Marketing Strategies for Small to Mid-sized Laundries (Part 2)

CHICAGO — Marketing is a vital component for any business to succeed.

However, marketing to consumers is a different animal than marketing products and services to other businesses (B2B).

That’s true for commerce in industrial laundry. But there are even more differences between large, national laundry operations and more localized small to mid-sized facilities. How can smaller laundries compete in marketing against larger entities?

American Laundry News asked four professionals involved with industrial laundry marketing to share their expertise:

Carmella Cadusale, founder and chief strategist of MCC Marketing Consultancy in Cleveland and a media partner/ad sales rep for TRSA.
Katie Cox, social media and marketing specialist with the Association for Linen Management (ALM) in Richmond, Kentucky.
Rebecca Dutcher, president and CEO of RED66 Marketing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which works with several industrial laundry clients.
Emily Hauber, director of communications for CITY Laundering in Oelwein, Iowa.

Within the industrial laundry market, what challenges do small to mid-sized operations face compared to larger, regional/national operations?

DUTCHER: Budget is likely a large one since they are competing with nationals who have larger budgets and ad spend but also have large marketing teams with lots of activities. We see small to mid-size operators get outbid or have to increase their ad spend when the larger operators are really active in their market.

Having a dedicated person for marketing is important — not a sales coordinator or marketing assistant, as they often get pulled into sales-related support with presentations, proposals, or only social media. A full-time, experienced marketing manager who can oversee the website, content with social media, email marketing, and sales collateral can be expensive.

HAUBER: Smaller operations don’t have the marketing budgets the national players do, so [national operators are] most often top of mind online even though [smaller operators’] service is better. They also don’t typically have dedicated marketing staff on-site, so marketing falls on others who push it to the side or outsource it to a company that can only deliver from off-site. The upside is agility, but most small operators don’t lean into it enough to stand out.

CADUSALE: Large organizations often have bigger marketing budgets and stronger brand recognition. Small to mid-sized businesses usually don’t, but they can often move faster, deliver a more personal customer experience, and build stronger local relationships.

The challenge is maximizing limited resources. Lean teams should take advantage of the marketing resources already available through industry associations, supplier partners, co-branded opportunities, and the ever-evolving tech to help amplify their message to streamline their workload.

COX: Smaller operations often don’t have dedicated marketing teams, large advertising budgets or a large name recognition. It can be easy to feel like you’re competing against companies with significantly more resources.

But size isn’t everything.

Small and mid-sized laundries have advantages that many larger organizations can’t easily replicate. They can often respond faster, adapt more quickly, and build stronger, more personal relationships with their customers. They know their customers by name, understand the unique needs of each account, and can provide a level of personal attention that creates loyalty.

What truly sets many small laundries apart is the experience they provide. Their marketing should reflect that.

What are the most effective marketing methods for small to mid-sized operations? Why?

COX: The most effective marketing is relationship-driven.

Small laundries have the opportunity to know their customers on a level that’s difficult for larger organizations to achieve. They can build trust through personal interactions, exceptional customer service, and responsiveness. Marketing should reinforce those strengths.

Social media, especially LinkedIn, is one of the most underutilized tools in our industry. It allows companies to showcase the people behind the business, celebrate employees, highlight customer partnerships, and share the “why” behind what they do. Those stories help existing customers feel connected while giving prospective customers confidence that they’re choosing a company that genuinely cares about its relationships.

DUTCHER: Having a strong website, optimized for artificial intelligence (AIO) and SEO. Why? It’s your 24/7 salesperson. Answer as many questions as you can, stay relevant, and use real lifestyle imagery instead of stock photos. Potential customers do their research, so the more the website can warm up a lead for when they do finally reach out makes it easier for the sales team to answer specifics.

Including a tool like Microsoft Clarity (a free heat-map tool), where you can see what specifically users are checking out on your website, can be especially insightful in both where your website is performing well and where it might need some improvements.

And, as mentioned, using email marketing to stay in front of people. Slightly targeted is important, not just blasting your list with the same message. And LinkedIn activity for sales reps especially.

HAUBER: Referral programs and testimonials work because trust travels fastest through people who already vouch for you. These methods punch above their weight since they build credibility without a big ad budget.

Also, super-targeted marketing campaigns. We know exactly who we want to get in front of, and instead of building a mass marketing campaign to reach millions, let’s focus on a marketing campaign that targets a few dozen instead.

CADUSALE: The universal truth is that small to mid-sized businesses tend to have a limited marketing budget. But a professional website, an active LinkedIn presence, customer testimonials, search optimizations (yes, this means getting ahead of AI search engines), and consistent communication with existing customers can have a significant impact. Buyers research long before they reach out, so your digital presence matters more than ever.

Check back Thursday for marketing advice for smaller laundries and where they can go for assistance.

Click HERE to read part 1 with a look at the unique marketing needs of industrial laundries.