American Drycleaner - Nov/Dec 2023

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® NOV/DEC 2023

Reviewing Your

Business Model

■ UNFORGETTABLE CUSTOMERS ■ TAKING AIM AT TRIGGERBASED MARKETING

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drycleaner drycleaner A M E R I C A N

Nov./Dec. 2023

®

Vol. 90, No. 8

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

(Photo: © Syda_Productions/Depositphotos)

Pre-Inspection Remembering and Forgetting

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NOV/DEC 2023 Around the Industry

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Reviewing Your Business Model

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Unforgettable Customers

As times change and customer behavior evolves, a dry cleaner’s business plan might need to be adjusted to take advantage of new opportunities — and avoid money-wasting mistakes.

We’ve asked dry cleaners to tell us about those customers who have left an impression on them (however you’d like to define that word) during their time behind the counter. It takes all kinds — right?

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Taking Aim at Trigger-Based Marketing

© Copyright 2

When you can combine marketing that treats current and potential customers as individuals while making it automatic at the same time, that’s a powerful tool in a small-business owner’s hands. We explore how dry cleaners can take advantage of this marketing technology.

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Classified Ads / Ad Index

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Review

Wrinkle in Time 32 Quality, Small Business and Dressing for the Times

Busin Mode

HUNG UP ON THE HIDDEN HANGER? If you need a little help finding this month’s hanger hidden on our cover, here’s a clue.

Good luck!

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Help Clean up Your Operations Your All-in-One Solution for Dry-Cleaning Management More than Just Point of Sale Local Customer Service Customizable Reports Routes Racking Anti-Theft Employee Management

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PRE-INSPECTION

Remembering and Forgetting While gaining experience is generally a good thing, there are times when it can get in the way being exposed to new ideas or becoming aware of unanticipated curves in the road ahead. While we should always remember the lessons of the past, relying on a “that’s the way we’ve always done it” mentality can lead to issues when we should really be doing it differently.

In this issue of American Drycleaner, we’ll be looking at the role of memory and experience and their impact —both positively and sometimes negatively — in a drycleaning operation.

Our first feature this month, “Reviewing Your Business Model,” examines how shifts in consumer behavior, clothing trends Dave Davis and the evolution of society at large can affect a dry cleaner’s company. Business plans that are set in stone can’t allow owners to adjust when necessary to keep up with changing conditions. Knowing when to stand firm and when to be flexible is important in keeping your business relevant to your customers.

For our next feature, “Unforgettable Customers,” we’ve asked several drycleaners to share some of their tales about clients they will never forget, or in some cases would pay money to never think about again. The drycleaning industry exists, above all, to serve people — and dry cleaners will deal with all kinds over the course of their career. Here are some of the tales from the front counter.

Our final feature, “Taking Aim at Trigger-Based Marketing,” dives into a topic that more and more dry cleaners are facing — the role of evolving technology to aid them in connecting with current and future customers. One of the biggest advantages of trigger-based marketing is having the ability to send messages based on events or circumstances and having those messages sent automatically. By removing some of the day-to-day work necessary in marketing, cleaners don’t have so much to remember, and important tasks are less likely to be forgotten.

There’s a lot to keep in mind running a drycleaning company — and knowing what to hang on to and what to let go of can make all the difference.

American Drycleaner (ISSN 0002-8258) is published monthly except Nov/Dec combined. Subscription prices, payment in advance: U.S., 1 year $50.00; 2 years $100.00. Single copies $10.00 for U.S. Published by American Trade Magazines LLC, 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60661.

Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER, Send changes of address and form 3579 to American Drycleaner, Subscription Dept., 125 Schelter Rd., #350, Lincolnshire, IL 60069-3666. Volume 90, number 8. Editorial, executive and advertising offices are at 650 West Lake Street, Suite 320, Chicago, IL 60661. Charles Thompson, President and Publisher. American Drycleaner is distributed selectively to: qualified dry cleaning plants and distributors in the United States. The publisher reserves the right to reject any advertising for any reason. © Copyright AMERICAN TRADE MAGAZINES LLC, 2023. Printed in U.S.A. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher or his representative. American Drycleaner does not endorse, recommend or guarantee any article, product, service or information found within. Opinions expressed are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of American Drycleaner or its staff.

While precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the magazine’s contents at time of publication, neither the editors, publishers nor its agents can accept responsibility for damages or injury which may arise therefrom.

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President Charles Thompson Publisher Donald Feinstein 312-361-1682 dfeinstein@ATMags.com

Editorial Director Bruce Beggs 312-361-1683 bbeggs@ATMags.com

Editor Dave Davis 312-361-1685 ddavis@ATMags.com

Digital Media Director Nathan Frerichs 312-361-1681 nfrerichs@ATMags.com

Production Manager Mathew Pawlak Advisory Board Jan Barlow Mike Bleier John-Claude Hallak Monika Manter Wesley Nelson Kyle Nesbit Fred Schwarzmann Vic Williams Wayne Wudyka Office Information Main: 312-361-1700

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Reviewing Your

Business Model O An evolving industry requires a flexible mindset

By Dave Davis, Editor

ver the past few years, the drycleaning industry has seen its fair share of changes. From new technology to workplace transformation to evolving customer behaviors and demands, cleaners have been forced to navigate into new, sometimes uncharted waters to find success.

