When he first entered the drycleaning industry in 1996, Jason Loeb didn’t have any cleaning experience. That was just fine with him, though.
“I didn’t want to be a drycleaner. I wanted to create a brand,” he explained. “I saw a market niche. I thought that everyone was so concerned about just doing
a good job in drycleaning, nobody ever gave them a customer experience. I
thought that was something that I could do differently back then. That
’s really my business model even to this day.”
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“My first idea was the hub-and-spoke business, opening up plants,” he recalled. “It seemed that all the articles I read, this guy had 16 drop stores. This guy
had 12 drop stores. This guy had five. So, I tried that model.
”
In the beginning, he built up his business to include five plants with a ton of
employees. Yet, it was hard to stay focussed on the details.
“All I was doing was solving problems,” he said. “I was young and didn’t have the chance to build up the infrastructure for management, obviously. I
also did whatever I could to make business. I would do wholesale work, hotel
work. I did anything I could.
”
Jason wasn’t satisfied. He wasn’t selling a specific, constant brand. In fact, he was all over the board.
“I said, ‘You know what? The market niche is to be consistent and do the same thing the
same way all the time
’,’” he said. “If people go to McDonald’s in China or New York and eat that hamburger for 49 cents, they obviously know
what they
’re getting. They get that cardboard meat, but they are happy to get it. So, I
knew I had to find out what type of market and what type of product I wanted to
serve.
”
It wasn’t long before Jason’s company had a new brand name — Sudsies — and a brand new image to go along with it.
“In my web site, I’ve branded my name, the logos, my colors, my looks,” he said. “It’s just a whole image. The average guy or cleaner wants to build a web site for
their business. They think they
’re spending $700, or $1,000 tops. That’s what they spend. My photo shoot just for my web site cost several thousands of
dollars.
”
Jason also decided to stop waiting for business to come to his front counter; he
went to them instead. He slowly expanded his pickup and delivery routes. It all
started with one van. Now, he has an entire fleet of ten vans that cover a
radius of 250 miles.
“I don’t want to sell the idea of routes to every single drycleaner in the states, but
there are a lot of reasons why I saw them as a benefit,
” he said. “The average drycleaning customer on a route spends more money. You have a higher
retention rate with pickup and delivery. It enables you to get into areas with
customers that you couldn
’t get before. And, you’re more profitable than a retail store.”
Image plays a vital role in the success of Sudsies’ pickup and delivery service. To make his vehicles stand out, Jason wraps them
with a bright blue and yellow design that is always eye-catching and clean.
“The average person doesn’t want to spend money wrapping their trucks,” he added. “I do things to build that image. I replace my trucks every two years. I rewrap
every truck every year. I don
’t want the trucks to drive around with banged-up bumpers. It’s my image.
“You know, if I’m coming to your house to pick up your Giorgio Armani jacket, and I pull up in a
truck and leak oil all over
— that’s not really the image you’re looking to portray. My competition sees me and thinks it’s easy to do pickup and delivery. It’s not easy, and it’s not inexpensive.”
At Sudsies, the branding image and personality permeates through every aspect of
the business. According to Jason, it takes a deep commitment to make it work
— something many business owners fail to realize.
“Most people think branding is having a business card and a letterhead and
putting your name on the side of the truck,
” he noted. “Everybody tries to build a brand, but we’re doing it by having a consistent product, giving the customers as much as we
can possibly give them. We
’re trying to reach them on an emotional level, as well,” he noted.
He likens the Sudsies’ experience to the one coffee drinkers look for when they visit Starbuck’s.
“For 50 cents, people can buy a cup of coffee, which is basically hot water and
some coffee beans, right?
” he said. “How does Starbuck’s get $5 for it? They reason they can is when you go there they are playing nice
music. There are soothing aromas. It
’s comfortable to sit down. What I’m trying to do is deliver a customer experience. My clothes and my quality
should be great
— that’s an understatement. You have to give more than just quality cleaned clothes.”
As a consumer, Jason recognizes that he’s willing to pay a lot more for a genuine customer experience, which fuels him
to keep trying to raise the bar of his own service.
“I’d rather be involved in a product. I’d rather have something of value there,” he admitted. “So, I look to see how much I can give to the customers, instead of looking to
see how much I can take away from them. I
’m constantly trying to give more. I’m always trying to outdo myself. I view myself as my own competition. I’m really just trying to make myself better.”
One way Sudsies tries to one-up itself is through its customer communications
and marketing messages. Jason utilizes a software program that automatically
sends out 36,000 e-mails to customers a month, many of which simply let them
know about the status of their garments and when they will be delivered. Others
wish customers a happy birthday or anniversary.
He always follows one rule of thumb: he keeps the e-mails brief, but aims for a
friendly and funny tone. That way, they will be more memorable and make more of
an impact.
“I sell a service, but I’m not giving them newsletters that are too much to read,” he emphasized. “They open it, see it, get it done. They get the point. They laugh. They have
reason to open my e-mails every month because they are laughing when they open
them.
”
So far, literally hundreds of customers have responded to Jason personally to
tell him how much they enjoyed the e-mails.
Many cleaners have used the Internet for their business, but Sudsies uses its
technological capabilities on a whole other level. Their customers have access
to an unprecedented amount of information.
“They can pay online. They can ask for a pickup online. They can also search for
a blue shirt that they sent in to our inventory last week,
” Jason explained. “They can find out if their order has been delivered or is still in processing.
They can also download how much they spent last year and submit it for tax
purposes.
”
All of it is designed to give Sudsies’ customers as much value for their money as possible — something Jason feels very passionate about.
“When somebody spends ten dol-lars in your business, that’s a value. What are they getting for that value?” he asked. “With pickup and delivery we’re saving them time. With a quality garment, they don’t have to worry about quality because it’s ready to wear. When they contact my business, it’s user-friendly. They don’t even have to speak to anybody if they don’t want to. I make it easier. Every obstacle you put in front of your clients
diminishes the value of them doing business with you. I try to remove all of
the obstacles.
”
Sudsies has grown to be extremely successful, but Jason prefers not to discuss
the numbers. Instead, the part of him who consults on the side would rather
give cleaners advice.
While he realizes his methods aren’t the best for every cleaner, he urges cleaners to differentiate themselves from
the rest of the competition.
“Find your own market niche,” he said. “Make sure you find your unique ability. Capitalize on it. Deliver your message
on a consistent basis to your customers.
”
If you visit www.sudsies.com, you will see a few of Jason’s own “messages” on the homepage. Some slogans that might fade in and out from your computer
screen include:
“Free pickup. Free delivery. Free smiles.”; “Guaranteed: It’s more than a word. It’s the way we do business.”; and “Dry clean one pant leg and we’ll throw the other in for free.”
Jason always tries to keep humor and friendliness inherent in each message he
conveys to his clients. As a result, they tend to respond positively, which is
direct proof that Sudsies
’ unique branding is working.
“It’s not just about cleaning clothes,” he said. “They’ve got to be in a nice package. People have to answer the phone nicely. The
delivery guy has to be presentable. He
’s got to drive a nice van that’s clean. He’s got to be wearing clean clothes, also.”
In terms of customer service, it only takes one bad element to make the entire
transaction seem less impressive. That
’s how a brand fails. Jason prefers to eliminate any possibility of that
happening.
“There’s never a chance to make anything into a problem,” he said. “That’s true in every single business, in all aspects, from the person answering the
phone to what they
’re wearing to what they know to having to take care of you. It has to be
consistent across the board.
”