Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Car Wash Business: How to run a Profitable Auto Detailing Business?

Before we suggest how to run a car wash business profitably, let’s break in some exciting news. As per the International Carwash Association, Washing cars is a $24 billion industry and it’s growing. Every time a new vehicle hits the road, the prospects improve.

The statistics are truly encouraging if you are exploring car wash business as a possible venture. And even more exciting are the latest technological advancements we have witnessed in the form of high pressure machines and steam cleaning tools. Being mobile, one can start an auto detailing business right from one’s car.

Yes, you read it right, from a car!

What more, mobile detailing business doesn’t need a large water supply or management; so there is no need to carry water tanks when you deliver detailing service at your customers’ doorsteps.

Aided by such technological advancements, mobile auto detailing has come to the fore and many players are following suit. They are investing in carry cars and some thrilling pieces of machinery to roll out superior customer service right at your doorstep. Gone are the days when one had to invest in open spaces, conveyor installments and front desks, with internet marketing picking pace and cost optimization being the keyword, people are running mobile auto detailing business without the overhead.

And since there is no shortage of prospects around the world, car wash business presents attractive prospects to entrepreneurs who want to try something off the track and yet make as much money as well qualified professionals.

Nurturing and Running the Business Profitably

While the prospects are highly conducive for businesses, the onus still lies with the entrepreneurs to execute it right. Running mobile auto detailing needs sincere efforts in marketing and putting together a team that knows how to deliver top services. You need professionals with an eye for details.

Ensure that you have identified the right target group and have a solid marketing plan in place. Remember even in the internet age and the low cost of advertisement on it (factoring social media here) you need to put a solid strategy backed market initiative or you will fail. One innate advantage with running a car wash franchise or an independent detailing business is how it spreads on its own. You would have to use it to your advantage and that would be possible only when the service is exceptional.

Another important consideration would be the speed at which you deliver car detailing. As per few independent researches, people don’t like spending more than eighteen minutes on detailing. So if your professionals can beat that or equal it, chances are you would not only have repeat business but a lot of referrals as well. To further promote referrals, you can start a membership program where you reward your ‘advocates’. This strategy works wonder for repeat business and an organic spread without much marketing investments. But again, the underline would be the quality of service. If you can maintain your service at better levels for long time, you would carve out a space for yourself in the market.

If you feel that planning, strategizing or marketing is not your cup of tea, try opting for car wash franchise instead. The rewards are as big with only small royalty payments every month. Better still are those car wash franchise options that ask for fixed monthly payments so that you keep the chunk of revenues with yourself.

In a nutshell what would differentiate you and the rest of car detailing businesses out there would be the time factor, professionalism, customer service, marketing and the Green approach.

Therefore running a successful detailing business would distill down to the kind of results you can deliver with less water, better speed and economy. If you can do that, it would be a lot easier not only to market but to find Green conscious customers as well. Going Green would not only help the environment but also play a crucial role in winning more prospects.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

One of the Greatest Car Wash Secrets of Success – Steam Cleaning Methods!

Doesn’t it seem like forever that we have been either reading about or discussing the sorry state of our economy? For a change, let’s flip the switch and talk about the opportunities that are ripe for the picking. With the maturing of the World Wide Web, there is truly no better time than now to become your own boss and master of your destiny.

Going into business no longer requires wads of cash to bankroll your enterprise. With a lot less money and a proven success formula (be it car detailing, internet marketing, belly dancing etc), you can set up your virtual e-operations and where applicable, a brick and motor store front and you are in the game.

The automobile detailing business is as good an example as any. Think about it, the US car washing industry is worth $23 billion (yep, not 2 point 3 but twenty-three billion dollars!). Of that, 9% relates to car detailing. And the beauty of it is, this service can’t be outsourced, very personal and you can have it as big or as small as you wish. There are, in fact, all sorts of such franchises around and you can cherry-pick the ones that resonate with you most. For instance, Detailking.com and Ziebart.com have been around a while but if you want to offer professional detailing that has minimal impact on our planet, DetailXperts.net’s steam cleaning is as progressive as it gets to date. As their technology steers clear of harsh and harmful chemicals and uses distilled water – at just over a pint(!) per car, their copyrighted innovation even has their local police departments’ and ambulance companies’ undivided attentions.

There is more to it than meets the eye with car detailing

In times of across the board budget constraints, when buying new cars are not an option for many, people opt for specialized automobile detailing for a slew of benefits: to enhance the look and feel of their vehicles; to prolong their usage life and to be able to travel in almost brand new clean and healthy quarters.

Remember.
With the amount of time we spend in our cars on the road, and, the amount of mostly invisible muck that is brought in; it is not hard to imagine the physical wear and tear, and harmful elements that needs to be professionally fixed, reinstated and cleansed.

Whether you are a customer or a potential business entrepreneur of automobile detailing services, there are things to be on the look out for though.

If the former, you may prefer that they come at a time and place that is convenient to you – perhaps when you are at work and parked at the public car park closest to your workplace. Do they have a mobile unit that offers that service? Can you mix and match – to elect to do only the more soiled exterior and just a few minor interior aspects?

As a business person, you will want to know: What are the initial outlay costs? Does the franchisor provide training (initial, ongoing and refreshers)? What if you are a newbie, how much hand-holding is there? What about marketing approaches – both on- and off- line? What about the bottom line – what percentage of your intake will go towards their contribution?

Secrets for the picking if we only look in the ripe places

There are opportunities to be found whether we don the hat of consumers or vendors. With the resources at hand, our job as humans is to identify and use the ones that best deliver on the outcomes we seek. The potential viral nature of today’s online communications, in the form of news, blogs, or feedbacks often reveal tips, secrets and will have prospects beating a path to your door even in these harshest of economic times.