Car Wash Marketing Plan

Car Wash Marketing Plan

The idea of this business report is to explore and analyze the elements of a Marketing Plan.

To demonstrate and explain the elements presented in the marketing plan and detailing the areas of strength and weaknesses in the marketing plan. And to also suggest ways of improving the marketing plan.

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.

* Analyzing the marketing plan elements of the marketing process

In the "Soapy Rides Car Wash" marketing plan, there are many elements that Mark has included. Elements such as the Market Summary which involves Market Demographics, Market Needs, Market Trends and Market Growth. SWOT Analysis which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. An example of the strengths that Mark has mention is having good relationships with many perspective customers in the target market. An example of a weakness that Mark has mentioned is the need of reliance on outside investors. And Competition, Service Offering, Keys to Success and Critical Issues are elements which all comes down under the Situational Analysis.

What Soapy Rides Car Wash doesn't include and is missing is the product of cycle. Having to include the product of lifecycle is important because there is always a need to ensure that new products in the introductory stage or growth stage are ready to take place of products in the decline stage. The only part that Mark mentions from the Product life cycle is the Marketing growth. The car washing market has seen steady, 4% growth for the last six years. 4% growth is forecasted for the next four years.

In this business plan, Mark has also mentioned the Market research that he has conducted. Businesses are going to be more successful if they understand the needs and deciding on the product that best meets the needs. This is why market research is crucial to effective marketing. 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 valuable insight 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.

Marketing objectives set out what the business wants to achieve with its marketing effort. In this case, Soapy Rides Car Wash has set out a number of marketing objectives. 1. Increase repeat customers by 4% a quarter. 2. Steadily increase market share every quarter. 3. Develop brand awareness and acceptance, quantified by a decrease in customer acquisition costs. It is important to ensure that the market objectives are consistent with the business objectives relating to such things as profit, quality and staffing.

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. It is the group at which the marketing effort is directed. Soapy Rides has included many target markets such as:

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. 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.

3. 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.

When a business really understands its target market, it can often develop new products to meet their needs. In this business plan, Mark has clearly demonstrated his target markets which will help meet the needs of his customers in the market.

Market strategies are ways a business achieves its objectives. The strategy will use several different methods to achieve these goals. Soapy Rides marketing mix is comprised of the following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. Pricing: