You are here

Marketing Ideas to Expand WDF, Commercial Accounts (Conclusion)

Nurture the customer relationship with consistent dialogue

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. — While a batch of homemade cookies can taste delicious just out of the oven, the individual ingredients used to make them aren’t as tasty on their own.

“The ingredients that go into your marketing strategy, not one of (them) is going to do it all,” says Dennis Diaz, president of Spynr, an online marketing services firm that works specifically with laundry businesses. “It takes patience and it takes time, but when you devote the time and the energy to make them all work for you, together, they will help your brand not only survive but thrive.”

Diaz laid out some tools for building and optimizing a marketing strategy to fuel growth in “Marketing Ideas to Expand Your WDF and Commercial Account Business,” a webinar presented by the Coin Laundry Association.

He has over 10 years of digital marketing experience, and his company employs marketing and advertising talents like ex-Googlers, PPC [pay per click] managers who handle accounts in excess of $1 million a month, website and graphic designers, and content developers.

“Achieving success with digital marketing begins and ends with a strong strategy,” Diaz says. “Anyone attempting to improve their business using online tools will profit greatly from having a step-by-step guide to help them every step of the way. Wandering into the digital world without a plan can cost you time and money and leave you wondering why you even started in the first place.”

Spynr uses a strategy that forms the acronym WASH:

Website Sales Funnel — “Your site ignites your sales funnel above everything else, and you should design it with that in mind. Your goal is to find curious visitors and turn them into customers, and along that journey, they become leads … and are nurtured over time to use your services. Your site provides the platform and makes all that possible.”

Audience Development — “Who are you trying to reach with your message? What’s the best way to maximize how effectively you communicate with them? These are important questions, and it’s important that you dedicate some serious time to uncovering those answers.”

Search & Social Marketing — “When you start attracting your perfect customers, it’s tempting to think all of your work should go to your website. While not entirely a bad idea, it’s not exactly right, either. Simply having a website doesn’t mean you have visitors to it. You have to give them a reason to visit it first, which means they need to know you exist. The best way to do that is through search engines and social media.”

How Did You Do? — “You can’t reward what you don’t measure, so make sure you set clear goals and invest the time and the resources to make sure you have the systems and the technology that’s in this industry today in place to track it.”

While things worked out for Kevin Costner in the movie “Field of Dreams,” don’t believe that “if you build it, they will come.”

“Don’t believe a claim that says if you have a great website, you’re automatically going to get traffic to it. Even SEO [search engine optimization] depends mostly on what you do off your website to rank well. A well-optimized and -designed website will certainly play a big role but you need to think outside of it to really succeed.”

During every stage of the marketing cycle, you need to strategically use different techniques to move people along and closer to buying from you, Diaz says. The goal is to create a campaign that builds awareness and ultimately convinces someone to use your service. Think “long-term relationship.”

TOOLS TO ATTRACT VISITORS

Search and social paid ads, social media publishing, and SEO on and off page are among the tools to attract visitors, Diaz says.

“Make sure you’re offering something of real value. Don’t be cheap. Give away something strong. Examples are dollars off your services, maybe a free bag for wash-dry-fold customers. If you’re thinking more commercial, how about a free checklist or resources you could provide to the industries that you’re speaking to?”

It’s important to have a focused and consistent approach to marketing: “Don’t just post when you’re selling something. Stay engaged regularly.”

Hire a designer to make sure your site is optimized, with specific goals in mind. Test out content that tugs at the heartstrings and evokes emotion or provides real useful value.

The success of any online ad depends on thorough keyword research, so be sure to select terms that meet your ideal parameters.

“Once you gain (the customer’s) interest, it’s important that you continue to nurture the relationship with consistent dialogue, allowing them to learn more about you and your services, and the next steps to buy,” Diaz says.

For example, when promoting wash-dry-fold, first award the coupon they signed up for by opting to receive your emails. The following day, post about how your company contributes to the community. Then, a few days later, remind them of the coupon offer.

“After you’ve gained them as a customer, continue to leverage that relationship. Ask for testimonials and referrals. Offer more incentives to do business with them over time, like loyalty rewards and points. You want to make sure that the customers that you have bring in more customers.”

People “love to buy but hate to be sold,” Diaz advises, so no matter how urgently you want to generate new business, you must be patient with the process to meet your goals.

Miss Part 1? You can read it HERE.

Marketing Ideas to Expand WDF, Commercial Accounts

(Photo: © Wisky/Depositphotos)

Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].