This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.
By Alex Held, Small Business Manager
While Columbia Pike Laundry has been a staple of Columbia Pike since 1993, we wanted to highlight how the owners, Daniel and Dara Logan, are leveraging technology in their small business to better serve their customers and reach additional markets within the region.
The Problem
Being busy professionals and balancing work and family schedules themselves, the Logans understood the chore of laundry and could empathize with customers who have similar schedule demands. When they purchased the firm in June 2018, they wanted to continue providing self-service laundry while offering additional convenience for customers, who, like them, felt as though they had too few hours in a day.
“We wanted to provide convenience to our customers, similarly to how many of them order a ride or food through an app,” Daniel says.
Furthermore, many of their competitors were already tech-enabled, making it even more imperative to adapt.
The Solution
Initially, Columbia Pike Laundry launched wash and fold laundry service as part of its service mix and started going after business accounts. Then in November 2018, the Logans established their laundromat online (www.columbiapikelaundry.com), allowing customers the ability to schedule a pickup for wash and fold service, complete their purchase, and have it delivered within the website or app. After the initial launch online, they began to acquire additional customers through their platform.
Toward the end of 2019, they updated their website and app, making it easier for customers to navigate. “I’m a lifelong digital learner,” Daniel says. “We’re constantly making improvements to make it easier for our customers to access our services, and we still offer clients the ability to call and schedule a pickup.”
Then in March 2020, the world changed, and as with many small businesses, Columbia Pike Laundry was not immune to the abrupt shift caused by the pandemic.
“Our self-service segment saw a dip as a result of the pandemic, and while it has since rebounded, our self-service segment has mostly plateaued,” Daniel says.
However, because Columbia Pike Laundry took the necessary steps to enable technology in their business, the investment helped them reach new customers and made them more resilient and ready to adapt to the changing times.
“Now where we see consistent growth is not only with our B2C customer base but also with the B2B segment, which we can directly attribute to our website and app,” Daniel says.
And heads up: Columbia Pike Laundry is offering new customers a 25% discount on their first order. Use promo code BIZLAUNCH25 at checkout to take advantage of this special offer for readers.
“We enjoy serving Arlington and the surrounding communities,” Daniel says.
Next Steps
If you’re ready to enable technology in your small business but don’t know where to begin, the BizLaunch Team is here for you. Visit www.relaunch.business to take advantage of some of the free tools developed to help you get online and sign up for our newsletter to be notified when applications for ReLaunch go live.