Advertising

[FlaPlumin]

I was hoping to get input on what you guys feel is the best form of advertising. I have a small Plumbing company here in Orlando and have tried newspapers, community papers, phone books, Yellowpages.com and direct mail. So far all have met with minimal success. I have done better with Yellowpages.com, than any of the others. I was thinking of pulling my phone book ads which run me big bucks but wanted some input? I have built a pretty good business with word-of-mouth advertising (the cheapest kind.):confused:

[ToUtahNow]

Many on this site will have different opinions as we have all had different experiences. I used the Yellow Pages for the first five years or so then went to mostly repeat customers and those they referred to me. Without the Yellow Pages I would run a Radio ad or pass out flyers if work was slow which was a one time cost. With the Yellow Pages you pay the bill year round regardless of whether you need the work.

Mark

[Drain Medic]

i dont like Yellowpages.com....ive been on there for 5 months, and did recieve 1 phone call from there...now im locked in :mad::mad:

[PLUMBER RICK]

word of mouth referrals and repeat business is all i use.

i don't run around all day estimating. customers call and i do the work:D

i know where the referral is coming from when they call.

of course i'm 1 person and i limit myself to certain jobs and locations. so 6000 miles a year and very little crawling;)

nothing happens overnight and depending on the amount of guys you need to keep busy and the type of work you want, will dictate your own situation.

rick.

[stxrus]

i'm a 1 man band is a small captive market.

i do use the yellow pages and it works for me here.

i run 2 small ads in the "business classifieds" and a larger mid paper ad weekly. just the local paper (st. croix avis not the st.thomas paper)

i have printed up and handed out over 1000 "business cards". every real estate group, property manager, hotel/condo unit, restaurant/bar, convenience store, retail business, etc. i could think of got one.

i wear my work shirts with name/logo/slogan/phone number every where i go, except at night/out to dinner/or anyplace i deem not appropriate. standing in line at the bank or post offioce and some asks, "got a card?" i answer yes and give them 2. simple and inexpensive advertising.

radio advertising is too expensive for a hit or miss thing. i am considering TV during the local news shows. nice size of market share

i have a working relationship with several plumbers. our agreement is i won't do "plumbing" and they won't do "drain cleaning". a nice symbiotic relationship.

now your needs may vary but this is what i've done and it has paid off for me.

good luck

steve

[All Clear Sewer]

I`m also in Advertising as I also own a sign shop.
Yellow Pages #1
Lettering on your work truck #2
Now the lettering has to be bright and easy to read ;)

[stxrus]

ooops, i forgot the signs on the van. one on each side and one on the back. but as it only gets about 15MPG i don't "run errands" in it.

steve

[Sylvan Tieger]

word of mouth referrals and repeat business is all i use.

i don't run around all day estimating. customers call and i do the work:D

i know where the referral is coming from when they call.

of course i'm 1 person and i limit myself to certain jobs and locations. so 6000 miles a year and very little crawling;)

nothing happens overnight and depending on the amount of guys you need to keep busy and the type of work you want, will dictate your own situation.

rick.

I agree with you about being lean and mean and how a one man shop is a real money maker

my 2005 Ford 350 4,300 miles on it (Jobbing van)

My 1995 3500 GMC 41,000 (Cast Iron roof drains)

my 1991 Dodge B 350 8,900 (Sewer and drain cleaning)

As a small shop you can cherry pick the accounts and set what areas you want to work

Word of mouth is the best advertising and of course repeat clients and their family.

I do think Yellow pages rather then internet is the way to go BUT what I did was pick the little Yellow page book for the specific area I want to work

This way I work within 2 miles of my office trying to stay in one zip code area

[Sylvan Tieger]

I`m also in Advertising as I also own a sign shop.
Yellow Pages #1
Lettering on your work truck #2
Now the lettering has to be bright and easy to read ;)


The truck / van is your traveling bill board and when people see it in the area constantly it has to be the best way to get name recognition.

