Most unusal ideas or ways of marketing that youhave done.

[occupant]

Daily Deal websites?

Groupon.com
LivingSocial.com
DailyDealster.com

there`s a million of `em. Ask me how I know. I see auto detailing deals on them all the time.

Think about it. You offer a full detail you normally charge $160 for, for like $65. The deal company (groupon, livingsocial, etc) takes a cut of that, like $15 or 20% or whatever. You get paid as soon as the deal is over. Then the customers have a few months to a year to redeem them, and you can upsell them on other stuff while they`re there (headlight polishing, paint correction, dent repair, ozone treatments, etc). And there`s always the chance they forget to redeem the things. I have a bunch sitting in my desk. Of the twelve groupons I`ve bought in the last year, 3 have expired, 3 are about to expire, 3 have a few months left, and only 3 have been redeemed thus far.

One deal in the Phoenix area for some random guy with a Game-Boy level website with stock photos of a red Corvette has sold 78 deals on LivingSocial today and the deal is only 14 hours in. I`ll check on it in the morning and let you know the total when I update it.

[Concours.John]

Our local spray and wash rents 10ft x 3ft banner space above each bay.

If all the slots weren`t rented I`d be all over it. On the waiting list. We are in a nice area with nice cars. The place is always busy.

Not one detailer above ours.

Something worth asking if yours aren`t doing it. Could get a break for pointing out missed revenue for them.

[C. Charles Hahn]

John, do you have any pictures of what that looks like? Sounds like an interesting idea, for sure!

[Concours.John]

John, do you have any pictures of what that looks like? Sounds like an interesting idea, for sure!

I`ll swing by in the daylight and post tomorrow here. Another thing I`m working on is there are independent shops that cater to older German and foreign cars.

Many of these people keep their cars long time. They do most of the washing and waxing. I have gotten corrections from just business cards.

Offered the owner a discount and he won`t let anyone place but me. Working on renting one of his windows.

[Concours.John]

John, do you have any pictures of what that looks like? Sounds like an interesting idea, for sure!

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Here are some pictures of the Spray and wash banners. Some people pay for half banner aome whole.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Thanks for the pics! That does look like a very doable idea to present to a DIY car wash. The only potential issue would be loss of clearance to get tall trucks or trailers in and out of the bays.

[Concours.John]

Thanks for the pics! That does look like a very doable idea to present to a DIY car wash. The only potential issue would be loss of clearance to get tall trucks or trailers in and out of the bays.

It`s funny I thought the same thing when I first saw them hanging them.
Went by later and the bottom is at about 12ft.

[DJsDetails]

I`m running a Groupon add here on the 19th to fill my typically slow first quarter. I`ve seen pretty good success with this with two detailers using this method; one of which is a member: Miranda Detailing. He might chime in. Hopefully this method, for one I hope does not overwork me, but two, create some return clients.

[occupant]

I learned a little more about the process. By the way, that Phoenix detailing one sold 121 units. So let`s break that down.

Regular Price $160
Groupon Price $65
Number Sold 121
Gross Margin $7865

But Groupon keeps half of that.

Net Margin $3932.50

So you`ve got 121 full details coming SOMETIME over the next year, and you won`t get paid for any of them at those times. Groupon pays you in three installments. You get a third immediately. A third in 30 days. Another third in 60 days. So in 3 months you get the $3932. The higher the cost of your deal, the higher a percentage will get redeemed. A $65 deal will see a good rate, say, 90%. So if your overhead runs about $35 per detail, you break even, and the heart of the Groupon is generating repeat business and add-ons.

If your overhead is lower than that, you make money. If your overhead is too much more, you lost your tailfeathers on it. So advance planning helps. Watch other daily deals in your area in your industry. See how many sell and at what prices. Only take you about 30 days watching all the major sites to find all the car detailing deals and then crunch some numbers.

By the way, you can always sign up at Yipit.com and choose your city or cities and then get them all in your email box so you don`t have to search for them.

[occupant]

Another good example...Starter Package for $70 and Complete Detail for $170 (with $20 charge for large vehicles). Still looks like a good deal with the 66% off showing, yet you get paid more. Think about the net margin on this one...you sell 50 of each and you get $6000, 2 grand a month for 3 months.

Mr. Detail Auto Salon Deal of the Day | Groupon Seattle

[Lyfer]

Donate a couple jobs to charity auctions. Also, since I worked in the legal profession for 20 years, I target attorneys through their legal assistants/secretaries. I have a nice little letter drafted extolling the virtues of attorneys having clean cars, i.e., attention to details, and how I can save them valuable time by coming to their office.

[Nth Degree]

Stumbled upon a Christmas card on Vista Prints with a Lambo on the front. Since I was ordering other things the shipping wound up free so the cost was just $1.99 for each 20. Was able to have my logo and contact info printed on the back too. Sending them out to customers who have spent a lot or have been regular customers throughout the year. A small touch that reminds them their car might need something or perhaps they simply mention it to a friend.