Memberships are the lifeblood of the modern car wash, offering a steady stream of revenue for operators and unmatched value for consumers. Yet, the reality of churn is an ever-present challenge. As eloquently put by one AMP client, “We invest heavily in attracting new members and equally in keeping them.”
However, achieving 100% member retention is an impossibility. Factors leading to churn can vary, but AMP’s advanced data highlights cost concerns, particularly those due to seasonality and financial hardship, as top culprits.
Seasonality often dictates the perceived value of a car wash membership. In colder climates, winter justifies the expense, but the allure may wane with warmer weather and less frequent use. Ideally, members return when road conditions justify more frequent washing and a return to realized value, but that’s not guaranteed.
Financial hardship, on the other hand, prompts members to scrutinize every recurring expense. Economic downturns, unexpected bills, or personal emergencies can all lead to cancellations, though data indicates that many such situations are temporary. Certainly, you can hope the member returns to your wash when their situation stabilizes, but hope is not a strategy.
Enter AMP’s Membership Pause Feature. Why lose members over short-term issues when a pause can bridge the gap? This feature offers a win-win: members avoid the finality of cancellation, and operators retain potential future business by removing barriers to reentering the membership program.
How It Works: The beauty lies in its simplicity and flexibility. Operators can set the rules, including customer self-service pauses or staff-only activation, and define the maximum pause duration. During a pause, membership hibernates — no billing, no service use, until automatically resuming on the predetermined date or if the member chooses to reactivate early. It’s a straightforward solution to a common dilemma, maintaining the member’s connection to your service without the hassle of re-registration.
“We have anywhere from 60 to 100 memberships in pause at any given time.” stated one AMP client who adopted the feature early. “Of those over half reactivate their memberships. Prior to membership pause, 100% of them would have canceled and we’d just have to hope they came back when the time was right”
Imagine offering a summer-hesitant member the option to pause rather than cancel. They retain their wash history and avoid re-signup complexities, seamlessly resuming their membership when ready. A member who asks for cancelation due to a temporary financial hardship can now put their recurring billing on hold for a predetermined number of months and come back to washing when their outlook is more sunny!
Conclusion: “Press pause, not stop” encapsulates the essence of AMP’s Membership Pause Feature. It’s not just about mitigating churn; it’s about understanding and adapting to your customers’ needs, fostering loyalty, and ensuring your car wash remains their first choice. With this innovative feature, temporary setbacks don’t have to lead to permanent losses.
Are you ready to start reducing churn, increasing loyalty, and maximizing your data control and marketing performance? Contact the AMP Memberships team for a free consultation.
About AMP Memberships – Created by a car wash operator, for car wash operators, AMP
Memberships empowers each car wash with its own custom-branded and configured
smartphone app. A full suite of robust tools drives membership growth, retains existing members, and supercharges marketing. With unmatched tech sophistication, ease of deployment, and dedicated ongoing support from a US-based team of developers, AMP Memberships is the ultimate solution for any car wash looking to make data-driven decisions, slash churn, and enhance customer experience. AMP Memberships has offices in Denver, CO and Atlanta, GA. For more information, visit ampmemberships.com