For many, this has meant changing the very model of their business, setting aside what worked in the past to adopt new strategies to serve their customers’ current needs and keep them loyal.

THE CHANGING SHAPE OF DRY CLEANING

“We’ve been seeing a lot of changes — in the industry, in consumer behavior, in the manufacturing materials, and so on,” says Bob Barry, president and CEO of the ZIPS Cleaners network of drycleaning stores. “Consumer behavior, spe6

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cifically working from home, certainly changed. When no one was leaving the house, everybody got much more comfortable using the delivery model.”

Barry also notes a changing garment and fashion industry, which has increased its focus on wash-and-wear and wrinkle-free garments.

“Because of the garments people were actually wearing, working from home and shifting to more casual attire,” he says, “the home washer and dryer became much more competitor than it has ever been serving the garment care industry.”

Today’s consumers don’t behave in the same way as they did just a few years ago, says Christopher White, executive director of the consulting firm America’s Best Cleaners (ABC). Cleaners need to understand this truth and incorporate it into their business model. www.americandrycleaner.com

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“The drycleaning industry has seen a shift toward more responsive and personalized services that meet the customer where they are physically and available in their schedule,” he says. “Successful cleaners are those who have remained nimble, continuously adapting their strategies to embrace technologies like 24/7 kiosks and ondemand routing for pickup and delivery services while also investing heavily in updated process technologies to maintain labor costs and productivity.”

This evolving behavior has also forced many dry cleaners to reexamine one of the most basic elements of operating a business.

“Location is still relatively important,” he says, “but it doesn’t carry the weight that it did pre-COVID, or even 10 years ago.”

While the last few years have been challenging for individual cleaners, the industry as a whole is healthier than it has been for decades, says Kermit Engh, owner of Fashion Cleaners in Omaha, Nebraska, and the managing partner of Methods for Management (MfM), a consulting firm for the drycleaning industry.

“I say that because COVID removed poor operators from the industry, and, as a result, only the healthy ones remained — and I actually don’t think we’re done,” he says. “I think we’ll see the contraction of the number of operators continue for another year and a half.”

Outstanding obligations is the reason Engh gives for his prediction: “Virtually everybody is required to personally guarantee the leases that they have on what they rent, and even a poor operator can’t get out of that. So, they’ve continued to remain open just to be able to pay their rent. But when that next renewal comes up, they’ll be done. As a whole, though, the people I come in contact with are in very good shape right now.”

Barry agrees with Engh’s assertion that strong businesses have emerged stronger from the challenges of the past few years.

“We had to raise prices because of labor factors and material costs,” he says, “but from a sales standpoint, we’re back to where we were in 2019. It’s actually even slightly above that. We’re definitely seeing things bounce back.

We’re up about 7% from last year’s numbers. We’re also seeing the trend of people going back into the office, and I think that’s only going to improve in 2024.”

WHAT’S WORKING FOR SUCCESSFUL CLEANERS TODAY?

Successful cleaners going into 2024 have had to keep an eye on what services their customers are using — and are prepared to adjust their offerings if they see that picture change.

“Besides wash and fold, household comforters, throw American Drycleaner, November/December 2023

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blankets and related items have been a really solid, steady area in the industry,” Barry says. “During the pandemic, I think people were eager to get their bedding, blankets and other items clean more often in their household.”

“There has been a large upside to working with local Airbnb and Vrbo management companies in vacation destinations,” White says.

“We’ve got more operators who have begun marketing higher-end services,” Engh says, “including couture services, rug cleaning, home cleaning, patio cushion cleaning and shoe care.”

“Another area we saw a gain in is alterations,” Barry says. “I think that people are home more often, and many grew a bit larger, or went the other way and said, ‘I’m going to get in shape.’ Either way, we saw a nice spike in alterations. People also found older clothes while they were going through their closets that needed alterations or a bit of repair.”

WHAT’S NOT WORKING FOR SUCCESSFUL CLEANERS TODAY?

Engh believes some of the steadiest drycleaning business of the past will not be as we go forward.

“In the old days, the drycleaning pieces and shirt pieces for most operators were about even,” he says, “and on the drycleaning side, about 50% of your pieces were pants. I’m seeing that change. Pants are not 50% anymore — they’re lower than that — and I’m seeing that shirts no longer make up the same number of pieces as dry cleaning for many operators. So those have changed quite a bit.”

