Amplify

Car Wash M&A, The Podcast Episode 13 News Overview

How are you engaging with car wash customers when they are off site? What can you do today to strengthen brand loyalty and to grow memberships? Do you have a tool to manage promotions, engagement, memberships, and more?

In the latest episode of Car Wash M&A, The Podcast, your host Lanese Barnett talks with Dennis Dreeszen and Adam Trien of AMP Memberships. Dennis and Adam talk about the benefits of this robust customer experience platform for car wash owners looking to strengthen their customer base and grow their memberships.

HOW THE AMP PLATFORM HELPS CAR WASH OWNERS

As Dennis and Adam share in the episode, the AMP Memberships platform was created to address technology gaps currently available to car wash owners. AMP is a customer experience platform that includes a highly customizable white label app focused on encouraging customer engagement and helping grow and manage memberships for car wash owners. The app is flexible and is not tied to a specific point-of-sale system. It also enables car wash owners to run creative promotions and to track their effectiveness.

Born out of Dennis’ firsthand need to create a custom-branded app for his car wash chain, Dennis got connected with Adam to develop AMP. Once they launched, they realized this technology and service could really benefit so many more car wash owners, and Dennis wasn’t the only one experiencing this service and support void.

As Adam says about the genesis of AMP, “We turned it on, and within a couple of weeks, we were seeing traction at Dennis’s Autowash car washes that he hadn’t experienced before. When you have a tool and technology that is not just convenient and nice, and people like it, but it actually drives revenue, that’s an equation that always wins. It’s really exciting to get going with AMP.”

USING DATA TO DRIVE DECISIONS

The AMP customer experience platform helps car wash owners know more about customers, and that knowledge enables meaningful, targeted interactions with each customer segment. The app collects so much information about participants who use it. Adam shares, “From day one, having full transparency and access, and having a really nice design data model sitting behind the system was really one of the most important goals of AMP. We’re collecting so much information… We have operational data: where they’re washing, how much they’re washing, things like that. We have financial data; we’re able to see how long someone has been a member. We know timing… when someone gets a trial wash, how long does it take them to become a member? And then when they become a member, what’s their lifetime value? How long are they a member?” This specific data is easy to access through dashboards and reports, making it very convenient for owners. From there, car wash owners can establish effective action plans.

As a simple example of this targeted marketing in action, Adam shares an experience they had promoting the Broncos as a part of an ongoing partnership. In the past, those promotions went out in bulk blasts to all participants, but as Dennis learned, not everyone likes the Broncos, and it can actually be a turn-off for customers. The AMP platform addresses this problem.

Adam shares, “We have a survey tool that can ask, ‘What’s your favorite team?’ When a car wash app launches, they can ask, ‘What’s your favorite local team?’ We’re able to collect that information. And now when we send those messages, we send them to people who just love the Broncos, and it gets so much more engagement.”

BUILDING CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Because the AMP platform is highly customizable and white-labeled, it promotes your specific car wash brand and builds your business.

As Dennis shares, the numbers show the success of AMP. Dennis states, “It really changed our business model, for sure. I think for most people who get into the membership model of car washing, it changes their revenue line; it makes things a little bit more predictable and a little bit easier to operate. And it lets you grow and scale. And that’s what the app did for us. But what we’ve been able to do now, since we’ve changed over and built AMP, is really explode our growth. Now we just have so much more capabilities to grab people. I think we were sitting at 4,000 or 5,000 members when we switched over to the AMP platform. And now we’re at 16,000 and growing. It’s been pretty incredible.”

SEEING RESULTS WITH CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

As Dennis and Adam share in the episode, the platform significantly increases customer engagement by connecting with customers off-site. Because of this increased engagement and loyalty, car wash owners can afford to be generous with promotions and can bring value to participants.

Adam states, “There are great statistics out there that if you have a user or customer that has an app, they’re going to spend 30% more with your brand than someone without an app. So yeah, it’s pretty exciting. You can be really generous. And you can do things like offer discounts and promotions in the app, but your net growth and your net profits are still going up, because now you have this huge audience as a captive audience that likes your brand.”

Because of its power to grow engagement and provide critical data to car wash owners, the AMP customer experience platform is helping car wash brands grow and succeed.

For more information from Dennis Dreeszen and Adam Trien, check out the full episode of Car Wash M&A, The Podcast.

Stay tuned the last Thursday of each month to hear the latest thoughts from podcast guests.

Want to dive deeper into car wash M&A information? View all Car Wash M&A, The Podcast episodes here.

Sign up for Car Wash M&A, The Newsletter. | Follow us on social media @AmplifyCarWashAdvisors on LinkedIn or Facebook |Connect with Lanese on LinkedIn.

