Data-fueled Customizations Made Possible by AI Are Leading to Game-Changing New Strategies.

After years of hints at its wide-ranging potential, artificial intelligence has arrived in earnest, and it’s proving popular and far-reaching in its impact across a variety of fields and industries. The car wash industry, particularly in the marketing realm, is among those exploring AI’s possibilities.

“AI is revolutionizing the car wash industry,” said Rebecca Woolman, marketing manager for PDQ Car Wash in Green Bay, Wis. 

New AI technology is enabling car washes to take some of the guessing out of their marketing messages with the help of technology, data and the ingenious (human) minds behind AI programs. Andres Mateus, CEO and founder of Wash Brands, said AI has the potential to be “a total game-changer” for the car wash industry, and it already is transforming the industry and giving early adopters “a massive edge.” 

“Think about it – AI is doing everything from analyzing customer data to predicting when they’ll roll in, to crafting personalized offers that make customers feel like VIPs,” Mateus said. “Not to mention, creating customer engagement and helping build the new digital word of mouth for small businesses. It’s like having a full marketing team working round the clock. It’s going to level the playing field between small businesses and large chains.”

Powerful tools

Woolman said AI can help marketers identify trends, predict customer behavior and segment audiences based on various criteria. It can provide insights based on past purchase history, demographics and browsing behavior, and it can help marketers tailor messages to customers’ needs and preferences.

“Utilizing AI, especially from a marketing perspective in the car wash industry, you can get more effective and personalized campaigns, which lead to better engagement and increased conversion rates,” Woolman said. “Since there's such a vast amount of data that AI is actually going over for you, as long as you know how to fact check it and make sure that it's correct, it can help you improve.” 

For instance, Woolman said PDQ is using AI to strengthen its email marketing efforts.
“You can dig into a lot more details with AI, so you can use it to analyze a vast amount of data at once,” Woolman said. “With all the demographics analytics that are coming through those marketing initiatives, you can set up segments of dynamic content based on the recipient's behavior and create A and B testing with that which results in increased engagement metrics, like clickthrough rates and open rates, compared to just doing that on your own.”

Tara Baugher, co-founder of Marketing Toolkit, said AI also can save time and streamline processes “from searching damage claims to finding your percentage of conversion on a specific discount. AI can even help build presentations.”

Mateus believes AI can be incredibly valuable for car wash marketing and branding, particularly when it comes to automation and timesaving. 

“AI steps in and takes over those repetitive tasks that eat up your day,” Mateus said. “We’re talking automated social media posts, personalized email campaigns, and even content creation.”

That leads to major support for marketing staff. 

“It frees up your team to focus on strategic, creative work – the stuff that really moves the needle, like branding,” Mateus said. ‘It’s not just about working harder; it’s about working smarter. AI helps you do that by handling the grunt work and giving you the time to build a strong, cohesive brand that stands out in a crowded market.”

Woolman said AI tools are becoming increasingly user-friendly and intuitive. As users work with AI tools, they quickly learn how to maximize what they get out of them. For instance, Woolman said someone using ChatGPT might start by offering a simple writing prompt before realizing that the resulting product is poor. That leads them to provide more detailed information, which leads to a better, more useful output in return.

The learning curve can be initially steep, but that changes with time, Mateus said. 

“The great thing is, AI tools today are user-friendly, so start small and learn fast,” Mateus said. “Maybe use AI to optimize your email campaigns or social media ads. As you get more comfortable, you can scale up. Remember, it’s all about taking that first step and then building from there.”

The human element

Mateus said that it is a misconception that AI is here to replace humans. For now, in fact, AI needs human input and insight to work effectively.

“AI is here to augment what we do, not replace us,” Mateus said. “It’s a tool – a super powerful one – but it still needs human direction. A common mistake I see is people not investing in good organic data. AI can only be as good as the data you feed it. Clean, accurate data is non-negotiable. And don’t expect instant results. AI, like branding, is powerful, but it’s not magic. It takes time to see the impact and it’s always changing and evolving.”

Woolman said AI is not able to replace human creativity and intuition, and there are dangers to relying too much on AI. For example, AI-generated content for social media without revisions and refinements from humans will be recognized as being created by AI and will rank lower in search engine optimization because of it, she said.

And don’t expect AI to do all the work, Woolman said. AI-produced content tends to lack human authenticity, she said.

“I believe that you really do need that human touch, and that it's really important to use it as a tool to enhance your efforts,” Woolman said. “You still need to know what you're looking at. You still need to know what you're doing, who your targeted audiences are, what your goals are, and you need to really make sure that the tool is enhancing those efforts and you’re not relying on them to do the work.”

Still, AI can be a great place to start.

“In terms of idea generation, AI can be really helpful for car wash campaign ideas,” said Austin Esecson, CEO and co-founder of Rinsed. “It's not going to be fully fleshed out but prompts like, ‘Give me 10 ideas or a loyalty campaign around the local sports team’ will give car washes an opportunity to stand out from their competition with creativity.”

Approaching AI with a strategic mindset and an eye on a wide-open future

Baugher said wading into AI can seem overwhelming for many marketers and others.

“I recommend starting small and building. Start with using something simple like GPT or Canva's AI,” Baugher said. “Don't try to test multiple tools all at once – try one to two at a time and find out what works best for you. Tools like Motion, Fyxer.ai, and others can be hugely helpful to operators, vendors and marketers in the car wash space.” 

Woolman said understanding what you want AI to do for you is a helpful place to start. 

“There are so many different AI tools out there, so it really gets complicated figuring out which one to use if you don't know exactly what you're looking for,” Woolman said. “The most important thing is to have a strong strategy to understand your target audience and understand what you want the tool to do. And then once you understand what your goals are and what you have set in place, then you're able to figure out which tools are better to assist you.”

Baugher said car wash marketers can identify their current bottlenecks and investigate how AI might be able to help.

“Like with most things, you just have to try,” Baugher said. “Things like Canva's GPT integration can be a huge time saver on the content side for car washes. In the video space, tools like Minvo use AI to chop up videos for you. AI can even help you with coding and can help fix or add to websites.” 

For those looking to start or expand their AI efforts, Mateus advises them to “know your goals.” 

“What are you aiming for with AI – more customers, better engagement, higher sales?” Mateus said. “Get that crystal clear. Next, pick the right tools. There are tons of AI options out there, so choose the ones that fit your needs. And finally, invest in your team. Training is key. Make sure they know how to use these tools effectively. And don’t forget to keep tweaking and optimizing.”

In fact, Mateus said AI is about continuous improvement.

“This is where smaller operations can compete with larger chains,” Mateus said. “Create, test, tweak, re-test and implement. Getting to what works faster because you don’t have layers of approvals will keep you ahead of the trends and/or create the trends that can bring on that unicorn brand this industry needs.”

Woolman believes it is essential for those in the car wash industry to use AI. “If a car wash is not using AI tools in any way, shape or form, they're really missing out,” Woolman said. 

Recent years have witnessed rapid changes in AI technology, and Mateus said the future of AI in marketing is “going to be wild.”

“We’re talking hyper-personalized marketing at scale – every customer gets an experience tailored just for them,” Mateus said. “Real-time decision-making will be crazy. Imagine adjusting your marketing strategy on the fly based on live data at pennies on the dollar. AI is going to get more accessible and affordable, so even the smallest car washes can leverage it. It’s going to level the playing field in a big way.”