Creating Car Wash Menus: A Guide for Best Practices

Creating effective car wash menus is one of the most important things you can do to drive sales and boost efficiency for your car wash business. 

Car wash menu signs are often the first thing potential customers see when they pull up to your business. Well-designed car wash menus not only educate customers about your different car wash packages, but they can also persuade people to purchase extra services if you list the right benefits.

With most of your staff occupied with cleaning vehicles, your car wash menu signs handle many marketing tasks on a day-to-day basis. Such an important part of your business needs to be easy to read, attractive, and motivating to attract potential customers — which is why all car wash owners need to understand the fundamentals of good menu design.

Understanding Your Target Audience

When designing a car wash menu, the needs of your target audience form the foundation of your content. Are most of your customers luxury car owners who see the value of car wash services like waxing, detailing, and clay bar treatments? Or do you mostly wash sedans and minivans owned by drivers who want a low-cost family wash plan?

Use your CRM system to analyze your current customer profiles. From there, you can decide which marketing messaging resonates best with your target audience.

Structuring the Menu for Clear Navigation

Most customers read menus from top to bottom and left to right. Take advantage of this by placing the car wash package you want to promote most at the top left-hand corner of your menu.

Menu content should be short and simple so that customers can understand your offers at a glance. Include the following car wash services: 

• Basic services: These include exterior washes, rinsing, and air/towel drying.
• Tiered packages: These offer extra services for an additional cost. For instance, you can provide a tier package that includes basic services plus tire detailing and waxing. A higher-tier package can add interior detailing to the previous wash packages. 
• Add-ons: These services let customers customize their car wash experience by adding specific services, like vacuuming or a tire shine, to their basic wash. This adds value at a price that works for your customers.

Give your wash packages descriptive names and indicate what type of drivers will benefit most from each service. For instance, an everyday driver may be fine with a basic Quick Clean package, while people who drive in harsh conditions may need an Ultimate Deluxe package to protect their cars from extreme weather damage. 

Simplifying Pricing for Decision Ease

Once you determine price points that cover your overhead costs and earn you a reasonable profit, display them next to every car wash package you offer so customers can see what they’re getting for their money. Pro tip: Customers tend to prefer even-priced washes like $10 or $20, so use price points like these.

If you offer monthly membership plans, place the cost of each plan next to your single wash prices. When people see a $20 single wash next to a $35 unlimited monthly wash program, they can see the value of getting a membership.

Incorporating Creative Design Elements

Bright colors and large fonts help attract attention to your car wash menus. You can also use other creative design elements such as:

• Consistent branding: This includes things like a catchy slogan, logo, or loyalty program that encourages repeat business.
• Visual icons: These can represent your additional services. For example, tire shine service can be represented by a tire icon, while triple foam can be shown as three bubbles. This keeps your menu content brief and memorable. 

Testing Menu Effectiveness

Test and refine the effectiveness of your new car wash menus by:

• Offering temporary car wash specials to gauge customer interest in specific services.
• Comparing sales before and after menu changes to see which packages are most in demand.
• Tracking customer feedback through surveys and online reviews.
• Analyzing the percentage of customers who choose your higher-priced packages and add-ons.
• Testing new price points to see how they impact customer selection.
• Updating your menu every six months with new variations to see which design elements resonate best with your customers.

Keeping Up With Industry Trends and Competitor Offerings

Visit competing car washes to see their pricing and what services they offer. How are other car wash operators' offers displayed on their menus? See if they provide unique services like detailing packages or employ new tools, such as sonar technology or environmentally friendly cleaning products.

Assess how customers respond to competitor offerings and determine how you can differentiate yourself in the car wash industry. Perhaps you can offer a more flexible membership plan for your customers’ budgets. Or maybe you can participate in local events to build brand awareness.

Common Car Wash Menu Mistakes to Avoid

Car wash menus need to be short and easy to read so that customers can make decisions quickly. Including too many car wash packages on your menu overwhelms and confuses readers. Limit your packages to three or four popular options.

Promoting your basic wash package in the upper left corner of your menu draws attention away from higher-priced packages you want to promote. Use bright colors and large fonts to differentiate higher-priced options from your basic packages.

Most customers feel that paying $9 for a car wash is the same as paying $10. Round your prices up to $10, $15, and $20 — and if you want to offer a deluxe package over $20, ask for something in the $24+ range. 

Differentiate Your Car Wash Service Offering With the Best Products

Offering high-quality car wash products at your business is a great way to differentiate yourself from competitors. Apex Pro Formulators provides you with customizable commercial car wash chemicals suitable for high-performance washes. 

Choose from a full line of foam brush detergents, tire and wheel cleaners, waxes, protectants, high-pressure detergents, and more. Need something more specific? We can custom blend a formula based on your unique needs to provide your car wash business with a competitive edge. 

Ready to see how we can make your car wash menus truly stand out? Contact us now to discuss how we can help your business.