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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — As an entrepreneur in the laundry business, you’ve either invested, or plan to invest, a significant amount of capital toward opening a Laundromat. You want a high return on your investment, and the first step toward accomplishing this goal is to select the right distributor partner.

There are specific skills and experiences that a distributor should possess in order for them to qualify as an optimum partner. Making the right decision today could mean the difference between profitable outcomes and financial losses.

LONGEVITY

When choosing a distributor, make sure that the company has an established history of providing equipment and services to Laundromat owners, and is financially stable. Most company representatives will start their sales process with a download of the business’ history. Usually, if a distributor has a long history of experience, it is financially stable and will be there to support you long after your store has been open.

Besides knowing when the company opened, it’s important to ask, “How many vended laundries has your company sold or rehabbed within the past five years? You’ll learn whether the company is more product sales-driven or a full-service shop. You’ll want to choose a distributor with a lot of experience in building new stores and total rehabs rather than one with a focus on one-off machine replacements.

These full-service distributors will be able to offer you tours of existing stores, which will allow you to see their work product and talk to their clients about the business relationship.

SERVICES

Before entering into a contract with a distributor, make sure you know the full spectrum of services that will be available. Remember, you’re looking for a partnership – someone who can help you not only build your Laundromat, but also provide maintenance services and post-sales support.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Before you build a Laundromat, your distributor should conduct a full analysis of the market where you will be providing services. An experienced company will provide information on demographics, competition, location options and revenue potential.

FINANCING ASSISTANCE

If you’ll be financing your Laundromat, it’s critical to ensure you have the right financial partner. Distributors often have commercial laundry manufacturing partners that provide in-house finance programs. Their financial teams have decades of industry expertise and are dedicated to providing high-quality, laundry-focused financing. They will act as a full-service lender, with progressive programs, resources and services designed to support you as you build your laundry business.

The best in-house financing services control the underwriting process and, in many cases, can provide a decision within 24 hours or less. Some will process applications for loan requests under $100,000 online, offer low rates, waive prepayment penalties for full or partial prepayment, and require little or no security deposit.

A preferred laundry professional should personally manage your account from the beginning to the end of your loan, and online account management should be available at your convenience. Those making refinancing and acquisition financing inquiries should expect to receive personalized attention.

LAUNDRY DESIGN

A distributor should have access to laundry design services if you require some assistance outside of your architect and general contractor. This service is sometimes provided by the equipment manufacturer, and is available to assist you as you prepare to build out your store with several timesaving design and planning tools.

A laundry design service can bring your vision to life, from the general layout of the space down to the details, including the location of tables, coin changers, service counter and seating. Designers can use anything from a quick sketch or a few rough notes to create a professional and polished preliminary drawing that envisions the future of your laundry facility. Top design services will develop a 3-D rendering to offer a clear, accurate representation of the height, width and depth of your laundry design, painting a clear picture of what your project will look like.

Using the specific model mix, designers can create an organized and easy-to-read utility schedule that enables you see at a glance the requirements needed for electrical, drain, gas, exhaust/venting and water, which better allows for pre-planning of equipment installation.

There are also opportunities to develop dimensional drawing packages that will help any architect, engineer or design-build professional prepare permits and construction drawings quickly and accurately, as well as a virtual tour option.

RELIABLE, DURABLE EQUIPMENT

A distributor should offer commercial-quality vended laundry equipment. Make sure you do your due diligence to ensure the equipment offers superior product design and is performance-tested, both in the lab and the field.

With advances in technology, there are sophisticated control platforms available that can help increase profitability with multiple cycle modifiers, time-of-day pricing and multi-level pricing.

Equipment should be backed by warranty. Top manufacturers offer a 10-year, transferrable extended warranty on cabinet hard-mount washer-extractors with 20-through-80-pound capacities that cover the frame, outer tube, cylinder, shaft, bearings and seals, and the bearing house.

FACTORY SERVICE

You’ll want to select a distributor that has factory-trained service technicians strategically placed within its territory for the fastest response to a service or maintenance issue.

These technicians should have immediate access to commonly replaced parts on their service vans, and the distributor should have a warehouse stocked with genuine parts to provide immediate replacement service.

POST-SALES SUPPORT

When you have a distributor partner, the relationship doesn’t end once the store is open. Your partner should be there to answer any questions post-sale, as well as provide advice on how to host a successful grand opening, market your services, increase profitability, and learn of expansion opportunities in the future.

