Advertising

[sparksburnout]

Just wondered what you self-employed lads think is the best advertising methods? Good website/ranking, flyers, local rags, what about these sites like rated people that send you leads for $$$? I guess it will probably be a combination of several methods but wondered if you think anything stands out. I know word of mouth is great but not easy when you are starting out!

 

[Marvo]

Guess it depends on exactly what your core business is and who your target market is.

 

[camerabloke]

IMO flyers are a waste of time.

 

[Octopus]

IMO flyers are a waste of time.

Not always, one drop I did got me a complete rewire, from that I met a plumber and I've done his electrics since - and that was about 4 years ago. From the same drop I also got regular work from a bathroom fitter and also 3 other small clients!

 

[MDJ]

Just wondered what you self-employed lads think is the best advertising methods? Good website/ranking, flyers, local rags, what about these sites like rated people that send you leads for $$$? I guess it will probably be a combination of several methods but wondered if you think anything stands out. I know word of mouth is great but not easy when you are starting out!

It is difficult to know what to suggest really, I think I have tried most ways to get work by advertising myself over the years. I find when you advertise in local mags or in the yellow pages for example all it does is get more companies ringing you up to try to get you advertising with them as well. Word of mouth is the way usually when first starting up, you build slowly and eventually the work starts to come in, in dribs and drabs and then suddenely you will get quite busy. What type of works are you intending to get involved with? mainly Domestic or a mixture?

 

[cossie400]

Not always, one drop I did got me a complete rewire, from that I met a plumber and I've done his electrics since - and that was about 4 years ago. From the same drop I also got regular work from a bathroom fitter and also 3 other small clients!

This time last week I'd have said a complete waste of time, but I did a drop at a local industrial estate at 6-30 one morning on my way to work, this led to a guy coming out of a unit and a half hour chat and now I'm quoting for a shop fit out!
So overall it's very hit and miss but like you, all it takes is one and it can be all worth it.

 

[sparksburnout]

Guess it depends on exactly what your core business is and who your target market is.

Yeah sorry should have mentioned that, it's mainly domestic stuff I'm looking at these days. I am sure some of the comments are true, you have to expect to start really slow and build up.

 

[Marvo]

Marketing is a very tricky thing. You don't want to attract the wrong customers because this can sink you as fast as having no customers at all. You also want a decent hit rate otherwise the cost of the marketing could end up the same as the profits you're making on your jobs so you need it focused and effective.

So just as an exercise because I've never done domestic electrics so I'm not very clued up on this particular market, if I had a company that specialised in domestic CU replacements/upgrades I'd need to make my marketing tool of specific interest to people who have old type fuse boxes and I'd want my marketing to have some staying power so I'd want to get my business info out there in a format they'd want to keep rather than throw in the dustbin with all the other dozens of flyers they get.

So for example I'd maybe purchase a few 100 meter rolls of fuse wire and get some branded cardboard holders printed up and hand out branded replacement fusewire to prospective customers. This would have several advantages, it would be attractive to the prospective customer who has an old fuse type CU and they'd probably not want to throw it away and they'd probably also want to keep my marketing tool close to the actual CU where it's most relevant. The downside is that it would be more expensive than your average flyer so I'd probably go door to door manually myself to hand them out by the dozens rather than blind blanket mail drops of thousands like you would with traditional flyers. This way I could also do some market research such as how many potential customers there are with fuse boards etc and make sure the freebies are going to the right people. Also if the people you speak to have a relative or friend with a fuse board you give them extras and get them to spread your marketing items for you.

 

[HandySparks]

Get yourself a good website. Very specific and targeted at customers in your local area. Then sign up to all the free registers of tradesmen, Yell, etc., with links to your own site.

I only get a small proportion of business that way, but it's increasing rapidly as people search online for services.


Edit: Worth putting your business on Google Places.

 

[Richard Burns]

As Marvo has demonstrated always check your spelling and grammar in you advertising, some customers will notice!
Sorry Marvo.:vanish:
However the rest of the advice is good. But targeting can require a lot of research.
Local advertising is good for domestic as that will get your name known in a local area (and save you driving miles!)

 

[sparksburnout]

Marketing is a very tricky thing. You don't want to attract the wrong customers because this can sink you as fast as having no customers at all. You also want a decent hit rate otherwise the cost of the marketing could end up the same as the profits you're making on your jobs so you need it focused and effective.

So just as an exercise because I've never done domestic electrics so I'm not very clued up on this particular market, if I had a company that specialised in domestic CU replacements/upgrades I'd need to make my marketing tool of specific interest to people who have old type fuse boxes and I'd want my marketing to have some staying power so I'd want to get my business info out there in a format they'd want to keep rather than throw in the dustbin with all the other dozens of flyers they get.

So for example I'd maybe purchase a few 100 meter rolls of fuse wire and get some branded cardboard holders printed up and hand out branded replacement fusewire to prospective customers. This would have several advantages, it would be attractive to the prospective customer who has an old fuse type CU and they'd probably not want to throw it away and they'd probably also want to keep my marketing tool close to the actual CU where it's most relevant. The downside is that it would be more expensive than your average flyer so I'd probably go door to door manually myself to hand them out by the dozens rather than blind blanket mail drops of thousands like you would with traditional flyers. This way I could also do some market research such as how many potential customers there are with fuse boards etc and make sure the freebies are going to the right people. Also if the people you speak to have a relative or friend with a fuse board you give them extras and get them to spread your marketing items for you.

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Hey Marvo that's a bl****y good idea mate! Like Someone else said you have to target it but you could pick older houses/area's. I am of a mind that more and more people will use the internet these days, or more specifically google. My two twenty year old's would never think of picking up a local rag or looking at a flyer, they just reach for the mobile phone/tablet and google everything. However, a lot of older people will still look in such places. I think flyers are OK if you realise that 99% of them are going to get binned without even getting looked at, but if you chuck out enough the 1% will bring in something. Depends on how busy you want to be really, personally I only want 2 or 3 jobs a week as I am now 55 and "winding down" a bit, but still need some work! I am glad I am not paying off a big mortgage the young guys at this game must have a hard time these days.....Does anyone ever get any work via NICEIC or NAPIT?? (don't laugh)

 

[HandySparks]

Another marketing tool is to get some business cards printed. If you get a couple of thousand, they end up pretty cheap, so you can afford to hand them out to anyone who'll take them. I always hand one over when I meet a new customer for the first time, and then maybe give them a few extras to give to friends at the end of the job.

 

[Marvo]

I'd say business cards are a good marketing tool if you're dealing with people face to face, if you finish a job you can almost hand it to them like it's their warranty and peace of mind and suggest they hang on to it for that reason. Obviously there's nothing better than a happy customer handing out your business cards for you to their friends and family as well but business cards aren't very effective for a cold call or blanket marketing of an area.

 

[Octopus]

And don't buy flimsy, cheap business cards, first impressions count!

 

[Marvo]

Agreed, rather go with a nice professional minimalist business card, not one that's like a flyer that's condensed to a business card size.