Barry has seen that same change in his stores: “The biggest change we’ve seen is in pressing shirts and blouses. We’ve seen a decline in the last couple of years in that category because people are wearing more casual attire. When you would see our racks in the past, they used to be full of button-down dress shirts and blouses. “

“The biggest change we’ve seen is in pressing shirts and blouses. We’ve seen a decline in the last couple of years in that category because people are wearing more casual attire. When you would see our racks in the past, they used to be full of button-down dress shirts and blouses. “ (Photo: iStock.com/JackF)

The very nature of customers coming to dry cleaners has also been in flux, says White: “Business-to-business contract work is growing as many of the large industrial laundry operations, with all the consolidation we’re seeing in that space, no longer see profits in boutique-level work for restaurants and hotels. We’ve seen some traction there.”

“We also saw a lot of interest in the commercial side that we weren’t really involved in before,” Barry says.

“Business-to-business has proven to be a good stream of incremental volume for us. Day spas, for instance, will reach out to our franchisees to clean towels for them.

They could do them themselves, but they feel we’re going to sanitize them better, so that’s another area where we’ve seen a spike.”

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“The traditional drycleaning and shirt laundry segments, I believe, are never going to come back to the levels that they were,” Engh says. “I think there are still some operators out there who believe that laundered shirts should be a loss leader. I’ve never accepted that, but shirts are not anywhere near the volumes that they used to be.”

Many dry cleaners have changed their business models to make more efficient use of their physical locations — or have changed that element in their playbook entirely.

“Purely brick-and-mortar models, without complementary home-pickup-and-delivery service offerings, have faced challenges,” White says, “especially with the growth of remote work and changing consumer behaviors. The clients with strong brick-and-mortar growth have been with those who have installed kiosk or www.americandrycleaner.com

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locker services. These technologies have also eased the staffing needs of these locations.”

Engh has witnessed this effect among MfM members, as well.

“From a business model standpoint, I’m not seeing as many new store openings,” he says. “In fact, many operators reduced their brick-and-mortar footprint during COVID and are not going back.”

Offering customers the convenience of accessing their services at any time is also proving to have dramatic results for some ABC members, White says.

“Our affiliates who have put kiosks in are seeing new customer growth at ridiculous rates I’ve never ever seen before,” he explains. “I have one who’s seen 40% growth month-over-month, and all they did was put in a kiosk.

That’s addressing new customer growth.”

WHEN — AND HOW MUCH — TO PIVOT?

For dry cleaners who see that their business model needs to change, the next determination is what to change. Deciding which services are profitable and which aren’t is the first step toward making adjustments.

“One of the most common mistakes is most dry cleaners truly do not know what it costs to produce a garment,” Engh says. “They don’t know what their actual costs are, and their price tables have morphed over the years without analysis of what is profitable and what isn’t.”

Studying their existing business is necessary, Engh believes, before success can be found in new offerings.

“The first thing an operator needs to do is to actually calculate what it costs to produce a single garment,” he says. “‘What is my break-even point of my business from a revenue-and-expense standpoint? What is the profit that I am targeting as my goal?’”

Once these questions are answered, the next step is to work backward.

“If I’m looking for a 15% profit margin, what do I need to charge my customers to be able to have that as my result?” Engh asks. “Too many people don’t budget.

They don’t know their costs. They just say, ‘Well, this is what’s left over. This is what I’ve got.’ That’s about all the planning that they do. Understanding what it costs to produce a garment is step No. 1.”

When considering profitability, however, White cautions cleaners to take a complete view of their company instead of separate elements.

“A profit center might not look that sexy to you if it’s just breaking even,” he says, “but maybe those dollars are supporting the profitability of some other services in your business. It may do this by keeping your staff employed and giving them enough hours so your skilled labor 10

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doesn’t find another job or have to work a second job.

“Also, if you keep employees from these break-even services, you might not have to pay overtime as much, and you have an additional employee if someone calls in sick. You need to look at it holistically.”

When this analysis is done, Barry says to look to add things in demand by your customer base.

“Up until six or seven months ago, we didn’t have a delivery component because of our low price point,” he says.

“I think you’re seeing the high-end becoming successful because most high-ends include pickup and delivery in their pricing. They are offering that service for ‘no cost,’ and they’re seeing an increase in sales and revenue.”

When looking at services such as delivery, Barry urges cleaners to ask, “How could I do that?”

“If you can’t do it yourself, there are some third-party delivery services that are reliable,” he says. “The question then becomes, can you integrate your processes and your software system? Or, can you get to a point where your store is 24/7, meaning customers can drop off their garments anytime, and maybe even pick them up so they are not stuck between the hours of your operations?

Those are the things I would look at.”

“Just be thoughtful about it,” White says. “Do some thinking, and do some testing. We’re such a humanbased business — it’s critical that you engage your team members and listen to them honestly. Give them the time to speak and be involved in the process. If you do, I think you’d be surprised how easy it’s going to be to roll it out and how easy it will be to make some minor changes and shifts moving forward, whatever it is.”

THE MINDSET FOR SUCCESS

So, what’s the attitude of the dry cleaner who will not only survive but thrive in a changing industry?

“I can boil that down to one word: optimism,” Engh says. “They are still optimistic. They are open to new ideas and new technology. They’re willing to take the step out of what has always been. And they are open to changes and advancements in technology. If you’ve got somebody who is pessimistic, they’re already defeated.”