Other essential services should include an in-house installation team, owner/operator training, and direct access to an equipment manufacturing representative.

IN SUMMARY

Knowing what to look for in a distributor will help you select the right partner for your business venture. After all, you’re getting into business to generate a profit, and you want to make sure you maximize your opportunities.

So choose wisely. Do your due diligence, and don’t be afraid to demand excellence.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The yellows, blues, greens and shades of red at Calvary Laundromat in Raleigh are decorator-designed to create an inviting atmosphere, says owner David Makepeace.

“It’s very vibrant,” says Makepeace, and makes customers feel more energetic. “It’s not depressing beige or white walls.”

But the intangible atmosphere, the one that customers find welcoming, is created by his staff, he says. Or, as one teen folding clothes with her mother put it recently, her family comes because “We know people here.”

“The people here” are full-time attendant Lizeth Brito and three members of a family that share work hours: mother Valentina Hernandez and daughters Oneyda Blanchard and Mirian Martinez. All are bilingual and can converse with Hispanic customers who make up a large part of the customer base.

“Valentina and I have worked together forever,” says Makepeace, 47. They are both veterans of the large, multi-site Medlin-Davis Cleaners operation in Raleigh, and he turned to her when he started Calvary four years ago.

Did she know of anyone who could help him? he recalls asking. “She said, ‘Yes, me.’”

Makepeace says he’s “extremely” happy with sales at the 3,000-square-foot laundry, located in a small shopping center in the midst of large apartment complexes. “The success of it depends on the people you hire,” he says. “I have wonderful attendants.”

He names several other contributing factors, including the technological sophistication of its 30 front loaders and 28 dryers. (They include one 80-pound washer, charging $7.75; three 60-pound, $6; six 40-pound, $4; five 30-pound, $3.75, and 15 20-pound, $2.50. Every dryer—two 75-pound models, 24 45-pound, and two 35-pound—runs six minutes for 25 cents.)

They all accept Presidential dollar coins, which Makepeace says are so popular among customers as a novelty that they keep them instead of using them. “I have to replace them all the time.”

The advantage of dollar coins, he says, is the flexibility they provide customers using the coin changer. Without it, anybody putting a large bill in the changer “would have to use two hands” to hold the resulting quarters, he says. “It’s much more manageable.”

Charlotte’s T & L Equipment Sales, which provided the equipment, programmed all the washers so that the seventh wash is free. That’s been a big hit and a factor in keeping customers coming back, Makepeace says. “The first thing they do is go look at all the machines and see if any of them are free.”

Another plus is the bright color scheme, he says. A decorator friend of Lee Makepeace, David’s wife and business partner, chose the overall design. “We started with the floor (multi-colored tile) and worked our way up the (yellow) walls,” David Makepeace says.

Lee and her dad, Riley Pleasant of Raleigh, painted squares within squares in contrasting colors to break up the long expanse. Even a neighbor contributed to the décor, bringing forth a large piece of art. Purchased at a yard sale for $15, it echoes the colors in the laundry and hangs over the entrance desk.

In the front of the store, a kids’ corner offers lots of windows, a wall-mounted TV showing cartoons, and walls that, for a few feet up, are actually blackboards. Children are encouraged to dig into a bucket of chalk and draw on them.

Makepeace noticed similar blackboard walls for children in a jewelry store and thought it was a clever idea.

“Parents are focused on sorting the clothes and getting them in the washers. If we can distract the kids for at least 15 minutes, the parents will appreciate that,” he thought.

For the adults, there are two large-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi.

Believing firmly that hands-on ownership makes for success, he visits the store three times a week, as well as other times when he’s called upon to repair equipment.

When he and his wife were planning the store, he personally canvassed the apartment communities near the site, which is on a connector road between two major traffic arteries. He discovered that most residents are Hispanic families.

He returned to personally put flyers for the new laundry under windshields at the apartments. He also mailed 1,500.

Check back Thursday for the conclusion!

WASHINGTON — The Henry Hub natural gas spot price is expected to average approximately 65 cents higher per million British thermal unit (MMBtu) this year, while natural gas working inventories ended February at a level below the same time one year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

EIA expects the spot price to be $3.41 per MMBtu in 2013 and $3.63 per MMBtu in 2014. It averaged $2.75 per MMBtu in 2012.