Jet Brite Car Wash

With decades of hands-on experience as operators, when it came time to sell our car wash business who we sold to was important to Sam and me. Chris [Jenks] and the team at Amplify listened to us throughout the entire process. They found the right buyer in ZIPS who would be a good steward of the brand and helped find the best path forward for us where we can continue pursuing our passion for manufacturing high-quality car wash equipment.

Jet Brite Car Wash
Dave Delesandro | Founder

Ducky’s Express

I have been a multi-site developer and operator in the car wash industry for over 30 years. Four years ago, a partner’s health concern forced me to sell a portion of my portfolio, and during that process, I was introduced to Jeff Pavone of Commercial Plus. I was immediately impressed with Jeff’s knowledge of my industry and his volume of successful deal closings. In a very short period of time, Jeff found the right buyer at a very fair price, and the transaction closed shortly thereafter. I was looking for a team with honesty, integrity, and a proven track record of success, and I found all of that in Jeff.

Ducky’s Express
Richard Miller

Trademark Car Wash

These are some of the most exciting times for car wash owners. As we grew 350% in revenue in just one year, we recognized the time to partner up with a top-tier team that has mastered growth in retail and specifically the automotive industry. Amplify Car Wash Advisors had helped us acquire, raise capital, and was the perfect partner to help us reach this next chapter of the Trademark story.

Trademark Car Wash
Andrew Goldberger

Quick N’ Clean

My relationship with Commercial Plus over the past 20 years has been a very professional and trustworthy relationship. The feel of trust is very important in this business, and Jeff Pavone and his staff have exhibited a level of trust that makes me continue to feel that they have my best interest front of mind. I deal with many brokers across the nation, and my best experiences and results have been achieved with Commercial Plus representation.

Quick N’ Clean
Richard Karle | Owner

Zips

It’s been a great experience working with Amplify Car Wash Advisors to bring these sites into the ZIPS portfolio. We look forward to serving Dallas area customers with an enhanced car wash experience unique to ZIPS, with the added benefit of our extensive network of stores. This year we have continued our aggressive growth track with the goal to truly shine in our efforts to be the best express car wash provider in the industry and it’s acquisitions like this that help us reach our goals.

Zips
Gene Dinkens | CEO

ModWash

It was truly a pleasure to work with the Amplify team on our most recent acquisition of three additional operating locations in our home state of Tennessee. Their team provided great support and ensured a timely and seamless closing process, and we are excited for the additional growth opportunities this relationship will produce in our near future. We know this is the first of many transactions we will successfully complete with the Amplify team as we grow from our current operating store count of 23 to well over 200 locations across 14 states in the next two years.

ModWash
Brian Thornton | COO

Busy Bee Car Wash

For years I’ve talked to a lot of brokers with the same goal; sell your car wash chain as quickly as possible. But I chose to work with Amplify because they were interested and invested in the emotional side of selling my business and truly value long-term relationships. They weren’t forcing me to take a deal just to take a deal. They listened to my concerns and goals then educated me on all my options. And that’s how I decided on the right partner for my chain specifically. I went to bed at night after I signed the papers knowing I got the best deal possible versus just having any deal put in front of me that is only about money.

Busy Bee Car Wash
Jim Mulholland | Owner

Q Car Wash

We really appreciate Jeff and his entire team at Amplify. Their expertise and deep industry knowledge helped us navigate our options and best showcase our strengths to maximize our value. Caliber is a good fit for Q Car Wash as they look to expand in North Texas.

Q Car Wash
Viran Nana | COO

Cobblestone Auto Spa

I have known both Jeff and Bill for over thirty years combined, and respect them both as experts in our professional car washing industry. Their unique and individual strengths bring very strong talent and advice to operators, sellers, and buyers with sharp knowledge, client’s best interest in mind, and an actual personal touch. They hold the expertise and performance track record to hold a very high level of respect within this rapidly-changing car wash industry.

Cobblestone Auto Spa
Tuck Bettin | CEO

Oasis Car Wash

Turning over a business you started from one shovel of dirt 25 years ago and grew to several locations is a difficult and even uncomfortable process. So, when it came time for Larry and me to sell, we chose Amplify Car Wash Advisors to guide us through the process because of their strong reputation and thought leadership in the industry. Their team was professional and did a great job walking us through each step.

Oasis Car Wash
Dallas Hawkins | Partner

Busy Bee Car Wash

Selling our business after 52 years is big deal and certainly not a decision I took lightly, turning over our family legacy was an emotional process and I appreciated that the team at Amplify respected that. They helped me understand my options and found the best deal for me.

Busy Bee Car Wash
Jim Mulholland | Owner