Marketing Ideas

[kjorg]

I'm trying to help my husband a bit with his business. (He cleans pool tile with a low pressure media system) This is our second year and we want to find cheaper marketing/advertising. Last year, we pretty much stuck with the county newspaper, but they can be quite expensive.

Does anyone have any alternatives to the newspaper?

Here's what we're checking into:

postcard mailings - names/addresses from building permits at local city offices
flyers - at pool supply stores by cash register (if they're willing to let us)
pool service & building companies - possibly include a flyer with their mailing list
benches - at bus stops... business name w/ design on bench
thank you letters - to last years customers w/ business cards included for referrals
sales letters - to businesses that could use our service: apartments, hotels,  
   property management companies....
yellow pages -
local city newspapers -

If anyone has any other ideas or how to make these work better, they would be much appreciated.  Thanx!

-kjorg

[Katie G]

Hey Kjorg -- DH and I are brainstorming marketing ideas for his business as well.....

Mailings can be expensive.  Maybe print off your own flyers and hire a few teenagers to put them in mailboxes around the neighborhoods? (If that's allowed?)  

Definitely go with an ad in the Yellow Pages

Do your local supermarkets have a "Community Bulletin Board?"  Ours does and it allows some small business to put their flyer up there for a certain period of time.

You said the newspaper was expensive.  We have a weekly "paper" that comes out that is 90% local advertising.  The rest is community events and a restaurant review or two -- it's not really a "news"paper, if you know what I mean.  If your community has something like that, maybe it would be cheaper?

[msmarieh]

I assume you have a display ad in the paper? You might be surprised how much business you can get from a few-line classified ad instead. I pay $4 a week for mine (up to 120 words, I think) and it gets me a steady stream of new clients.

There is a terrific book called 101 ways to promote yourself that you might be able to get from your library. It's filled with great promotion ideas.

Marie

[officeguru]

Marie,  Do you know the author of the book.

We're looking into different advertising options as well for a self business, so I'm liking some of these ideas!

[kjorg]

Thanks for the input....

didface-
can't put flyers in mailboxes - against federal law. We have checked into the door hangers tho - might do those.  We went with the postcards because they are cheaper to mail and people (supposedly) are more likely to read them before they toss because there's no envelope. Out of 250 mailed, we got 3 responses.... We'd obviously like to get more. These mailings are specialized - only sent to houses that actually have pools. For $100 investment tho, the 3 jobs will gross about $750.
Maybe I need to change my postcard???

will check out the supermarket idea.

msmarieh-
we haven't done an ad in the classifieds. we did do a 3-line ad in the home business area - didn't help us much and it definitely cost more than what you quoted.

I will definitely look for the book.


The Chamber of Commerce was mentioned to me... not sure how this would help. Does anyone know?  Apparently, they have a newsletter...?....

Thanks again!
-kjorg

[Katie G]

Ah, that explains why the flyers I get are shoved in my screen door!

[kjorg]

Yep and doesn't that scream "professional"

[countrigal]

You can also put the fliers on the mailbox, either stuck behind the "flag" or with a ruibberrband or something to the hook on the door to the box.  That's how they do them in our neighborhood.

CountriGal
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