Honor, Service, Experience.

These 3 words have define National Laundry Equipment, LLC. In short, we provide top quality equipment, parts, service, and consultation for your commercial laundry needs. We serve the coin operated laundry and laundromat community as well as institutions in need of large on-premise laundry system applications.

See You at CLEAN SHOW

Jon Pell and I will be traveling to New Orleans, LA for the CLEAN SHOW this week.  We will take some pics to share with you on the photos-of-projects page.  In the mean time, have a look at an article we helped to write a while ago.  It shows the importance of social media for coin laundry businesses!  Check that out here.

Paint Picture of Your Store for Customers (Part 1 of 2)

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social network

Social network. (Photo: ©iStockphoto.com)

J.D. Dixon |

How Using Social Media Can Help Increase Business

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s no secret that millions of people, and an increasing number of businesses, interact on social media sites on a daily basis, sharing massive amounts of information.

However, the coin laundry industry lacks representation on many social media sites. And because of this, many storeowners are missing out on an effective tool to increase their business.

WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA

As the economy continues to rebound, many coin laundry owners are still struggling to get business levels where they once were, yet many aren’t marketing their stores. To increase business, some marketing is necessary, and social media is a low-cost way to market and promote your store to millions of people. And it’s also easy and fun.

According to the Coin Laundry Association, one of the biggest advantages social media offers to consumers is a personal connection to the store. A good social media site can “paint a picture” of the coin laundry that consumers can identify with. Regardless of whether the Facebook fan has ever patronized the store, successful content on your company’s page will help create an environment of familiarity.

GETTING STARTED

Before you begin using social media, make sure your store is listed on Google Places, because many consumers use the Internet to locate businesses. You can create a free profile by visiting google.com/placesforbusiness. Follow the directions and upload a picture of your store along with the location, phone number, website and hours of operation.

Once this step is complete, if you don’t already have a personal page on Facebook, you’ll want to open an account by visiting facebook.com, and follow the directions on the right-hand side of the page. Or visit facebook.com/business.

While there are a multitude of social media sites, from Twitter to Digg, statistics have shown that Facebook is the fastest-growing and most-used social media site in the world.

USING FACEBOOK

Through your personal Facebook page, you can open a company page for your coin laundry. Click on the “Create a Page” tab at the bottom of the home page. In order for your page to be a success, you will need to recruit fans. You can accomplish this by sending a request to your current Facebook friends on your personal page.

You can also choose to create your own pay-per-click ad that will be featured on Facebook. This form of advertisement lets you create your ad, and then set your own budget in terms of how much you want to spend to advertise your company’s page on the site. You can target your ad to specific demographics as well. For example, if you live in Louisville, Ky., you can target Facebook fans living within a 10-mile radius.

As your fan base increases, you will need to make sure you’re updating your page with relevant and interesting content that not only keeps your fans coming back each day but will also drive them into your store. Plan on spending a few hours a week updating your page.

How Using Social Media Can Help Increase Business

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It’s no secret that millions of people, and an increasing number of businesses, interact on social media sites on a daily basis, sharing massive amounts of information.

However, the coin laundry industry lacks representation on many social media sites. And because of this, many storeowners are missing out on an effective tool to increase their business.

USING FACEBOOK

One way to increase store traffic is to offer Facebook-fan-only specials. For example, some vended laundries offer free dry when the customer tells the attendant that he or she is a fan of the store’s Facebook page. Others provide insider scoops, offering details on special rates during specific hours.

But if you want your page to be successful, posting specials alone won’t do. Look for funny video clips related to laundry, or ask your fans questions such as which laundry detergents they prefer. Your fan page will not only help you increase traffic, but by capturing the voice of the customer, it can also help you improve your store’s competitiveness.

When you set up your page, make sure you allow fans the opportunity to write on your wall. The essence of social media is to allow people to interact. If you only allow yourself to post comments, your page will be no more than a Web advertisement.

BEFRIEND THE COMPETITION

While you’re on Facebook updating your own page, don’t forget to search for your competitors. Ask your distributor for a listing, then use the search field to find out if they have a fan page.

You may be asking yourself, “Why would I want to be friends with my competitor?”

It’s simple. You always want to stay abreast of what the competition is doing. Why not get a leg up by viewing their Facebook page? And, if their page is performing well, you can get ideas on how to improve your own. Additionally, see who “likes” their page, and ask them to “like” your page.

There are a few stores using social media the correct way, whose pages you can look at to get an idea of what your fan page should resemble. The next time you’re on Facebook, check out some coin laundries that are doing it right: Morton Coin Laundry in Morton, Ill.; San Fernando Majers Coin Laundry in San Fernando, Calif.; Town Tub Coin Laundry in Waterford, Mich.; and All Clean Coin Laundry in Winter Park, Fla.

Don’t get left in the dark; start using social media today to help increase your store’s business potential.

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