commercial laundry equipment services

7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Opening a Laundromat

In Garment Blog by Brittney Robinson

Opening a laundromat can be a very wise financial decision as laundromats are effectively recession-proof and moreover can provide steady, passive income streams.

All the same, there can be some high costs to start a laundromat, and on top of that, no business plan or model is risk-free. They all involve some sorts of risks.

So, in order to help ensure you “do it right” we’ve compiled a list of questions you should ask yourself before leasing, buying, or building a laundromat in order to help ensure you are better prepared.

Do I Have an Established Clientele?

Though it might sound at first superficial, this is one of the most consequential items to address as soon as you decide you’re definitely going to open a laundromat. It is critical because an established clientele can help buoy your efforts early on and offset the costs to open a laundromat.

If you buy or lease an existing laundromat, you likely will have some existing clients, and that’s a good thing. If you build an entirely new laundromat, it will be more of an uphill battle.

Not that this is a bad thing, but you had better be prepared for the challenges associated with marketing a new laundromat.

Who Is My Target Market?

Next you will want to determine who your target market is so that you can settle on appropriate marketing channels to reach them.

For instance, are you in a town center where your market will be mostly locals that own their own homes? Or are you in or near an apartment complex? Will users be driving or walking to get to your facility, predominantly?

These things and more will determine how you should be getting the word out to them, as well as what your pricing structure should be – the more expensive it is for people to use your facility, the less likely they will be willing to do so.

How Will I Reach Them?

Once you determine who your target audience will actually be (and where they live) you can figure out how you want to get the word out that business is up and running.

Conventional marketing tactics can potentially still be effective here, especially if you’re in a populated area or near an apartment complex. Paper flyers and advertisements can reach a large number of people very cost effectively.

Digital marketing (see below for more details) can also be effective, but you will need to be targeted about it. It’s easy to spend a lot for very little return with digital marketing.

How Effective Will Digital Marketing Be?

With digital marketing for a local laundromat, efforts should be limited in scope so as to minimize wasted spend.

Conventional tactics like PPC and social media marketing, as well as SEO (with the exception of local SEO) probably will not be effective.

Instead, what you should do is limit your efforts to a small scope that should reach (and only reach) the users in your area.

So, for instance, create a Facebook page for your business and promote it to members of an existing community Facebook page, and optimize your business listing for Google’s sake.

Beyond that, conventional tactics are probably better.

What Sorts of Incentives Will You Offer New Customers?

Customer retention is important, but if you’re opening a laundromat, so is the process of encouraging new patronage, which can be much easier said than done.

Consider a promotion for new users, or some sort of discount for first time customers. These things can pay off; anyone who has a need for a laundromat once will likely need it in the future.

Who Will I Use for Commercial Laundry Supplies?

Even if you outfit your laundromat with the highest quality commercial washers and dryers in the industry, you will still need detergent, bleach, fabric softener, and other commercial laundry essentials to keep things running.

Make sure you have a commercial laundromat supplier handy (preferably more than one) so that you have a partner ready that can restock you quickly.

Who Will I Call for Commercial Laundry Equipment Services?

Lastly, regular inspection and maintenance can help prevent more costly repairs down the road. Either way, a professional provider of commercial laundry equipment services will help give you peace of mind that when you do need repairs, you know who to call for help. Don’t open a laundromat without having an experienced professional (in your area!) ready.

Keep Garment Machinery Company On-Call!

For more than 75 years, we have dutifully served laundromats all over New England, and are prepared to support you with expertise, supplies, and commercial laundry equipment services, including maintenance and repair services.

Make sure you bookmark our page and save our number if you’re in our market. Give us a call 781-559-4077 when you need help and we’ll be ready.