Car Wash Marketing Plan

Soapy Rides Car Wash

Executive Summary

1.0 Executive Summary

Soapy Rides Car Wash will be the prominent car wash for luxury vehicles in East
Meadow, Long Island. It is owned by Mark Deshpande, a young entrepreneur
who has worked in the family car repair business for over 10 years. Having
owned a car repair shop in East Meadow for over 30 years, the Deshpande
family is well known and respected in the neighborhood.

The differentiator for Soapy Rides (SR) will be Mark and the Deshpande name. It
is believed that people will come to the car wash not only to have their cars
cleaned and detailed, but also as a social outing to meet up with and chat with
Mark and his father Barry. Additionally, the car wash will provide excellent
service, efficiently and expertly cleaning customer's cars so that they will be
repeat users of the service.

The car wash will be based in East Meadow, New York. This area has a number
of benefits in terms of the market that it will provide for the business. Over 40% of
households in the immediate neighborhood earn over $70,000 annually. Many
pvision for the company. John is a family friend and has worked with the
Deshpande family for 23 years. He has worked with hundreds of small- and
medium-sized businesses during his career.

Soapy Rides will have 20% market share of the hand car wash business in the
East Meadow neighborhood by the end of year three, and it aims to convert a
larger percentage of people away from machine car washes, which damage a
car's finish. Soapy Rides will maintain a 95% gross profit margin and make 11%
net profit margin after 12 months of operation.

Sales Forecast
Sales Forecast
2003 2004 2005
Sales
Individuals $76,086 $123,033 $165,662
Businesses $6,431 $8,776 $9,988
Total Sales $82,517 $131,809 $175,650

Direct Cost of Sales 2003 2004 2005

Individuals $3,804 $6,152 $8,283
Businesses $322 $439 $499
Subtotal Direct Cost of
$4,126 $6,590 $8,783
Sales
Situation Analysis

2.0 Situation Analysis

Soapy Rides is entering their first year of operation. Mark believes that a
comprehensive marketing strategy will be key to the success of the business.
Soapy Rides offers a premium hand car washing service provided by a well-
known local family. The basic market need is a premium car washing service that
is far less abrasive than the traditional automatic car washes.

2.1 Market Summary

Soapy Rides possess good information about the market and knows a great deal
about the target customers. This information will be leveraged to better
understand who is served, their specific needs, and how Soapy Rides can better
communicate with them.
Target Markets
Market Analysis
Market Analysis
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Potential Customers Growth CAGR
12.00
Individuals 12% 43,000 48,160 53,939 60,412 67,661
%
Businesses 1% 9 9 9 9 9 0.00%
Other 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0.00%
12.00 12.00
Total 43,009 48,169 53,948 60,421 67,670
% %

2.1.1 Market Demographics

The profile for Soapy Rides' target customer consists of the following geographic,
demographic, and behavior factors:

Geographics

• The immediate geographic target is the city of East Meadow, NY.

• A 25 mile radius is in need of the services, however, 87% of the business
will be from a seven mile radius.
• The total targeted population is just over 43,000.

Demographics
 • Male: female- 63%: 37%. The reason for this discrepancy in the male to
female ratio is generally explained by the fact that men typically care more
about their automobiles. Men are more likely to spend money on their cars
with accessories and are more likely to buy a car as a reward for some
accomplishment as a treat for themselves. Women tend to view cars more
so as an object of utility. Using this line of reasoning, women are more
likely to use the automatic car wash as they are less concerned about
preserving their "precious" car.
• 40% of the households have an income exceeding $70,000.
• 73% of the target population have an undergraduate degree, 39% have a
graduate degree.

Behavior Factors

• 43% of the target customers lease their cars.

• Individual and family image is personified by the type and condition of the
automobile that they have.