[FlaPlumin]

I appreciate all of the input. I have been in business for myself for about 18 months now. I have one full page phone book ad and one half page in another competeing book. The problem I have is they "ain't" cheap! I always ask every caller where they found our number and about 44% come straight out of Yellowpages.com. I spend about $2500 per month for my phone book ads verses about $750 for the internet (I recently added a pay for click with AT&T to go along with Yellowpages.com.) My van is a traveling billboard and I agree that it generates work. I simply wanted other opinions. I appreciate all of the input!:)

[dondon]

$750 for yellow pages.com ?? is that per month or all year??

[DUNBAR]

$750 for yellow pages.com ?? is that per month or all year??


Probably per month.



As a 1 man band I figured out how to get much publicity and fast; show up everywhere.

Sponsor local happenings in your area

Pass out anything cheap at festivals

Sponsor kids softball/basketball/baseball teams

Work for the talking heads in your community

Drive your work truck everywhere; people that haven't even used my company think I own a fleet of trucks

Size your ads down to a 3/4/5 HS in the yellow pages

Giving out paper cards will get them pitched; business magnets that are
thick are less likely to be thrown away

Trump up storefront window advertising for empty businesses that want some cash flow

Run billboards in your community......expensive but people will remember for years

Drop a hat or shirt to people you know come in contact with a great deal of others

Show up at functions locally and gather up your nieces and nephews wearing all the same shirts of your company <<< stands out great

Get on Angie's List with good reports



Different is what people pick up on initially. If you have a fair in your area, sponsor it and put up signs. Keep driving your name home in people's skulls because it takes a minimum of 3-7 visuals of your company name to be able to indirectly see that name again when they are going down the list in the phone book and for some reason....even though they cannot figure it out, the name has a familiarity that has them calling you.

Even though I have advertising that hasn't netted one call since I've put it up in certain places.......I know that some are in view of 1000's of eyes and that name recognition of tieing the name to plumbing in your town is a dire necessity.

Some people won't invest money in your company by calling you because you're the new business on the block. That's okay. Takes time and you have to be consistent. I must have at least a 100 avenues of advertising right now and even though it costs plenty a year.......I love the ability to select the calls I want over the phone and ditch the brow-beaters and the "oh I'm sick and poor" BS that comes with a ringing phone.

Slowly build up that referral pattern and this thread will be a memory...

[lonestardrain]

Probably per month.



As a 1 man band I figured out how to get much publicity and fast; show up everywhere.

Sponsor local happenings in your area

Pass out anything cheap at festivals

Sponsor kids softball/basketball/baseball teams

Work for the talking heads in your community

Drive your work truck everywhere; people that haven't even used my company think I own a fleet of trucks

Size your ads down to a 3/4/5 HS in the yellow pages

Giving out paper cards will get them pitched; business magnets that are
thick are less likely to be thrown away

Trump up storefront window advertising for empty businesses that want some cash flow

Run billboards in your community......expensive but people will remember for years

Drop a hat or shirt to people you know come in contact with a great deal of others

Show up at functions locally and gather up your nieces and nephews wearing all the same shirts of your company <<< stands out great

Get on Angie's List with good reports



Different is what people pick up on initially. If you have a fair in your area, sponsor it and put up signs. Keep driving your name home in people's skulls because it takes a minimum of 3-7 visuals of your company name to be able to indirectly see that name again when they are going down the list in the phone book and for some reason....even though they cannot figure it out, the name has a familiarity that has them calling you.

Even though I have advertising that hasn't netted one call since I've put it up in certain places.......I know that some are in view of 1000's of eyes and that name recognition of tieing the name to plumbing in your town is a dire necessity.

Some people won't invest money in your company by calling you because you're the new business on the block. That's okay. Takes time and you have to be consistent. I must have at least a 100 avenues of advertising right now and even though it costs plenty a year.......I love the ability to select the calls I want over the phone and ditch the brow-beaters and the "oh I'm sick and poor" BS that comes with a ringing phone.

Slowly build up that referral pattern and this thread will be a memory...









HEY!!!.....wheres my earlier post to this????....it was lengthy!!!!

[FlaPlumin]

The $750 is for all of my internet advertising (yellowpages.com and pay for click.) Yellowpages.com places you into five categories of your choosing and depending on how much you spend determines how close to the top your company is positioned. Pay for click sends a set number of customers (say 175 per month cost about $350) to your web page. This is certainly the future.:)