Service stations are gradually changing the focus of their services from fuel to customers. More than ever, drivers’ expectations of adjacent offers surpass the simple need to refuel their vehicles.
Car wash options have always been a significant additional offer to service stations, but their importance is growing as forecourts shift to mobility hubs. Now that the energy to refill cars is not centralised in stations, with electric vehicles (EV) rising and the possibility of recharging at home or the workplace, drivers may need new reasons to stop at a forecourt.
Station owners can take advantage of extra services to attract more clients and increment revenues. They can also rely on car wash equipment to support them in increasing their customers’ loyalty. If the wash has a good performance, it can further encourage customers to return to the station and get other services, boosting their average spend.
The importance of loyalty for the car wash business
Car wash demand can be affected by many factors, such as close competitors or bad weather conditions. In such an unpredictable business, loyalty programmes can support car wash owners and operators with more recurring visits.
Loyalty schemes have been present at car washes for decades. In the past, managers used stamped cards to encourage customers to come back, rewarding them after a certain frequency. Nowadays, the same logic works – but integrated systems automate and ease the task of keeping track of the number of car wash sessions that a customer has paid, making it easier to control sales and recognise drivers with more incentives.
Attracting and retaining customers with car wash loyalty
Station owners and managers have a range of possibilities when it comes to offering discounts and incentives to their clients. One popular way to encourage customers to return to your station is to provide them with a bonus car wash if a certain number of washes are bought. It’s possible to offer one free car wash session every 10 paying wash sessions. This option is especially relevant for car washes that are part of a network, which allows customers to benefit from the reward at multiple sites.
Another possibility is to provide a discount on the car wash sessions if drivers refuel their cars with a minimum of 25L, for instance. The same logic can be applied to a certain amount of electricity for EV cars. Customers may also get a vacuum cleaning voucher, or even discounts on shop items such as coffee or snacks. In larger mobility hubs, the wash rewards can also be linked to other types of services that drivers might be looking for.
It is important to find a way of providing additional value to customers who are stopping by at your car wash. Extra features available in the system itself are a relevant way of getting the attention of potential customers. Items such as foam curtains, illuminations and different colours help the car wash stand out from the crowd. However, further actions are needed to encourage customers to always choose that particular car wash.
Enabling loyalty solutions with payment systems
To better understand customer behaviour, automation is an important ally. The more systems are available and interconnected at the station, the more information car wash owners get from their customers. Car wash payment solutions provide not only several payment options to customers, but also a large array of information to car wash managers. All this data is relevant in the creation of personalised car wash incentives that can boost demand. It also improves general offers, such as the pricing for certain programs or features, and special offers in case of low occupancy.
Automation is a key element in implementing a loyalty system that will run smoothly at the service station, and car washes can provide separate payment terminals for drivers. This ensures that drivers will have a fast and safe experience when paying for their car wash, and will guarantee that the service is operating for as many hours as desired.
While loyalty tactics are possible in a manual setup, with stamps on cards, technology can better support this task with process automation and increase efficiency. TSG has decades of experience in implementing and maintaining systems that make forecourt control easier. We provide solutions that manage the sales information and connect different aspects of the forecourt, as well as multiple payment solutions that improve customer experience at the forecourt.
Discover our solutions
Connected, integrated payment and management systems for forecourts