2.1.2 Market Needs

Soapy Rides is providing the market with a premium hand car wash service for
the East Meadow community. SR seeks to fulfill the following benefits that are
important to the customers:

• Exemplary customer service- The target customers have money and are
used to having excellent customer service. They will not regularly use SR
unless they receive excellent service.
• High quality washes- The target market value a higher quality wash for
their upper-end cars.
• Convenience- The hours of operation as well as the time needed to
provide the service must be convenient and fast respectively, to gain
market share.

2.1.3 Market Trends

The market trends for the car washing industry has been a gravitation from hand
washing to automatic washing machine facilities. This trend has been fueled by
the progression of technology. The automatic washing machines have become
less expensive and more efficient over the last few years to the point that it is
typically cost effective to invest in these machines.

While one might presume that this would lead to the demise hand washing, the
abrasiveness of the machines will never be appropriate for expensive
automobiles. This trend will luckily not have a significant impact on hand washing
facilities that have a sufficiently large customer base that posess expensive cars.
Luckily for Soapy Rides which does have an upper end clientele, market supply
will decrease and demand will increase.

Market Forecast

2.1.4 Market Growth

The car washing market has seen steady, 4% growth for the last six years. 4%
growth is forecasted for the next four years.

Target Market Growth

2.2 SWOT Analysis

The following SWOT analysis captures the key strength and weaknesses within
the company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing Soapy Rides.

2.2.1 Strengths

• Good relationships with many perspective customers in the target market.

• Strong family name recognition and equity in the community.
• Well trained employees.

2.2.2 Weaknesses

• The need for reliance on outside investors.

• The learning curve associated with entering an industry without direct prior
experience.
• The need to have a fairly constant volume of business to support the
necessary service staff.

2.2.3 Opportunities

• Participation within a steadily growing industry.

• A high likelihood of repeat business.
 • The ability to decrease the fixed costs as a percentage of an individual
sale as volume increases.

2.2.4 Threats

• Future/ potential competition from a franchised firm.

• A slump in the economy, reducing discretionary spending.
• The perception that there is not a difference in quality between a hand and
machine wash.

2.3 Competition

There is one other hand car wash shop in East Meadow. It is quite new and is
trying to compete with automatic car washes by offering low prices. However, it is
not
targeting the customers who seek quality cleaning.

The customers who Soapy Rides is targeting have their cars washed based on
the quality of the job. They do not mind spending a little more each week to have
their car washed and waxed in order to keep the paint work in excellent shape.
The businesses that Soapy Rides targets will be more cost conscious, so prices
will be approximately 30% less for these customers to promote volume usage.

2.4 Service Offering

Soapy Rides will provide the following services:

• Car washing (exterior).

• Car cleaning (interior).
• Car detailing.

2.5 Keys to Success

Soapy Rides keys to success are:

• High quality services.

 • Benchmarked customer service.
• Convenience.

2.6 Critical Issues

Soapy Rides is still in the speculative stages as a start-up organization. Its critical
issues are:

• Continue to take a modest fiscal approach, expand at a reasonable rate,

not for the sake of expansion in itself, but because it is economically wise
to.
• Build brand awareness, increasing the customer base and developing
brand equity.
• Establish Soapy Rides as the premier hand car wash service provider in
the East Meadow area.

Marketing Strategy

3.0 Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy will be to develop brand equity, increase customer

awareness of Soapy Rides, and build the customer base. The strategy will use
several different methods to achieve these goals.

3.1 Mission

The mission of Soapy Rides is to provide top-quality washing and detail service
for luxury car owners in East Meadow, NY. Soapy Rides will work to keep
employees satisfied in order to maintain impeccable customer service.

3.2 Marketing Objectives

• Increase repeat customers by 4% a quarter.

• Steadily increase market share every quarter.
• Develop brand awareness and acceptance, quantified by a decrease in
customer acquisition costs.
3.3 Financial Objectives

• Increase the profit margin by .5% a quarter.

• Achieve a double digit growth rate each year for at least the first three
years.
• Develop efficiencies in the delivery of the service through advanced
training and work-flow analysis.