In other energy news, the weekly U.S. average regular gasoline retail price fell in early March for the first time since mid-December. The March 11 average was $3.71 per gallon, down 7 cents per gallon from Feb. 25.

EIA expects that lower crude oil prices will result in monthly average regular gasoline prices staying near the February average of $3.67 per gallon over the next few months, with the annual average retail price declining from $3.63 per gallon in 2012 to $3.55 per gallon in 2013 and $3.38 per gallon in 2014.

U.S. crude oil production exceeded an average level of 7 million barrels per day in November and December, the highest volume in more than 20 years.

EIA warns that energy price forecasts are highly uncertain and that the current values of futures and options contracts suggest prices could differ significantly from its forecast.

WASHINGTON — While natural gas working inventories reached an all-time weekly record in early November, weather forecasts predicting a winter much colder than last year’s mild season imply that large increases in natural gas use for heating are to come, according to this month’s Short-Term Energy Outlook from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Overall natural gas consumption in late October and early November showed little response to Hurricane Sandy, which hit the Northeast on Oct. 29. Declines in natural gas-fired generation because of electric power outages may have been somewhat mitigated by power producers substituting natural gas for shut-down nuclear capacity resulting from the storm. Most effects appear to have been short-lived, and EIA didn’t substantially adjust its forecast as a result, the report indicates.

EIA expects the Henry Hub natural gas spot price, which averaged $4.00 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2011, will average $2.78 per MMBtu in 2012 and $3.68 per MMBtu in 2013.

U.S. monthly average regular gasoline retail prices fell from $3.85 per gallon in September to $3.45 per gallon in November, as crude oil prices fell and the gasoline market transitioned from summer‐grade to lower-cost winter‐grade gasoline specifications.

Projected national average regular gasoline retail prices average $3.63 per gallon in 2012 and $3.43 per gallon in 2013, compared with $3.53 per gallon in 2011. Forecast diesel fuel retail prices average $4.02 per gallon during the fourth quarter of 2012 before falling to an average of $3.84 per gallon in 2013.

OMAHA, Neb. — Every business requires a steady stream of revenue in order to be successful. In the vended laundry industry, guaranteeing a set amount of cash flow can be difficult, but adding commercial accounts can make a baseline easier to establish.

With proper preparation and marketing to neighborhood businesses, store owners can either start or grow their pickup and drop-off accounts to add revenue, providing their store with stability for the long run.

PREPARATION

Before adding commercial accounts, it’s important for store owners to look at their equipment mix. The last thing you want is to have a commercial account take up too many machines and force self-service customers to wait to do their wash. 

Another precautionary measure that a business owner should take is tracking the store activity and identifying peak times. If the store is consistently busy and there is not ample time during the day to process linen from commercial accounts, owners may want to consider adding a shift.

Another option is to add larger machines strictly for use in serving commercial accounts to a specific section of the store. This way, the commercial accounts will not affect self-service business.

After surveying what equipment you have available to dedicate to these accounts, it’s time to determine who will handle the workload.

When choosing attendants to work for your store, you want to make sure they perform their tasks to your standards. Proper training will help ensure optimal client satisfaction. For example, your attendants will need to know how to properly fold linens and how to interact with customers.

It is also a good idea to have written directions that employees can follow, especially if certain accounts have special laundering requirements.

If you plan on laundering specialty items, reach out to your local chemical supply agent. This representative will be able to ensure you have the right chemicals for specific industries, such as fire or healthcare. As with any decision, ask for a few different opinions so you can make sure to deliver your customers what they deserve.

SOLICITING BUSINESS

Once the preparations are in place to handle commercial accounts, it’s time to grow the business. One of the best ways you can go about this is by finding a niche market to serve in your surrounding community. For example, positioning yourself as the laundry specialist to service spas or providing quick turnarounds for entertainers in town is a great way to build your reputation.

An important aspect to any successful business is having and maintaining an informative website. Make sure your website is up to date and emphasizes your commercial-accounts expertise. It should be easy for potential customers to find information about your services and how to contact you. To see if your website comes up in search results, run a few searches as if you were a potential customer. If your competitors appear before you in these searches, you may need to look at optimizing your website content.

As a business owner, you must always sell your store to others. Make sure everyone you meet knows what business you offer. You never know who could become your next customer.