“It’s our job as leaders in the organization to predict the market, educate our team on the reasons why we’re trying new things, clearly communicate to our customers, and make sure that we’re measuring the results of the decisions we made,” Barry says.

“We have traditionally been a reactive business,” White says. “You’ve got to be forward-thinking and proactive. You’ve got to be creating your future — not reacting to it. You need to be available and realize that you have to be open to adaptation.” www.americandrycleaner.com

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Unforgettable Customers The ones you’ll always remember, for better or worse

By Dave Davis, Editor

(Photo: © ljsphotography/Depositphotos)

W

hen it comes down to it, the drycleaning industry is a people-based business. Customers trust their cleaners with everything from their daily wear to priceless heirlooms. And, while cleaners always try to make a good impression on their customers, there are customers who also leave an indelible mark on their cleaner.

Here are some tales from the front counter of customers that these dry cleaners never forget, and some they would pay to never think of again.

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A BRUSH WITH FAME

John-Claude Hallak, president of New York Citybased Hallak Cleaners, will never forget when one of his jazz idols came into his store in the early 1990s.

“Percy Heath, all 6-foot-6 of him, walked in,” Hallak says. “He was born in 1923 and had played with almost every jazz great through the years. Cannonball Adderley, Clifford Brown, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Bill Evans and countless others. I had the privilege and pleasure of seeing him perform many times over the years. Of www.americandrycleaner.com

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course, I let him know what a big fan I was — it was probably embarrassingly similar to a teenage girl meeting Taylor Swift.”

Heath, who played bass, needed his snow-white lined linen jacket, worn the night before during a performance at the Lincoln Center, cleaned.

“Due to the hot lights, and the incredible energy he would expend during his performances, the jacket had underarm perspiration stains the likes of which I had never seen,” Hallak says. “He proceeded to inform me that he needed the jacket back the next afternoon for another concert. I explained the difficulty of the job and the time normally required to have even a chance of restoration. He smiled and said, ‘Just do the best you can, man.

I’m sure it will be OK.’” To his team’s credit, Hallak says, they got the job done —“Not perfect, but darn near perfect,” Hallak says — and Heath expressed his gratitude for the rush job by handing Hallak an autographed LP. About a decade later, Hallak and a friend visited a jazz club and watched Heath perform at the legend’s 80th birthday party. During the break, Hallak couldn’t resist wishing him a happy birthday.

He started to remind him about the white linen jacket 10 years earlier. “Before I could finish my thought,” he says, “he hugged me and lifted me about 6 inches off the ground and exclaimed, ‘Hallak!’ I remember it like it was yesterday.”

UNEXPECTED ANSWERS

For Jan Barlow, owner of Jan’s Professional Dry Cleaners in Clio, Michigan, one memorable client has made an impact on her at various times in her life.

“I met Eugene Williams when I was a 19-year-old college student in the 1970s,” she says. “He was a sales representative at the finest men’s store in my hometown.

I purchased the coolest shirt and tie for my dad for his 14

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birthday from him. He continued to be a salesman all his life, and I bought some incredible garments from him.”

Williams became one of Barlow’s best customers when she opened her cleaners, and stuck with her over the years.

“Fast-forward 35 years and I was really struggling with hiring — and this was before the pandemic. I was working all sorts of hours and days of week to cover all the cost centers of my business. Eugene called me one day out of the blue. I hadn’t seen him for a while, and we decided to go to lunch to catch up.”

During lunch, the two discussed the economy and workforce, and he said he had a present for her.

“He gave me the book, ‘Sticking Points,’ by Haydn Shaw,” she says. “I have never had a client give me a book — and this book was so impactful! It helped me beyond words to comprehend and understand what was happening in the world. It explores five generations working together and how each of them thinks.”

It’s now required reading for Barlow’s team, and she shares it with colleagues.

“Thank you, Eugene Williams!” she exclaims. “This was one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life.”

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?

Of course, not every customer interaction makes for fond memories.

Monika Manter, owner of Balfurd Dry Cleaner in State College, Pennsylvania, recalls a time when a customer claimed the business performed a miracle — and not in a good way.

“There was a woman who accused us of changing the color of her blazer during dry cleaning,” Manter says.

“She claimed that we turned her navy blazer to black.

When I showed her that the invoice also stated that it was navy, she said that she was 100% sure of the color (Continued on page 19)

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of her blazer and that we must have edited the color on the ticket after we dyed it.”

Manter tried to make sense out of the situation, but that turned out to be an impossible mission.

“She was 100% sure that it was her blazer, just that it was a new color,” she says. “I explained to her that we don’t use dyes and it’s not possible to make a blazer darker during dry cleaning, but she still wanted a reimbursement.”

Manter reports that no reimbursement was issued as a result of the “miracle.”

“It was the first time she used us and she never came back — as far as I know!”

