Industry Views: Washing Cars the Trump Way

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Imagine if you had Donald Trump as your direct competitor.

I am slightly amused but also quite impressed by the stunning rise and sustained momentum of The Donald as I write this column on the eve of Labor Day weekend. Trump has already endured a bruising GOP debate hosted by Fox and has been challenged repeatedly for his controversial statements.

Yet despite gaffes that might have doomed a lesser candidate, he still leads the GOP pack. What’s the attraction? His simple and unabashed bumper-sticker slogan, “Make America Great Again,” caught my attention. Trump’s take-charge attitude was fresh and encouraging.

Do we really believe, because Donald says it could be so, that he and Vladimir Putin could be best buddies? Also, do we think any foreign government could be persuaded to pay for a border wall to protect our country?

His grand ideas seem incomprehensible to most of us. But, unexpectedly, Trump’s concise, bold and audacious message of brighter days ahead captured and thrilled me. So I wondered: What would happen in the car-wash industry if we had a “big idea” thinker and leader such as Trump?

Perhaps it might not seem so unreasonable, then, to believe that such an audacious, if not pugnacious, trumpeter (pun intended) could help buoy industry revenues by 40% in the next six months.

Too far a reach, you say? “As long as you are going to be thinking anyway,” Trump says, “think big.”

Make Car Wash Great Again

Imagine if Trump were competing directly against you. He has enjoyed extraordinary success in very fluid markets; as an operator, he would be an intense, formidable competitor. Trump would certainly leave nothing to chance, and he would have a definite, detailed plan for building his wash revenues.

Expect Trump to attack your business in its most vulnerable spot in a concerted effort to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. He might call you some unflattering names to draw more attention to himself.

Trump is known as a savvy self-promoter and marketer, and as a car-wash operator, his goal would be predictable: He would seek to establish and maintain a dominant position in your market. Initially, he would uncover holes in your marketing and try to exploit them. Also, not a month would go by without Trump or one of his managing partners running an attention-grabbing promotion.

In short, he would force you to compete for every customer. How would you fight back? Here’s what I would do if I were competing against The Donald. (I have not included a toupée to match his thicket of hair.)

Promotions: Create and implement a comprehensive, results-based monthly marketing plan. Go through the calendar and identify key times of the year for driving wash counts and calling attention to yourself. Have some fun: Run a Halloween promotion that gives a discount or freebie to motorists dressed in costume, or give out chocolates to customers during the Easter season.

Talent: While trying to steal your customers, Trump would also recruit, hire and train a high-performance team. He is a renowned builder, not only of breathtaking buildings but also of people and organizations, and they would serve him loyally. His people would be extremely well trained to capture and captivate not only his customers, but yours too. Do you foster a culture that breeds loyalty?

Marketing ownership: Even experienced operators often overlook this critical question: Who takes ownership of marketing your car wash? Designate one person or a team and hold them accountable for increasing wash counts and revenues.

The Next Big Idea

Trump is a skilled negotiator who believes himself a “deal maker” who can benefit interrelated parties and solidify stronger business relationships. Here he would break new ground. An innovative thinker, Trump would breach the divide separating operators and suppliers. He would discover and develop new opportunities to convert and upgrade suppliers to his washes into genuine, value-added partners. His goal would be to increase revenues, market share and profits for his washes and his selected suppliers.

That leads to my next strategy:

Partnerships: The best suppliers already assist operators with technical services and by supplying safe, cost-effective chemicals. Let’s go further: Establish alliances that let these same suppliers take an interest in your objectives and learn the nuances of your marketplace. This means sharing data such as customer counts to your supplier rep with the expectation that he or she will use that data to think up some fresh ideas.

You don’t have to support Trump to think the way he does. Though many may be indifferent or opposed to his political fortunes, successful operators who follow the recommended “Trump agenda” above will be richly rewarded with greater financial success.

It may seem counterintuitive, but operators who compete with Trump would surely push the industry forward.

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