It’s also important to reach out to businesses within your community. For example, as an owner of five stores, I contacted human resources departments at various companies and offered pick-up and delivery services for their employees. One client uses this as a benefit to employees, and we gain an extra customer. Additionally, some of those companies may have other laundry needs, which can turn into more business for you.

Along with networking with those you come in contact with, it’s a good idea to get involved with community groups. Look for opportunities to join committees within your town’s chamber of commerce or Rotary Club; they provide great ways to meet other business owners. Remember, it all comes back to selling yourself and your business.

COMPETITION

If your community has a large population, you are bound to run into some competition. Linen services may offer customers a lower price than you, but here’s where your service and industry niche come into play. When discussing new business opportunities, it’s important to highlight what you can offer the potential customer. Many linen services do not deliver on weekends, but if you have the capacity to do this, use this as a selling technique. This is important when working with hotels that cater to weddings and large events during weekends.

SERVICE

No amount of marketing can make up for bad service. Service should be the cornerstone upon which your business is built, and this is something your employees should embody. The best referral will always come from a satisfied customer.

To accomplish great service and grow your commercial account business, make sure you have the equipment, employees and time necessary to provide superior results. These accounts can provide your store with a significant amount of dependable business and help you become more profitable.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — Alan Beaulieu, president of ITR Economics, one of the oldest and most respected consulting firms in America, will be providing “accurate, understandable and actionable” economic forecasts to the laundry industry at the Coin Laundry Association’s Excellence in Laundry Conference in October.

Attendees will learn how to enhance their profitability and gain an advantage over their competition by knowing what’s going to happen in the world around them.

Beaulieu will talk about strategies and tactics that should be undertaken now if businesses are to maximize their profit potential for the future.

“You can make decisions with great confidence by knowing which leading indicators to look at,” he says. “Those leading indicators are like road signs. By knowing which road signs to watch, you can gauge the impact of major events and small events on your business with plenty of time to act, to make decisions, to protect your company and to move forward.”

The Excellence in Laundry Conference is scheduled for Oct. 11-13 at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa. More information about the event is available at coinlaundry.org/conference2012. To learn more about Beaulieu, visit itreconomics.com.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. — The Coin Laundry Association (CLA) has put together an event Oct. 11-13 that it hopes will bring together the self-service laundry industry’s most successful people for unmatched educational sessions, networking, exhibits and a unique opportunity to share best practices with their peers.

The Excellence in Laundry Conference is designed specifically for those laundry industry entrepreneurs who want to grow their business and succeed, CLA says. Attendees will rub elbows with some of the most successful laundry industry professionals and learn some of their most coveted secrets to success.

The agenda includes:

• Robert Spector, author of The Nordstrom Way, will walk attendees through the principles of world-class customer service cultures, such as Amazon.com, Starbucks and Nordstrom. “Everything I do is based on the concept that all business practices should be driven by customer service,” he says. “You have to understand that customer service is provided by all employees. You need to offer consistent, multi-channel customer service and learn to retain your customers by establishing long-term relationships with them.”
• Alan Beaulieu, president of economic consulting firm ITR Economics, will provide accurate, understandable and actionable economic forecasts to the laundry industry. He will talk about strategies and tactics that should be undertaken now if businesses are to maximize their profit potential for the future.
• Industry professional Jeffrey Barman will host a roundtable discussion featuring some of the country’s most successful multi-store owners. They’ll share insider secrets to successfully adding multiple laundries, growing from being an owner with two or three stores to owning five, 10, 30 or more stores. Attendees will glean insights into real estate, acquisitions, finance, operations, staffing, accounting and other challenges that are faced by those looking to grow big.

The Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa will play host to the conference. More information about the event is available at coinlaundry.org/conference2012.

CHICAGO — To succeed, you have to be willing to do the things today that others won’t do so you can have the things tomorrow that others won’t have. You see, people don’t fail in life because they aim too high and miss. No, they fail because they aim too low and hit.

Some people suffer from what I call “possibility blindness.” They fail because they refuse to see their dreams, and allow that ugly monster called fear to stand in their way. In life, especially in today’s times, you have to be hungry!

There are few perfect scenarios in which all the cards will line for you. You have to create the opportunity and then take your shot. Life, as in business, can be extremely complicated, but if you can overcome your fear of failure and allow that hunger deep inside of you to explode with tenacity…it can and will happen for you.