3.4 Target Marketing

Soapy Rides segments its customers by type of car ownership. SR believes that
the type of car that a person owns says volumes about their driving, and,
therefore their car washing and detailing requirements.

1. New car owners: Owners of newer cars are most likely to use a hand car
washing service. These owners take great pride in their cars and will bring
them often to the wash and detail service. The goal with these customers
is to promote regular use of the wash and detail service. The aim is to
inform these customers that Soapy Rides will keep their car looking as
good as it did the day they drove it off the lot.
2. Older luxury car owners: These people have either owned their high-end
luxury cars for several years or are unable to afford the expense of a new
luxury car but want the feel of relaxed driving. Both of these groups want
to keep their cars in the best shape possible. Those who have bought
second-hand cars will often spend many hours in their cars and will place
high importance on keeping their cars looking good. These owners will
bring their cars in for regular washes and occasional details.
3. Sports car owners: These people are often younger or middle-aged men
and will regard the look of their car as important. They will also pride
themselves on the look of their car and will have their car hand washed (at
least) weekly. These drivers will have an occasional detail, but will keep
their cars so clean the detail will not be necessary very often.
4. Lifetime owners: Many of these people have owned their cars for more
than five or six years, and are more likely to be women. They are attached
to their cars as friends and though it may be more sensible for them to
purchase a new car, they will bring their car in for a wash occasionally, just
 when the car is dirty. They like their cars to look presentable, and want to
keep it in good shape but are not tied up in the look of their car. For this
reason, they will not have a detail carried out on their car unless they are
selling it.
5. Dealerships: There are five new and used car dealerships within three
miles of the proposed location of Soapy Rides. These dealerships often
use outside car wash services to detail their vehicles before they are put
up for sale. In addition, there are fifteen other car dealerships within a
seven-mile radius of Soapy Rides.
6. Local businesses: Some local businesses have fleets of cars and small
vans that must be kept clean to maintain their company image. These
businesses will be looking for a cost effective, efficient car washing service
to perform this service, and will prefer to use a car wash service during the
week rather than during weekends, like the general public.

Please note for analysis purposes in regards to the charts and graphs, the
different segments will be grouped into individuals and businesses. This will be
done to allow the charts and graphs to have a clean look that will aid in the ability
to quickly discern information from them.

3.5 Positioning

Soapy Rides seeks to position themselves as the premier hand auto washing
service provider in the East Meadow area. This positioning will be achieved by
leveraging their competitive edge:

Soapy Rides' competitive edge will be Mark Deshpande and the quality of the
family name in the East Meadow area. As mentioned, the family has been in the
car
business for over 30 years, and has an excellent reputation and a myriad of both
business and personal contacts. In addition, Mark has put a great deal of
emphasis on creating a system that is both fast and efficient, which will keep
costs, in terms of time spent per car, to a minimum.

3.6 Strategy Pyramids

The single objective is to position Soapy Rides as the premier automobile hand
washing company in the area, steady increasing market share. The marketing
strategy
will seek to first create customer awareness, develop a customer base, and work
toward building customer loyalty.

The message that SR will seek to communicate is that their hand washes are
superior to the machine washed alternatives that can actually cause harm to
cars. This message will be communicated through several different methods. The
first method is the placement of advertisements in the local newspaper. The local
paper, The
Islander, is well read and will reach a high portion of the target market segment.

The second method will be networking. Mark will leverage the equity already
earned by his family from years of local business dealings. The networking will
be a good source of customers as Mark's family has developed significant trust
relationships with many within their community.

The last method of communication for SR's marketing pyramid is the use of
coupons within The Islander. The use of coupons will likely introduce people who
are not yet familiar with Mark's family to SR and the services that they offer.

3.7 Marketing Mix

Soapy Rides marketing mix is comprised of the following approaches to pricing,

distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service.