THE CASE OF THE MISSING KHAKIS

On the whole, Sasha Ablitt, who owns Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners in Santa Barbara, California, has had good fortune with her clients. “I have only ‘banned’ three customers in 20 years,” she says. “They all came back anyway — using different names, as though we wouldn’t recognize them.”

But there was one client who struck fear in Ablitt’s heart.

“I was new to the cleaners and this male customer was coming in two or three times a day demanding a pair of khaki pants,” she says. “We had given him all his clothes, but he insisted he was missing another pair of pants.”

This went on for a few days, and the customer was growing increasingly agitated.

“The following day, I was out doing a route in a gated golf-course community in an affluent area,” she says. “He spotted the company logo on our van and started aggressively following me. I was nervous because I was new to the business, I couldn’t see who was in the car following me, and I didn’t know the roads in the area very well.”

The man drove Ablitt off the road.

“I was so scared,” she says. “He hops out of the car and asks to see the inside of my van to check if his pants were there. I was little relieved to know who he was, but I was still apprehensive. I assured him they weren’t, and he took a look for himself. I was shaking, even though he was, at that moment, now acting reasonable.”

Ablitt believes the man must have recognized his behavior was out of line, because his demeanor quickly shifted.

“When he left,” she recalls, “he said, ‘Thank you for checking. I’m in the middle of a divorce and my wife must have them. I just wanted to be sure.’”

Ablitt and her team didn’t see the man for about six months but he eventually returned. Since then, he has been a pleasure to work with.

“He is still a good customer and even a friend now,” she says. www.americandrycleaner.com

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CALLING THE BLUFF

Many dry cleaners have a liberal policy when it comes to paying claims of damaged or lost garments. And almost inevitably, there will be customers who attempt to take advantage. Brian Butler, president of Dublin Cleaners in Columbus, Ohio, remembers a client who pulled that trigger once too often.

“My CSR comes to tell me that we have a two-year, good-volume customer who has been nickel-and-diming us for claims, and now he wants a big one,” Butler says, “and she’d like me to take it because it’s a higher dollar amount and the pattern of abuse isn’t going well.”

Butler quickly looked up the customer’s record and saw that he had put in five claims in two years.

“He wanted $750 for a Jos. A. Bank sports coat that was way over the hill,” he says. “The customer said we tore the lining. It was only frayed where it matched up to his right hip of his waistline and belt area, and other than appearing well-worn, it was otherwise OK.” Butler knew the coat was only worth about $250 new.

“I get him on the phone and let him deliver his speech,” Butler says, “you know the one they rehearse: ‘Favorite jacket, it’s in great shape, how could this have happened, blah, blah, blah.’ I then tell him this is his sixth claim in two years.”

The customer disputes that he had made that many claims, but Butler offers to let the man look at the records. Butler then issues his own terms.

“I said that if he truly believes we are causing this much damage, he should have fired us two or three claims ago,” Butler says. “I then said I would repair his lining, but I expect it to wear back out because he’s either carrying a phone or a pistol on his right hip. I was hoping for the phone because we were at the end of the line on claims.”

Butler told the customer that he would accept losing the man’s business because he would never pay another claim of his again. “I told him that we were now six deep in two years, and I don’t have a 25-year client with half that many.”

The bluff called, Butler said the man’s request changed to wanting a standing discount, which he promptly and (Continued on page 28)

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Taking Aim at Trigger-Based Marketing Using automation and personalization to connect with customers

By Dave Davis, Editor

T

oday’s customers don’t respond to mass marketing the same way as customers from just a few years ago. Rather, personalized marketing that pertains to their individual needs is one of the few ways to cut through the noise and get that customer motivated to give a company their business.

During her recent webinar, “Simplifying Trigger-Based Marketing,” Denise Goldstein, marketing manager at SMRT Systems, pointed out the ways dry cleaners can best connect with their customers. During the webinar, hosted by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI), she also discussed ways to set up systems to do so without having to keep track of every detail.

WHAT IS TRIGGER-BASED MARKETING?

Trigger-based marketing operates on an automated platform that offers specific messages to customers or prospective customers that the dry cleaner believes will resonate with them. It does this by using information the owner has gathered about that customer.

This type of marketing is made up of four components, Goldstein says: clear messaging (often with a promotion), some degree of personalization, proper timing and automation.

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“These messages are timed to go out based on the way that these campaigns are set up, the goal of the campaign, who your customer is, and when would be the best time to reach out to them,” she says.

The key to making this type of marketing work is the automated aspect, as creating personalized messages for each customer would take far too much time for the cleaner.

“This is automated marketing,” Goldstein says. “This is not you creating a message, one after another, one by one. These are automated campaigns that just run according to certain criteria that have been set up.”

WHY DOES TRIGGER-BASED MARKETING WORK?

Goldstein says this type of marketing is effective because, today, personalization wins over mass marketing.

“Consumers are exhausted by getting so many impersonal emails from everyone who they’ve ever put an email address into some website,” she says. “They’re getting heaps of messaging daily.”