I can tell you from experience that the possibilities are endless; there is greatness in everyone. My whole life, people told me I couldn’t do it, that I was “never gonna be nobody.” But I believed in myself and I believed that God made the diamonds for His crowd, not Satan’s bunch!

My advice for you today is to look deep inside and ask yourself these questions:

• What do I really want in life?
• Who am I really?
• What will be my legacy?
• Have I made a contribution to mankind?
• Am I happy?
• Am I where I want to be?

If you answered no or “I don’t know” to any of these questions, it’s time to stand up and live your life like there’s no tomorrow.

Get out of your comfort zone. You only live once, and you’re not getting out of here alive. So, today, right here and now, say this: I believe in me.

Get out there, spread your wings and embrace the challenges. In Spanish, it’s called Si Se Puede: yes, you can, if you believe.

When I published my books and my graphic novel, I told myself that I didn’t want to be just another author—I wanted to be theLatino author. I am proud to share that I was recently honored during the Latino Literacy Now’s 14^th Annual International Latino Book Awards for writing the best English-language graphic novel (Mi Barrio).

This is an example that dreams do come true. But you have to be hungry! Are you?

WASHINGTON — Mild weather over the past winter contributed to natural gas working inventories that continue to set new record seasonal highs, with April ending at an estimated 2.61 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), about 46% more than the same time last year.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) average 2012 Henry Hub natural gas spot price forecast is $2.45 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), a decline of $1.55 per MMBtu from the 2011 average spot price. EIA expects that Henry Hub spot prices will average $3.17 per MMBtu in 2013.

EIA expects electricity generation from coal to decline by about 15% in 2012 as generation from natural gas increases by about 24%. EIA forecasts that electricity generation from coal will increase by about 4% in 2013, as projected coal prices fall slightly while natural gas prices increase, allowing coal to regain some of its power generation share.

With global crude oil prices falling over the past month, EIA has lowered the average regular gasoline retail price forecast for the current April-through-September summer driving season to $3.79 per gallon, 16 cents per gallon below the level in the previous Short-Term Energy Outlook Report.

EIA expects regular gasoline retail prices to average $3.71 per gallon in 2012 and $3.67 per gallon in 2013, compared with $3.53 per gallon in 2011.

EIA’s current forecast of the average U.S. refiner acquisition cost of crude oil in 2012 is $110 per barrel, which is $2.50 per barrel lower than in last month’s Outlook, but still about $8 per barrel higher than last year’s average price. EIA expects the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to average about $104 per barrel in 2012, about $2 per barrel lower than the forecast in last month’s Outlook, but $9 per barrel higher than the 2011 average price. EIA expects crude oil prices to remain relatively flat in 2013.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — At Mayflower Laundry, located in a former shopping plaza, it’s all about providing good customer service, says owner Neil King.

“We take care of our customers, that’s number one. We have a clean place. We are open seven days a week, 6 to 10. There’s always an attendant on duty. We have the right mix of machines, to let customers do their laundry in a hurry if they want to. We offer personalized wash, dry and fold. We have pickup and drop-off to offer maximum convenience.”

As a result, Mayflower takes in $360,000 in revenue annually. The company earns a profit out of that volume by keeping a rein on expenses—doing 25% of its own repairs, holding down utilities to 20% of volume, and having no debt. It helps that the operation depends little on marketing, rather relying on word of mouth to generate most of its business. Finally, rent plus fees are a reasonable 11% of volume.

The 2,000-square-foot Laundromat has a transportation company and a health club as plaza neighbors. It is right off the main road and has unlimited parking. Inside, the facility is clean, spacious, with many individual workstations. A ceramic-tiled waiting room contains padded seats, magazines, as well as children’s toys. Framed paintings adorn some walls. A glass-walled office at the entrance is where management and staff do their paper work. This placement allows close monitoring.

Two 50-pound dryers and 36 30-pound dryers, all from American Dryer Corp. (ADC), are positioned along one wall. Mayflower’s washers, manufactured by either IPSO or Continental Girbau, include two 75-pound front loaders, eight 40-pound front loaders, five 25-pound front loaders, six 25-pound high-speed front loaders, two 40-pound high-speed front loaders, and two conventional top loaders.

Several vending machines, including a soft drink machine, a snack machine and gum machines, stand alongside the seating area. “I don’t make much out of the Coke machine, but I fill my snack unit by going to BJ’s (Wholesale Club) and I do OK,” King says.

