I keep hearing people say it’s a great time to be in the car wash industry.
They’re not wrong.
Growth and innovation are at historic highs and the ingredients for success are abundant in the industry right now.
With more vehicles on the road than any other time in history, more disposable income in the pockets of consumers, and more consumer interest in utilizing professional car washes to keep those vehicles clean, the recipe for success is pretty tasty.
But, let’s deconstruct the dish for a moment.
Economic health in the United States has contributed to more vehicle purchases from 2014-2016 than since the onset of the Great Recession. The U.S. economy is doing well, consumers are spending money, and they’re wanting to feel proud of the vehicles they’re spending money on.
Interestingly enough, however, the number of people choosing to wash their cars at home is rising. Fear not … that doesn’t mean people aren’t using professional car washes. What that means, according to International Carwash Association’s latest Consumer Study, is that consumers are choosing to use both washing at home and professional car washes as part of their vehicle wash plan.
That means there’s a tremendous opportunity for car wash owners to capitalize. To that end, in this issue of CAR WASH Magazine, we’ve focused on the consumer, and what you need to know to help your business create experiences and relationships with your customers that will keep them coming back more often.
We’re providing you with ways you can leverage social media and online outreach to drive business growth, along with the ins and outs of Facebook advertising. Plus, you’ll see insightful articles from several speakers at this year’s The Car Wash Show in Las Vegas.
No issue of the Magazine is complete without profiles of the people that make our industry great. In this issue, we profile new WCA President Marla Mayer as well as Vintage Car Wash Employee Ben Melendez. And, we tell Jimmy Starnes and Jim Dudley’s story about how they’re making a difference with their Wash Away Thirst program.
In this issue, we also publish the Association’s Annual Report to highlight the progress we’ve made with our strategic plan. We’re proud of our work, and hope you’re excited about the direction.As always, if there are areas of interest that you’d like to see covered in the Magazine, don’t hesitate to let us know by shooting me an email at mdewolf@carwash.org.
Likewise, if you haven’t had your wash featured in an issue of CAR WASH Magazine, we want to hear your stories, so we can share them with the entire car wash community. We’re saving pages in future issues just for you.