One of the main strengths of trigger-based marketing, Goldstein points out, is that personalized messages capture attention better than a generic message. “Open rates for emails are 29% higher than mass messages, and click-through rates are 41% higher,” she says.

Since these messages better connect with customers, they are also more effective. “So, whatever you’re asking them to do in the email, they’re going to do it more often because you’re customizing that email for that customer,” she says.

The good news is that, with modern point of sale (POS) systems, the information necessary to launch personalized messages should already be available.

“Hopefully, you already have information about your customers and their spending habits,” Goldstein says.

“It’s time to use that data to your advantage.”

EXAMPLES FOR DRY CLEANERS

There are several use cases, Goldstein says, for dry cleaners who want to get involved with trigger-based marketing — the first of which is to welcome new customers.

“When you get a new customer, you want to make them feel welcome,” she says. “So, you can trigger an email as soon as they’ve signed up, and they would get a message from you.” This message, in addition to welcoming them and thanking them for their business, could also give them information about your store and the services you offer.

Once they’ve come in once, the next step is to keep them coming in.

“Once they’ve had an order with you,” Goldstein says, “you can send a message and say, ‘We’re so glad you had your first order with us. Here’s something to bring you back in again.’ Maybe it’s a discount or $5 off the next visit.

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Whatever it is, it’s you acknowledging that they’re new, and you really want to keep their business.”

If an individual customer hasn’t been coming in, a gentle prod can sometimes remind them to return.

“Your POS is going to have this data, and you’re going to be able to track how long it’s been since someone has been in,” she says. “So, you can set up a message to go out, saying that it’s been a while since they’ve visited your store. It’s a friendly way to just say, ‘Hey, we miss you — we want you to come back.’”

Thanking your best customers is also a way to nurture that valuable relationship.

“Some POS systems can track demographics and spending habits, and put people into spending categories,” Goldstein says. “But, if you don’t have that automatic sort of designation that someone’s a top customer, you can always just set a dollar amount — if someone’s spent a certain amount of money in a month, three months or a year. Then, you can use that data to send a thank you and say, ‘You’re one of our most loyal customers — we’re so appreciative.’ If we’re doing this the right way, this is an automated system. It’s checking that data and then automatically sending that thank you.”

Dry cleaners who can send out personalized messages on special days treat customers as individuals.

“These are the ‘Happy Anniversary’ or ‘Happy Birthday’ messages,” Goldstein says. “This is information that your POS should have. It’s the anniversary of their first order with you, or it’s their birthday. You can send the anniversary or birthday message with a coupon.”

Promotions can also be timed to be sent out to individuals at certain times to maximize marketing efforts without swamping the business with an influx of new work.

“One of the drycleaning industry’s latest darlings are tiered comforter promotions,” Goldstein says. “You select groups to get a comforter promotion on a tiered schedule so that you’re not overwhelming your business with hundreds of comforters. This is a promotion you can run all year long, and is very profitable for a lot of people.”

In order to keep trigger-based marketing efforts effective, it’s important to keep the data healthy.

“You can also run a campaign asking customers to update their information, which really does help you collect any data that you’re missing on your customers,” Goldstein says. “You can make sure that are keeping their mobile number and email up to date — even their credit card. This helps you run your business better.”

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birthday and anniversary messages are the backbone of trigger-based marketing, other prompts can be valuable for dry cleaners, as well.

“You can run loyalty programs, along with referral and reward programs,” Goldstein says. “Using an automated system, you can let people know when they have rewards to use, or invite them to join a reward program or let them know about your referral system.”

Customers who don’t pick up their orders can be a resource drain on dry cleaners, but with some gentle reminders, this can often be remedied, as well.

“You can use this type of system to check for orders and inventory,” Goldstein says. “This is extremely helpful for certain businesses where customers just aren’t picking up their clothes or orders quickly enough. It gets people to come in and bring that revenue into your business, because for anyone who has not prepaid, you’re not going to get that revenue until people pick up their order.”

Goldstein also believes that, if individual customers are only using certain services, triggers can also be set to remind them of other services that the dry cleaner offers.

“You can use trigger-based marketing to upsell different departments in your company,” she says, “but do ensure that you are not sending a message to a customer

where they don’t need it. Let’s say you’re trying to upsell your shirt service, and you already have customers who are using that service. If they get an email saying, ‘Try our shirt service,’ it’s not going to make sense, and it may even turn them off a bit. So, if you can set it up where the spending is tracked, and you see who’s not spending money in shirts, those are the people who get this message, and it really makes more of an impact.”

Knowing how your company performed can also be valuable information to have, Goldstein says, and this type of marketing can gather that information.

“You can get post-service feedback, which is generating an email after an order that just asked for their feedback through a Google forum or some sort of survey,” she says. “This is something you could set up and have happen automatically.”

GETTING STARTED WITH TRIGGER-BASED MARKETING

When a dry cleaner wants to get started with this type of marketing program, they can begin by asking themselves a few questions.

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keting agency or a program that already runs something like this for dry cleaners, or just select a local business and hire them to do it for you,” Goldstein says.