1,800 WASH-DRY-FOLD POUNDS WEEKLY

Keeping the customers happy largely falls on the shoulders of King’s manager, Michelle Ligue. She and her staff of four part-timers are responsible for maintaining clean premises, solving customer problems, and keeping the flow of wash-dry-fold work going. The staff processes 1,800 pounds each week at $1.10/lb.

“I’ve been here 12 years and I know most of the customers,” Ligue says. “And I know 90% of wash-dry-fold customers’ phone numbers. It’s important to keep up with the work, including in-store customers, wash-dry-fold work, cleaning, and the paperwork.

“I train them [her staff] to have a system, do one customer at a time, plan ahead as to which machines to use. The worst thing is to confuse orders. For this to work, it’s necessary to be a multitasker, because a staffer might have four things needing attention at once. We each do our own customers’ wash-fold-and-dry work, so we make sure their stuff comes to them the way they want it.

“For instance, I have a woman customer who owns a lot of rental property. She color-codes everything. She is very particular about the folding. I make sure I give her exactly what she wants. It makes a difference in staffers’ take, for 75% of wash-dry-and-fold customers tip.”

As for hiring, Ligue doesn’t hire anyone too young. An applicant should have some previous laundry or hotel experience and must be used to doing physical work to be considered. Ligue says she can tell if a person is going to make it based on the first hour of training. She is not opposed to letting people go after a day.

EXPANDING ON PICKUP AND DELIVERY

King is doing pickup and delivery for eight customers and is in the process of expanding that business. “It’s good business because it is priced at $1.35 a pound, and it gives us more to work with,” he says. “The key is to keep the customers bunched together and to develop an efficient route of pickup and delivery.” He is placing a series of eight ads that will run in the newspapers of nearby wealthier communities to build up clientele.

“Price isn’t a problem,” says King. “Many prospects are two-career households and they want the convenience and are willing to pay for it. We even have customers come in here who have washers and dryers at home, but use us because they can do all their laundry in an hour and a half. We focus on convenience in this portion of our business.”

Mayflower also does a big business in comforters because the bedding is too big for conventional machines. Cleaning dry mops for municipalities is another specialty.

Having a clean facility is key to a self-service laundry’s success, according to King; he believes customers won’t use a dirty Laundromat. At Mayflower, there’s a cleaning checklist for every shift—morning, noon, and night. Dryer lint traps are cleaned three times a day, because the presence of lint inhibits air circulation and retards drying.

King attributes the ability to control expenses to having new equipment. “Our utility costs run 20% of volume, which is 5% less than industry average. Newer machines are highly efficient, three-phase machines. It also helps that all dryers are powered by gas.”

King motivates his staff by paying them 20% of the wash-dry-fold business that they do. This keeps them turning out good product. Finally, it helps that everything is owned. Mayflower operates with a $50,000 equity line of credit, but doesn’t owe a cent on the investment.

With the company well positioned in the Plymouth-Kingston-Duxbury market, King has no plans to open another operation. Instead, he wants to build up drop-off and pickup service and continue relying on his staff to run the enterprise. This way, he only has to spend a few hours a day at the laundry and can devote more time to his real estate and other business interests.

“It’s a good business because you don’t have to be there, and you can still make money,” King says.

ATLANTA — The Clean Executive Committee has selected Global Experience Specialists (GES) to serve as the official services contractor for the 2013 Clean Show in New Orleans.

Three companies submitted proposals for the June 2013 show. “GES did our show in New Orleans in 2009 and did a great job,” says John Riddle, president of Riddle & Associates, the Clean Show’s management company. “We look forward to working with them again in 2013.”

Chicago hosted the first Clean Show in 1977. United Exposition Service Co. was the official services contractor for that event and subsequent shows. GES purchased United in 1993, and the Las Vegas-based company has continued its partnership with the Clean Show for many shows since.

GES produces 3,000 exhibitions and events annually.

The Clean Show—officially titled the World Educational Congress for Laundering and Drycleaning—attracts people across all segments of the textile care industry, from single-owner, coin-operated laundry and drycleaning establishments to giant industrial and institutional laundries and textile rental companies.

CHICAGO — Al Lautenslager is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach who believes the No. 1 reason that customers leave a business is because the business in question doesn’t pay them enough attention.

Making efforts to reach customers and prospects was at the heart of his message at a Drycleaning & Laundry Institute-sponsored educational session during the last Clean Show.

