CAR WASH MEMBER FOCUS GROUP

Breeze Thru Car Wash, with its extensive network of 14 locations, is a household name in Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming. Recognizing the importance of customer feedback for continuous improvement, Breeze Thru came to OTM to engage Unlimited Wash Pass members in focused discussions to understand more deeply the experiences of long-standing members, uncovering their needs, questions, and areas for enhancement, and to leverage these insights to shape new business objectives.

Project Goals:

To gather direct feedback from Unlimited Wash Pass members.
To unearth critical insights regarding:
- Customer needs and desires
- Positive and constructive feedback
- Areas within the customer experience that present challenges
- Opportunities to improve the customer experience

A series of aerial photographs showcasing various commercial properties including shopping centers, standalone shops, and complexes with parking lots, capturing the architecture and layout from different angles.

Our Approach

We began our work with detailed planning and intentional design which led to the organization of five in-person focus groups with 21 customers across Breeze Thru’s key markets—Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Longmont, and Cheyenne.

OTM’s strategic planning for the focus groups included several key steps:

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STEP 1

Developing a targeted approach for recruiting current wash pass holders

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STEP 2

Crafting and sending out invitation emails to potential participants, followed by reminder communications to maximize engagement.

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STEP 3

Selecting neutral venues for the focus groups to encourage uninhibited discussion.

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STEP 4

Formulating an agenda with strategic questions designed to uncover deep insights into customer loyalty, acquisition strategies, pricing perceptions, and the overall service experience.

A group of six women sitting and laughing together in a cozy room with modern decor, focused on a discussion or presentation.

We knew we wanted to have the focus groups in person to facilitate more human interaction and engagement. Additionally, we made a conscious decision to exclude Breeze Thru team members from these sessions to ensure participants felt completely at ease to share all aspects of their experience freely.

Each session was designed to foster open dialogue in a neutral setting, with a cap per group to ensure meaningful feedback. Discussions were structured around pre-defined key questions, touching on themes such as membership value, location preferences, and suggestions for service enhancement. We ensured a thorough capture of the conversations by employing both manual note-taking and audio recordings.

A group of employees in red and black uniforms standing in front of a car wash facility with signs reading "breeze thru car wash" and "express detail.

Results

The focus groups conducted for Breeze Thru Car Wash revealed several key themes and observations across various aspects of the customer experience, from loyalty and acquisition to pricing, value, and the overall wash experience.

Based on the feedback gathered, OTM provided several strategic recommendations to improve the customer experience including:

Pinpointing new customer segments to target, along with value propositions tailored to their specific needs.
Enhancing clarity and transparency in all communications, particularly around pricing and available services.
Identifying and leveraging key factors that drive customer loyalty, ensuring these are prominently featured in brand communications.
Addressing concerns related to the wash process to promote consistency and ensure vehicle safety.
Exploring avenues for service enhancement and the introduction of new offerings.
Refining communication channels and strategies.
Evaluating the effectiveness of current promotional tactics and identifying new opportunities for engaging promotions.

Impact

Aerial view of Breeze Thru Car Wash facility with an animated smiling character wearing a cowboy hat. Text overlay highlights three locations in Wyoming, mentioning Cheyenne East on Pershing Blvd.

Refined Communication Strategies

Breeze Thru Car Wash has revamped its communication approach across multiple channels to better highlight the benefits of its Unlimited Wash Pass membership. The updates include:

Social Media Enhancements:Through “Did You Know?” posts, the benefits of membership are shared in bite-sized, informative snippets that engage both current and potential customers.
Email Campaigns: The frequency of touchpoints with current customers has increased, emphasizing the value of their membership. This is complemented by a revised email nurture strategy that extends the communication with new members from the initial 30 days to the first 90 days, providing ongoing insights into membership perks.
Website Updates: FAQs have been updated and promotions for the Founders Club are highlighted more prominently to inform visitors about the unique benefits of the membership.

Additionally, signage and communications at the pay stations have been updated to clearly delineate each wash package and its benefits, ensuring customers understand their options and the advantages of each choice.

Promotional graphic for Bubzy's Text Club, featuring a smartphone displaying a text message about a free car wash, with a cartoon character of Bubzy on the right, set against a red and yellow background.

