Success: How Fresh Laundries Proves Marketing-First Strategy Wins
Success Story: Cleo Quijano’s entry into the laundry industry began with a simple philosophy that would define his entire approach: never stop marketing. What started as a pandemic-era entrepreneurial venture has evolved into Fresh Laundries, an operation built through data-driven marketing efforts—including learning from expensive failures along the way.
When Cleo and his wife Mary Beb decided to pursue the laundry business during the pandemic, it fulfilled a long-held entrepreneurial dream. The laundry business had been one of their top five aspirational ventures since moving to America 14 years prior. The pandemic provided the perfect opportunity to finally act on this vision and establish Fresh Laundries: a modern, full-service, family-owned laundromat in Fairfield, California, proudly serving Solano and Napa counties with premium laundry services.
Since 2022, Cleo has rapidly grown his commercial and pickup and delivery business through strategic marketing and continuous testing of new tactics.
The Marketing-First Philosophy
From day one, Cleo built Fresh Laundries around a core marketing principle that guides every business decision: “I don’t stop marketing. If I stop marketing, I will become very stagnant… But when I increase marketing, the business continues to grow.”
This philosophy stems from his understanding of business fundamentals: “Why do big corporations spend billions on marketing? Because they get more revenue in return. It’s the same thing in laundry.”
Cleo’s approach is methodical and data-driven, born partly from hard-learned lessons. Early on, Fresh Laundries lost thousands of dollars on a direct mail campaign that simply didn’t work in their market. Rather than abandoning marketing, this failure reinforced the importance of tracking every marketing dollar and customer acquisition source.
Cleo’s marketing strategy is multi-channel, including:
Direct Mail Campaigns: After learning from early failures, Cleo purchases flyers in bulk with unique tracking codes for each campaign. “I track that to a cent… I bought a thousand flyers. They’re all the same, but with different codes,” he explains, allowing him to measure exactly which campaigns generate new customers.
Targeted Demographic Marketing: He focuses on underserved markets like senior living facilities. “I’m targeting senior living. That’s very underserved in our industry. So I created a campaign for that with bold flyers” offering specific discounts for seniors.
Apartment Complex Outreach: Strategic placement of targeted flyers in apartment complexes throughout Solano and Napa counties, each with unique tracking codes.
Digital Marketing Partnerships: Cleo partners with LaundroBOOST to handle digital advertising campaigns, allowing him to focus on strategy while experts execute paid ads.
Traditional Advertising: Low-cost, high-impact tactics like yard signs that generate long-term visibility, looking for volume deals like 100 signs for $299.
Professional Networking: Active participation in chamber of commerce events and industry conferences to build commercial relationships.
Social Media & Content Marketing: Regular LinkedIn thought leadership posts and community engagement that builds brand awareness and industry credibility.
The key to Cleo’s success is continuous testing and measurement. Each campaign uses unique tracking codes, allowing him to measure ROI precisely, learn from failures, and optimize spend accordingly.
“Cleo Quijano’s three-year journey with Fresh Laundries proves that treating marketing as essential business infrastructure, not an expense, can elevate laundry operations. His approach combines cost-effective tactics like printed flyers and strategic partnerships with data-driven analysis using customer lifetime value metrics and precise performance tracking. After recently leaving his full-time job, Cleo can now focus entirely on his laundromat and marketing: “Now I can really go all-in on marketing.”
The results speak for themselves: consistent customer acquisition exceeding targets, a balanced 50-50 revenue split between self-serve and commercial and pickup/delivery services, 30% of total revenue from strategically acquired commercial accounts, and a compound effect where satisfied customers become advocates, reducing acquisition costs while maintaining growth momentum.
For more informatio visit https://www.freshlaundries.com/.