What if your sales looked something like this?
Here, the carwash is running near full capacity in its busiest season – during the summer. But sales drop off significantly in the winter months. The carwash is simply under-utilized.
Businesses with a high fixed cost and small variable cost (like the carwash business) need to to maximize the utilization of their assets. But how do you do this when there is a natural seasonality to your business? We need to get creative and start thinking differently about the problem.
Creativity
Petro Canada is doing this with some of their superwash locations. Starting this winter they are promoting unlimited carwashes for 90 days. The unlimited pass costs $139.99 plus tax. This promotes higher utilization (and revenue) while addressing the customer’s common concerns about winter carwashes – that the snow, rain, salt will quickly spoil a clean car. Don’t worry – with the unlimited pass you can simply go back and wash it again. A creative offer allows Petro Canada to maximize its under-utilized assets.
Examples and Questions
What can we do with all of the schools – whose building are empty during holidays and summer months? They are not in use 25% of the time.
What about the 1000′s and 1000′s public telephones – which occupy prime real estate and have connectivity to the PSTN (and internet)? Public payphones are longer used because of the pervasive use of cellular phones. They sit idle and under-used.
What about all of the vehicles that travel highway 401 every single day? So many SUV’s and minivans have seating for 4-6 additional passengers but make the daily commute with only a single passenger.