If the cleaner believes they can handle getting this type of program set up, she says, they should choose a reputable marketing platform that offers automated campaign building. She offers examples such as HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and MailChimp.

“I will say it’s going to take you a lot more time to do if you’re doing it yourself,” she says, “but it is totally doable.”

For cleaners starting their own trigger-based marketing efforts, Goldstein offers the following step-by-step planning guide: • Triggers — Decide on the actions/behaviors/events that will trigger your campaigns.

• Market segments — Determine who the target audience is for each campaign, as well as who would be excluded.

• Personalization — Decide where you want to include their name in the message and, if you have more than one brand, which business name you are going to use.

• Content — Choose what the email/text message will say.

• Timing — Establish when the message should go out and how often. Don’t forget to set up reminders if the campaign uses coupons or some other feature.

• Call to action — Decide what it is you want the customer to do as a result of reading the message.

• Test — Make sure the marketing is working, or if it needs to be adjusted.

Goldstein also says that results might not be immediate, but to stick with the program.

“It probably takes anywhere between one and three months to start seeing results,” she says. “If you’re not doing any marketing right now, your customers are suddenly getting your marketing, and they need to get used to the idea. And then, some of the messages, depending on the campaign, are not going to go out for a couple of weeks.”

While it might take some effort and expense in the short run, Goldstein says that cleaners embracing this type of marketing technology should see the benefits in the long run.

“It’s a competitive edge,” she says. “Not every dry cleaner is going to be using something like this. This will keep your customers from going to another dry cleaner, because by having a program like this, they are going to be loyal to you.”

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AROUND THE INDUSTRY

Construction Starts on Illinois Industrial Drycleaning Facility Improvements Warehouse will house facilities for North America’s largest formalwear rental company

R

OSEMONT, Ill. — Principle Construction Corp. recently started construction on the tenant improvements of a 282,588 square-foot building at 2000 Deerpath Road in Aurora, Illinois, for Tailored Brands.

The fashion retailer owns popular brands such as Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, and family retailer K&G Fashion Superstore.

“Following the pandemic, Tailored Brands has seen a rebound in the formalwear market as weddings, proms and other formal events are back in full force. The Aurora facility will add much needed capacity to support their formal clothing rental business, including infrastructure for dry cleaning, laundry, repair and storage of thousands of tuxedos and other formalwear,” says Principle President James A. Brucato, who is the principal on the project. “This is a rather complex build that requires a great deal more power, water, sewer and gas, not to mention literally thousands of feet of process piping.”

The Principle team will add a 13,491 SF boiler and dry-cleaning room with a dedicated structural pipe support mezzanine, as well as adding a new 4,000-amp electrical service. The Principle team is also installing 20 new 25-ton rooftop air conditioning units for the warehouse and dry-cleaning areas along with 14 interlocking exhaust fans. Two 20-ton RTUs will be installed for the office and breakroom. To accommodate Tailored Brands distribution needs, Principle is adding 29 docks to the building.

Tailored Brands Chief Supply Chain Officer Jamie Bragg stated, “Opening this distribution center enables us to service nearly 180 of our Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank stores directly from Aurora. In addition, this supports our overall network with more than 80% of our stores receiving one-day deliveries and 96% within two days — providing the best possible level of service for our customers. We are also looking forward to hiring a talented, high-performing team of more than 100 full-

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time team members in the coming months.”

Principle anticipates construction will be completed on the building in February 2024.

Dry Cleaner Lands on U.S. Chamber’s 2023 Top Small Business List

Oceanside Cleaners honored as business showing innovation, engagement

W

ASHINGTON — In a year that saw a recordbreaking 15,000+ applicants from all corners of the nation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently announced America’s 70 top small businesses. These 70 exceptional businesses have emerged as the vanguards of innovation and community engagement, setting the stage for the announcement of the Chamber’s annual “America’s Top Small Business Awards” winner on Oct. 19.

Oceanside Cleaners in Jacksonville, Florida, landed on the list this year. “A family-owned business with over 30 years of experience,” its entry reads, “Oceanside Cleaners is known in its community for its exceptional service and meticulous attention to detail. It specializes in dry cleaning, washing and folding, shirt laundry, and household items.”

“Small businesses embody the resilience and innovation that define America’s free enterprise system,” says U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark. “As a former small-business owner, I know firsthand there is no challenge greater and no reward sweeter than starting a business. Individually, each small business represents a familiar face, a trusted name, and a vital part of the fabric of their community. Collectively, they power our economic ecosystem and bring solutions to global problems, innovations that improve life and advance humankind, and a brighter collective future for all of us.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce selected America’s top 70 small businesses from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. They were evaluated on their business growth, ability to overcome challenges, innovative strategies for success, and community engagement.

They will compete for one of seven finalist spots.

The top 70 small businesses will receive a one-year paid membership to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. www.americandrycleaner.com

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The winner of the coveted title of “America’s Top Small Business” will receive a $25,000 cash prize.