• Pricing- The pricing scheme is based on a per service price. A "Soapy

Card" can be purchased which provides a volume discount to the user.
• Distribution- The offered services will be distributed from SR's facilities.
• Advertising and Promotion- SR will use several different methods for
advertising and promotion.
• Customer service- Exemplary customer service will be provided.

3.8 Marketing Research

During the initial stages of the marketing plan development Mark performed
primary market research in the form of a questionnaire/ survey. Mark outsourced
the development of the survey to a local Professor of Statistics. While Mark could
have developed the survey in-house, the end result was a far more valid and
statistically significant product .

The survey was handed out to a total of 150 people within the target market. 54
surveys were returned completed. The results of the survey provided
valuableinsight into the customer preferences as well as the decision making
process of the target market. While some of the already held assumptions were
confirmed, the survey provided Soapy Rides with new information that would
have been otherwise unavailable.

Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts

4.0 Financials, Budgets, and Forecasts

This section will offer a financial overview of Soapy Rides as it relates to the
marketing activities. SR will address Break-even Analysis, sales forecasts,
expense forecasts, and how they relate to the marketing effort.

4.1 Break-even Analysis

The break-even analysis indicates that $9,122 is needed in monthly revenue to

break-even.

Break-even Analysis
Break-even Analysis
Break-even Analysis

Monthly Revenue Break-even $7,508

Assumptions:
Average Percent Variable Cost 5%
Estimated Monthly Fixed Cost $7,500

4.2 Sales Forecast

The following chart forecasts sales based upon the Market Segmentation
Strategy. Sales are seasonal in this industry, tending to be higher in the warmer
summer months, and to drop off in the winter. However, SR will aim to flatten
sales across the sales cycle by targeting segments that will want to keep their
cars clean and looking good year round.

Sales Monthly
4.3 Expense Forecast

The expense forecast will be used as a tool to keep the department on target and
provide indicators if corrections need to be made. Additionally, it will require the
department to undertake long-term analysis.

Monthly Expense Budget

Marketing Expense Budget

Marketing Expense Budget
2003 2004 2005
Advertisements $14,100 $19,000 $24,000
Networking $1,600 $2,000 $2,500
Other $1,575 $1,500 $1,500
------------ ------------ ------------
Total Sales and Marketing
$17,275 $22,500 $28,000
Expenses
Percent of Sales 20.94% 17.07% 15.94%
Controls

5.0 Controls

The purpose of SR's marketing plan is to serve as a guide for the organization.
The following areas will be monitored to gauge performance:

• Revenue- monthly and annual.

• Sales- monthly and annual.
• Repeat business.
• Customer satisfaction.

5.1 Implementation Milestones

The following milestones identify the key marketing programs. It is important to

accomplish each one on time and on budget.

Milestones
Milestones

Start Departmen
Advertising End Date Budget Manager
Date t
Advertisement
1/1/2003 6/30/2003 $6,550 Mark Marketing
campaign #1
Advertisement
3/1/1999 12/30/2003 $7,550 Mark Marketing
campaign #2
Other
Total Advertising
$14,100
Budget
Start Departmen
PR End Date Budget Manager
Date t
Profitability for the
1/1/2003 7/15/2003 $1,005 Mark Marketing
coupon program
Other
Total PR Budget $1,005
Start Departmen
Direct Marketing End Date Budget Manager
Date t
Marketing plan
1/1/2003 2/1/2003 $0 Mark Marketing
completion
Other
Total Direct Marketing
$0
Budget
Start Departmen
Web Development End Date Budget Manager
Date t

Other
Total Web Development
$0
Budget
Start Departmen
Other End Date Budget Manager
Date t

Other
Total Other Budget $0
Totals $15,105

5.2 Marketing Organization

Mark Deshpande will be responsible for the marketing activities.

5.3 Contingency Planning

Difficulties and Risks

• Problems generating visibility.

• Overly aggressive and debilitating actions by competitors.

Worst Case Risks May Include

• Determining that the business cannot support itself on an ongoing basis.
• Having to liquidate equipment to cover liabilities.