Can car wash websites help with membership growth?

You have a solid team, great equipment, fair prices, and membership plans that are value for money.  

You think things are going well, yet when you look at the numbers at the end of the month, you have no new sign-ups.  

You start wondering what went wrong. 

You hear that a website is a good idea, but most of the “car wash website tips” articles have the same advice over and over again: make sure it’s mobile-friendly, add a contact form, list your services with their prices, and do some SEO to improve your visibility. But those aren’t the only things that matter. 

Here are six things to keep in mind if you’re thinking of building a website for your car wash. 

Signing up for a membership shouldn’t be frustrating 

Imagine someone goes through your website, sees your membership plans, thinks the prices make sense, and decides a particular plan is worth the money. 

They click “join,” but instead of being taken to a page where they can enter their details, they’re asked to call the shop or stop by in person to complete the sign-up.  

The complete sign-up process should take less than two minutes. Once they choose a membership, enter their phone number, license plate, and add their payment information, they should be done. Don’t make signing up feel like a chore; otherwise, they’ll lose patience and back out. 

Your cancellation policy should be transparent 

Your customers have probably dealt with gym memberships and streaming service subscriptions that were a nightmare to cancel. They never want to go through that again, especially for something as simple as a car wash. 

You need to make the cancellation process easy. Then explain the process in an FAQ section. All you need to write is “Click on your account, go to Settings, click on Cancel Membership, and you’re done!” As simple as that.  

Don’t keep them guessing about what they’re paying for 

These days, nobody is thinking about buying something online without seeing it first. A couch, a pair of shoes, a phone, even a potato masher require pictures and videos from every angle. Why should a car wash be different? 

The thing is, when someone visits your website for the first time, they probably come from an online search. So, they really don’t know how your wash works. 

Descriptions alone don’t work anymore; instead, capture your potential customers’ attention with a short video. If you make it too long, they’ll lose interest, so a 30 to 50-second video that shows a dirty vehicle entering the tunnel, the brushes, the pressure washers, the drying process, and the car coming out squeaky clean is a good starting point.  

Don’t forget to add reviews and testimonials 

Now they know what services to expect from your car wash. But the next question is: how good is your service? How does your car wash compare to your competitors?  

This is where reviews and testimonials can help. A lot of your customers won’t be ready to give out testimonials. But it doesn’t hurt to ask. Pick out a few regulars who’ve initiated conversation with your staff, and the next time they come in, tell your staff to request that they give a rating or a testimonial. Just make sure your employees don’t get aggressive.  

Make the value impossible to miss 

The people who visit your website are usually there to compare prices because they want to know if a membership will help them save money. Create a simple comparison table with the prices listed on it. If you have the prices available from your competitors, add those too.  

Having a savings calculator on your website is also a good idea. Customers can enter the number of times they’ll probably visit in a month and see how much money they can save with a membership: “Save $25 per month” beats “Unlimited plans at a reasonable price.” 

If you have multiple locations, don’t give them just a single page 

As your business grows, you’re likely to add another location or two. Once that’s up and running, you just update your website by creating a page called “Locations,” drop a map on it, list the addresses, and you think it’s done. 

Technically, that works. But you can use this opportunity to get discovered by more potential customers as well. So, give each location its own page, include the address, the opening hours, photos and videos of that specific location, and easy-to-follow directions. If membership plans or any amenities vary by location, tell them the reason why instead of leaving the customers to figure it out themselves. Now, the next time someone searches “car wash near Downtown Springfield,” your page has a higher chance of coming up. 

The bottom line 

With a website, a potential customer has already made the decision to visit your car wash and opt for a membership before they visit your shop in person. But be careful not to compromise on a great service, a spotless wash, or a fair price.  

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