present their valid identification cards or their current study load. Or, you can just assign two or three days within a week as student days. During these days, the student customers will be afforded a lesser rate than the regular days. However, if you go for the latter option, expect a heavy workload for those days. Prepare each piece of equipment and extend everyone’s patience. 

Special discounts on particular days will also gain attention. Offering these discounts during days before week-long breaks and vacations is sure to bring in more student customers than usual. You can also offer special discounts during special school events when they have longer periods of time to do chores outside their school responsibilities. Visit Amazon laundry sheet to find the beast deals that you are looking for.

Give Out Loyalty Cards

Giving out loyalty cards is also another available strategy to attract clients. It’s simple and affordable, even starting laundry shops can afford to do this. Using loyalty cards will also increase the likelihood of retaining repeat customers. What basically happens is that the clients will be rewarded after they visit and avail the services a number of times. Say, for example, the client will be awarded a free wash after ten visits. Or another example is that the payment for their next visit will only be half of the price. The promise of a discount or freebies for the next visit is something that the clients will look forward to. 

Laundry shops, especially those located near universities, have an option to partner with the school. An example of the partnership would be the offers of special discounts and promos for verified students of said school. This partnership might demand more effort and time, but the yield will definitely be for the long-run. 

Social Media Presence

Aside from the usual discounts and promos, another strategy that will most likely appeal to students is a very present social media presence. Students now have their noses stuck on their phones and other gadgets; almost always online. They read, shop, and browse online. If they want to check out your shop, they most likely will look for you online first. They will check if you are on Facebook or have an established website.

And if they are not actively looking for your shop, if you have a large and encompassing presence online, they will most likely notice you. Invest time and resources in building your online image and presence. If you can, upload posts or photos daily. You can post regarding the availability of the equipment or if there are any service interruptions. People today will most likely search anything online before asking questions. 

Upload Resources

Apart from posting updates, you can also upload materials that are about the basics of doing laundry, the process, and some facts for public knowledge. These types of information are highly essential for potential clients who are first-time consumers of any kind of laundry service. Providing these types of information will also mark your shop as welcoming and considerate for newbies. It can also serve as a reminder for the other clients too. 

The updates can also be something friendly and familiar. It can be short videos and photos of the current situation of the shop. It can also be funny and engaging. Be at par with the energy of your target consumers. Producing this kind of content will make your clients look forward to their next visits. It can trigger them into thinking that they need to make a visit as soon as possible. 

Public posts are not enough. Be quick in responding to questions sent via personal messages, too. It is not unlikely that some clients will have other inquiries that are not answerable with your daily posts. Answering their questions in a timely manner is now a matter of quality customer service. Take note that you might lose some customers if the treatment they receive before or after consuming the service is below average. 

Laundry and dry cleaning services may cater to the general masses, but it’s always better to focus on a target demographic. Once decided, work on how to present your business to your target and work your way up. Social media presence and discounts are not the only strategies that you can use, but these are essential and easy to do. Gain footing and rise above the other shops nearby.