Targeted Marketing Efforts

Breeze Thru Car Wash has initiated targeted marketing campaigns aimed at converting non-members into members. These efforts include:

Retail-Focused Text Campaigns: A new strategy involving text messaging to target retail customers, offering promotions and enticing them to join as members.
Extended Email Nurture Campaigns: The introduction of longer, more detailed email campaigns that engage new members by clearly explaining the benefits and perks over the first 90 days of their membership.

Future Plans

Looking ahead, Breeze Thru Car Wash aims to expand its offerings and engagement strategies:

New Perks and Promotions: Introducing additional perks for members and running frequent promotions to enhance the customer journey and member experience.
New Location Launches: Exciting promotions are in the works for the introduction of new car wash locations, with special events and offers planned to celebrate each grand opening.

Brittany Mathisen

2023-09-27

OTM has been a wonderful marketing partner for the last four years. We have shifted marketing plans over time and they are very open and explained all the details as we moved forward with new plans. They have done everything from help design and update offices, managed social media, planning marketing events, and many more things. The Hear for Holidays Event that we do each year is one of my favorite events that we work on together. Rachel and the whole OTM team have brought my marketing vision to life and I love everything they have done for my business. I look forward to what the future holds as we continue to work together.

Yvonne Myers

2023-07-30

I worked with Old Town Media (OTM) on a quick grant project that had a 6-week timeline. They were very thoughtful about whether they could meet the grant expectations and needs before accepting the work. The team at OTM then completed extensive research and facilitated focus groups to ensure the product they created met the needs of the end-users. They met all of the grant deadlines and far exceeded our expectations of the portal they created for us! I would not hesitate to use their services again and highly recommend them to others looking for a professional, high quality, and FUN team to work with.

Julie Dokoupil

2023-07-18

OTM is a locally owned firm that I have worked with for over 13 years. They are an amazing team of people who know and understand current marketing technology and strategies. My husband and I are starting a new business and they have helped us out even with small details to get our business going.

TunDesign

2023-06-20

I have seen a significant increase in community engagement which has helped bolster our brand presence, exceeding the expectations of the entire team. Carrie and her team provides consistent communication through slack and emails which has led to an effective and trusted partnership. Truly appreciate how hard-working, agile, and driven everyone on the team is. Thanks again for eveything your team has done for our company.

David Haase

2023-06-07

OTM has done a fantastic job bringing the Fort Collins Peach Festival back to the public! OTM is dealing with several volunteers on a committee and keeping everyone informed, best in business advice and a platform that will serve us for years. We didn't know what we needed and were presented with choices and educated about each before implementation. Kerrie and Brianna have done great work for us! Dave Haase Committee Chair Fort Collins Peach Festival

Dana Sednek

2023-03-15

Using their Path to Growth Model, OTM not only gave me a path forward, but they helped me clarify my strategy, direction, and actions for how to set and launch my business. I was able to launch quickly and I see the flywheel ahead that is necessary to accelerate customer intake and revenue building. Thrilled with the outcome!!!

Liza Adams

2023-01-13

As the Head of Marketing at Encompass Technologies, I considered Old Town Media an extension of our marketing team. OTM worked closely with us on rebranding and repositioning, multiple industry-first product launches, key industry events, and integrated demand generation campaigns while we grew our marketing team and acquired new companies. With the help of OTM, we grew our pipeline and bested industry benchmarks for Software as a Service (SaaS) sales and marketing efficiency metrics. We came to rely on OTM for tactical execution to augment our team but where they added the most value was in our rebranding strategy and market positioning efforts. OTM played an integral role in conducting research and deeply understanding our market dynamics, ideal customer profile, customer challenges, competitive landscape, products and innovation, key differentiators, vision, and mission. This was no easy feat with a highly complex ecosystem, multiple segments, wide variety of audiences, and a broad array of products. Armed with market insights, OTM helped us develop a compelling brand, an inspirational story reflecting our vision and strategy, a unique and defensible market position, and messaging that was relevant to our target audiences. I appreciated that the team was respectful and empathetic, intently curious, insightful with their observations and recommendations, and candid with their feedback. OTM set realistic expectations about deliverables/scope, level of effort, roles, timeline, and cost. The team was responsive, highly collaborative, and open to suggestions. OTM plugged our expertise and resource gaps which allowed us to break the compromise between doing good work and doing it quickly. On top of that, they were fun to work with. OTM was truly a partner of the business.

Eric Dengler

2023-01-11

Great team! Small company service. Big firm power and expertise.

zach fulton

2023-01-06

Simply put, OTM is a well oiled machine! Thanks for all you do