Obsess Over the Product and Customer Experience
Lesson in Detail:
John attributes much of his sustained growth, customer retention, and rave reviews to a relentless focus on the quality of the product and customer experience. He repeatedly emphasizes that “if you focus on the product and you make it a hundred and ten percent, people will talk and people will say, you know, this is amazing. It’s the best kind of marketing in my opinion.” (transcript, approx. [00:13:27]). Instead of pouring money into marketing from the start, John made sure his app, service, and physical touchpoints (like branded bags) outshone the competition. He notes that the business was built on word-of-mouth, testimonials, and organic referrals—fueled by delivering a consistently excellent laundry service.
Impact:
Too many laundry businesses focus on attracting customers with flashy offers or discounts before truly nailing the basics. The danger here is that “bad first meals” (to use John’s restaurant analogy) lead to poor word-of-mouth and churn. In a business where trust and consistency are essential, delighting customers from day one creates a flywheel of raving fans who become your advocates, giving you a strong foundation before adding marketing to the mix.
Action Steps:
Audit Your Service: Go through your full customer journey—from order to delivery—and identify where friction or disappointment could occur. Fix any weak points immediately.
Gather Unfiltered Feedback: Implement post-order surveys (as John does), and make sure you actively seek bad reviews—they’re priceless for identifying areas of improvement.
Surprise and Delight: Invest in small, memorable touches (branded bags, thank you notes, or a loyalty perk).
Act on Complaints: View every negative review as an opportunity to improve and convert a detractor into a superfan.
Only Scale What’s Ready: Don’t ramp up marketing or expansion until you’re confident your core process delivers excellence—otherwise, you’ll simply scale dissatisfaction.
Say YES to Custom Solutions and Difficult Problems
Lesson in Detail:
A recurring theme in John’s journey is his willingness to say “yes” when competitors say “no.” This philosophy opened doors to lucrative commercial contracts, military accounts, and government work. John shares, “I think the number one… is be willing to say yes more than no… you never know who you’re gonna come across. We’ve done… we’ve had situations where we’ve gotten last minute orders, and… our biggest account actually today, our biggest coffee shop account, was a midnight pickup from the GM who just said, can you do me a solid?” (transcript, ~1:15:24+).
This flexibility sets his business apart from the many operators who rigidly stick to one-dimensional offerings. By solving real pain points that require customized processes—even if it means more complexity or tech development—he solidified his reputation as a true problem-solver.
Impact:
While standardization is vital for efficiency, over-standardization can reduce your business to a commodity, racing to the bottom on price. Being the business that will figure out a solution means you get the most interesting and profitable contracts—and build loyalty that withstands occasional missteps.
Action Steps:
Proactively Ask “What Else?” When onboarding new accounts, ask if there’s a need being unmet by their current provider—and offer a bespoke solution.
Establish a Flexible Process: Develop your operating systems (like order management) to accommodate custom requirements as much as possible.
Pilot New Services: Test unique requests as “trial projects” before building them into your standard offerings.
Train Your Team for Flexibility: Encourage team members to check with you before declining anything that sounds challenging or different.
Promote Your Can-Do Attitude: Make your yes mentality part of your marketing message and reputation—let customers and their networks know you’re the problem-solver in your area.
Harness the Power of Reviews and Organic Marketing first
Lesson in Detail:
John’s ability to build a dominant brand with zero paid marketing speaks volumes about the compounding power of reviews and testimonials. He shares that his business amassed over 600 five-star reviews by making it a key operational focus: surveying every customer, acting on negative responses, and incentivizing happy clients (small discounts or tokens) to leave their feedback online.
He’s candid—“the reviews have kind of done the marketing for us… when we market now, a tremendous amount of people know us… it’s just kind of that extra touch.” (transcript, [00:51:00+]). By the time John considers paid advertising, he’s already a household name in his market—and much “harder to beat” than early-stage competitors with only five reviews and a couple of testimonials.
Impact:
In a service as personal (sometimes intimate) as laundry, trust is currency. A Google page or Yelp listing with hundreds of overwhelming positive, authentic reviews is the best sales tool you can have. It drives organic search, boosts conversion rates, and protects your business from negative campaigns or one-off bad customer stories. When you do begin paid marketing, your perfect reviews act as proof that you deliver what you promise.
Action Steps:
Build Review Collection into Your Workflow: Prompt customers to leave feedback after every order—manually at first, then automate.
Incentivize Authentically: Offer small (but sincere) perks for reviews—5% off next order, a discount, or even just a handwritten thank-you.
Reach Out Personally: For every “bad” feedback, follow up with a human touch, attempt to fix the problem, and invite them to re-try your service.
Turn Staff into Ambassadors: Encourage your drivers and attendants to ask for reviews, and reward them if mentioned by name in positive feedback.
Market Your Reviews: Feature glowing testimonials in every customer-facing channel—website, social profiles, and even your laundry bags.
Don’t Buy a Customer with Coupons Alone: Focus on winning long-term loyalty, not just one-time use with discounts.
Final Thoughts: Apply These Lessons Today
John Simerson’s success isn’t an accident—it’s built on a fierce dedication to quality, a yes-first mentality, and a commitment to nurturing organic word-of-mouth so strong it outpaces even heavy spenders in marketing. For laundry professionals:
Audit and perfect your customer journey before ramping up acquisition.
Become the problem-solver that others recommend when jobs get tough.
Let reviews and repeat business do the talking.
Focus on these fundamentals, and you’ll not only grow, but you’ll also build a business that lasts. Choose one of the above lessons, take action this week, and start seeing the difference for yourself!
