An Effective Marketing Strategy Consists Of More Than Just One Platform
A successful marketing plan for any business often requires the use of many platforms, tools, and services in order to build an effective and predictable revenue-generating machine. Using the Customer Value Journey and the latest digital marketing tools and techniques we were able to exceed this client’s goals and increase his year over year revenue by 63%.
The Client
Soapbox Car Wash is a single location express car wash in Round Rock, Texas in business since 2016.
Soapbox offers several services including monthly memberships, single car washes, and free cleaning stations. This location is positioned for ample view from daily traffic and is down the street from a large, local hospital and several medical centers. In addition, the daily traffic by the location is upwards of 40,000 cars.
The Problem
Due to the location, Soapbox is not a “destination” car wash – meaning the parking lot does not adjoin that of a strip mall, shopping center, or fast food restaurant. Customers that choose to visit Soapbox are specifically going to get their car washed – not because it’s convenient. In addition, two other commercial car wash options are available to people traveling along the same road – one less than two miles away.
From year one to year two of opening, Soapbox used a variety of marketing tools and several marketing agencies. Strategies included pay-per-click advertising, flyers, coupons, networking, on-lot promotions, referral campaigns, as well as social media (paid and organic). Tracking meaningful metrics of all activities was a challenge for the Soapbox team and the marketing agencies provided little in terms of an ROI.
In addition, monthly membership plans had an average churn rate of 15% from 2016 to mid-2018. During most months, new plans were not being sold at a fast enough rate to offset this churn and grow the customer base.
Increase in monthly memberships from 2016-2020 by year
| Year | % Increase |
| 2016-2017 | 0% |
| 2017-2018 | 6% |
| 2018-2019 | 2.29% |
| 2019-2020 | 17.63% |
Our Solution
Soapbox Car Wash came to NTFS seeking help with the following:
- Tracking marketing metrics and showing ROI
- Growing the monthly pass membership base
- Reducing customer churn
- Growing customer lists and marketing channels – email, text and social
- Planning specific marketing promos to drive sales and increase revenue
After completing an analysis of their website and other marketing assets, we found that they had a powerful opportunity to drive sales and increase revenue, but deficiencies in their systems prevented this from happening at a predictable rate. They had done a good job of building foundations and collecting data, but they weren’t using that data to generate new business or to cultivate their previous customers into repeat ones.
As Digital Marketing Certified Partners, we are expertly trained in creating a meaningful Customer Value Journey – a step-by-step approach to marketing that converts prospects into customers and keeps them coming back.
Completing the Customer Value Journey for Soapbox highlighted several digital marketing elements that could be changed and improved upon.
Results
- Highest rated car wash in their area, according to Google.
- Increase in average monthly sales of 32% over the previous year
- 70% increase in upsell products sold.
- Increased monthly pass membership sales by 17.63% over the previous year
- Reduced monthly customer churn by 5% on average each month
Year over Year revenue growth doubled to 63% compared to 31% for the years before Soapbox started working with NTFS.
Key Takeaways
Utilizing the Customer Value Journey allowed us to pinpoint Soapbox’s ideal target customer, which platforms to communicate with them on, and how to turn them into raving, loyal customers. Not only were we able to steadily increase revenue, but by combining several digital marketing tools and platforms, we were able to automate additional processes for the Soapbox team – saving them time and money.
