Reflecting on the years I’ve been with the International Carwash Association (I won’t date myself by telling you exactly how many years that’s actually been …) one thing always amazes me — the people.
This industry is full of intelligent, collaborative, amazing people who work hard every day to make their businesses better, their communities better and the industry better as a whole. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with the individuals and companies that make up the membership for the ICA, and together we continue to do great things.
The 2013 calendar year marked the fourth consecutive year of membership growth for the ICA. That’s really impressive when you consider how our industry has evolved since then.
With the recession, increased consolidation over the last several years and the challenges to market entry that rose out of the recession, the industry continues to evolve. I used the word evolve — as opposed to change — intentionally. Evolve indicates growth, advancement and adaptability. We are becoming more sophisticated in our operations, more advanced in our strategy and more complex in our acquisition of new customers.
But at our core, we remain focused on the same thing we always have been: delivering a great product with great service.
I’m proud of the work that the ICA has done to help our industry evolve. We are constantly looking at industry trends and needs, working to bring new product offerings to market where it makes sense, and finding ways to continue to work with our members to support the growth and betterment of their businesses.
One of those products is the magazine you’re reading today. Inside this edition of CAR WASH Magazine, you’ll find several articles that should inform and provoke thinking. One of my favorites in the issue is “The Art of Enchantment” where we look at how to transform customers into repeat customers for life. We also have great photos from a beautiful car wash site in Germany, an in-depth look at the Affordable Care Act, and we provide food for thought when it comes to selling (or not selling) your business. In this issue, we also cover the transition for two long-time industry stalwarts, take a look at how one WaterSavers member is taking advantage of his membership, and more. You’ll find our usual array of industry information, professional profiles and another attempt at marketing insight from our friend Champ Savage.
As always, if there is something you’d like to see covered that we haven’t already or if you have a suggestion for how we can make this publication more valuable, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