On Oct. 19, the top 70 small businesses and seven finalists will be recognized and celebrated at the America’s Top Small Business Summit, “Ready, Set, Scale,” at the Chamber’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony following the summit.

Miura America Donates Advanced Boiler to Training Center New equipment provided to help train future boiler inspectors

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OCKMART, Ga. — Miura America Co. Ltd. Recently donated its once-through compact modular steam boiler to the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors Inspection Training Center in Columbus, Ohio.

This contribution, the company says, underscores its commitment to advancing boiler safety standards and supporting the education and training of boiler inspectors nationwide.

In its announcement, the company says its newly donated steam boiler represents the latest advancement in boiler technology, providing the National Board’s inspectors with a cutting-edge tool to enhance their knowledge and skills in boiler and pressure vessel inspection.

This advanced equipment, the company says, will not only facilitate hands-on training but also enable the National Board to stay at the forefront of industry best practices.

The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors Inspection Training Center, with its main campus located in Columbus, Ohio, provides comprehensive training programs and resources for boiler and pressure vessel inspectors, engineers, and professionals in the industry. The addition of Miura’s advanced once-through steam boiler, the company says, will undoubtedly enhance the quality of training offered at the center.

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(Continued from page 19)

firmly refused. Despite this outcome, Butler reports that the man has remained a route customer for the past 15 years and to this day sends good volume.

“He’s tried to sneak some claims by us,” Butler says.

“We just ignore him when he does.”

GOOD DOGS AND NEARLY NAKED MEN

A good drycleaning store makes visitors feel relaxed while there — which can have its ups and downs.

“We give out dog treats when a customer comes to our drive-thru or into the store,” says Tom Zengeler, president of Zengeler Cleaners, headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village. “At one of our stores, a customer came in on a Monday morning with her dog.

She explained to the manager that she had lost the dog over the weekend. They looked all over the neighborhood and just couldn’t find it. They finally came to our store — we’re closed on Sundays — and they found the dog, sitting at our drive-thru window, waiting for a treat, and nobody was there. That was a very smart dog.”

While that dog was pleasantly comfortable with Zengeler’s store, some human customers can feel a bit too comfortable when they visit.

“We had a customer who would put all of his dry cleaning in a hamper, and then bring in everything at one time,” Zengeler says. “He would come in just a couple of times a month. He was so particular about making sure that he gave us all of his dry cleaning during that visit. And then before he left the store, he left his pants and shirt that he was wearing and walked out of the store in his boxers and T-shirt.”

And believe it or not, this isn’t an isolated incident.

“A few years ago, we were having this special where if you brought in 10 shirts, you got them done for a particular price,” Zengeler says. “A guy brought in nine shirts, and he needed that 10th shirt for the special. So, he took off his shirt and walked out of the store with no shirt or undershirt on. We’ve had people change in their car or whatever after picking things up, but some people are a little more direct than others.”

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WRINKLE IN TIME

Quality, Small Business and Dressing for the Times 10 YEARS AGO. It’s All About Quality — Dry cleaners polled by American Drycleaner felt confident about the service they provided, with 62.7% saying their overall service quality was “much better” than that of their competitors, according to the “Your Views” survey. About 28% said their quality was “somewhat better,” 5.1% said it is “slightly better,” and 4.2% said their service quality was “about the same” as that of their competitors. No one who participated in the poll said their service quality was “slightly worse,” “somewhat worse” or “much worse.”

25 YEARS AGO. March for Barton Bill — The march on Capitol Hill in October 1998 in support of the Small Business Remediation Act — also known as the Barton Bill in honor of its author, Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) — involved 56 cleaners who made 120 congressional contacts.

Later in the month, the number of bill co-sponsors had risen to 93, including the majority whip and the ranking minority member on the House Commerce Committee’s oversight and investigations subcommittee, which was chaired by Barton. Barton signaled he would reintroduce the bill early in the next congress and hoped to keep most, if not all, the co-sponsors.

Street Journal, the college crowd was splurging in 1973, buying electric typewriters, $400 electronic calculators and portable TVs. They were also buying more-expensive clothing, moving away from lowpriced casual garments. “Women are getting out of the Levi section and back into women’s wear,” said an executive of a large West Coast retail chain. A spokesman for an East Coast men’s store reported that his company was doing “a brisk business in $65 sport jackets and also a brisk business in suits with vests.”

50 YEARS AGO. Dressing for the Times — According to The Wall

75 YEARS AGO. The Future of Small Business — In a report released by

32

American Drycleaner, November/December 2023

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A.D.H. Kaplan of the Committee for Economic Development, the number of small businesses in 1948 was as large as any time in U.S. history, but lost some ground in the proportion it did of the nation’s business. Also, there was the “probability that the next few years will see a weeding out among the small businesses that mushroomed in the wartime and postwar sellers’ market.” One of the recommendations Kaplan made was that “trade associations should place more emphasis on making their members alert of competitors, with less emphasis on protective legislation.”

— Compiled by Dave Davis, Editor

www.americandrycleaner.com

10/17/23 9:14 AM

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