Based on Lautenslager’s theory, you’re not just a self-service laundry owner, store manager or store attendant. “You’re all marketers of the business you’re associated with,” he says.

And so it is that he offered a series of suggestions from his book, what he called “a step-by-step blueprint for how to put one foot in front of the other, from a marketing standpoint.”

Develop a Guerrilla Marketing Mindset

“Every single day, whether I’m traveling on the road or working in my office, I think about this question: How am I building the awareness of my prospects and clients through the marketing that I’m doing?”

Before he goes about the work of each day, Lautenslager spends time doing three to five marketing-related things. It might be handwriting a thank-you note to a customer, brainstorming a tagline, or coming up with an idea for a new direct-mail campaign.

“You do that for three weeks and it becomes a habit, and a marketing habit is a great mindset to have in your business.”

Define Purpose for Marketing and Your Goals

“What specific activity do you want customers to take as a result of your marketing? Do you want them to call you on the telephone, visit your website, come into your place of business, enter a contest?”

Marketers define these as “calls to action.”

“Every single brochure, website, sign, sales pitch, on-hold message ought to have a call of action associated with it,” Lautenslager says. “Prospects need to be told what to do. Do not leave it to chance that they’ll know what to do as a result of your marketing.”

Identify Your Target Market

“Targeting is pretty much what you think it is. Who buys what? Where do they buy it? Why do they buy it?”

Whatever specifications you put around that target market, there exists a list for those specifications, and your list is your market, Lautenslager says. “Maybe you’re targeting a certain income level, a certain family size and a certain subdivision. There’s a list that exists for those specifications.”

Do a web search for “list broker” in your city to find companies that provide that kind of service.

Your best prospect to target is a current customer, and second best is a previous customer, Lautenslager advises.

Position Your Business

This refers to creating a “position” for your business in a customer’s mind. According to Lautenslager, Positioning authors Al Ries and Jack Trout say, “Positioning is not something you do with a product or service, it’s what you do in the mind of a prospect.”

“We want people to think of us if and when they need our products or service,” Lautenslager says.

In the Chicago area where Lautenslager lives, the freezing and breaking of water pipes during winter, especially in the middle of the night, is a real possibility. So how does Expert Plumbing position itself? By promoting the fact that “We never close.”

And don’t be afraid to promote your expertise in providing laundry and/or dry cleaning services.

“Everybody in this room is an expert in something. It’s OK to say that. Customers like to buy from experts. They trust experts. They have confidence in experts’ work. Go ahead and say that.”

Point Out Your Competitive Advantages and Benefits

Customers and prospects don’t care about you, Lautenslager says, they care about themselves and how your service will benefit them.

“So, you’d better be talking to them,” he advises. “That mean you’ve got to talk about benefits, not features. Write this down: features tell, benefits sell.”

They’re looking for benefits like convenience, time savings, organization, ease of access, immediacy, reduction of resources required, and reliability.

“At some point in time, make a list of the benefits you offer your customers and prospects. And then I suggest that you make a list of the benefits that your competition offers. If those two lists are identical, neither one of you have a competitive advantage.”

And if you don’t know what your benefits are, ask your customers. They’ll tell you.

Do Some Business Networking

“Everybody in this room, believe it or not, knows between 150 and 250 people each,” Lautenslager says.

On his website is a free report explaining how to instantly add 50 people to your network. These people include neighbors, your banker, your favorite bartender, your travel agent, etc. Lautenslager’s favorite on the list: the parents of your child’s sports teammates.

Plan for the networking events you will attend and set some goals (meet X number of people, receive X number of business cards, etc.).

“Arrive early and leave late,” Lautenslager says. “Some of the best networking happens before the meeting and after the event.”

Take Advantage of PR Opportunities

Editors love news but hate promotion, Lautenslager says, so connect your business with current events to increase relevancy.

“I suggest you do a press release every other month,” he says. “Establishing a relationship with an editor is just like establishing a relationship with a customer.

“Anytime you have a new product or service, win an award, have a new employee, new strategy, new location, editors deem that as news.”

In the end, whatever type of marketing you choose to pursue, launch what is comfortable for you and your business.

“When I say comfortable, I don’t mean just comfortable financially, I mean comfortable emotionally. You can’t do everything that I’ve talked about today. I can’t do everything I’ve talked about today. But you can pick one, two or three things you’re comfortable with and implement them.”

Click here for Part 1.