newspaper, local advertiser, radio advertising...

toyotaguy · 09-01-06, 05:12

anyone have any experience with it....how did it go, did you see a huge increase in business?

while reading something online, it said the biggest and best way to advertise is though hearing ads....I.E. Radio, over loud speakers etc.

i have been tossing out postcards to about 500 houses and havent received any calls from them yet (only been 1 week), but I thought I would have better luck with it...they are nice cards and professionally made!

any thoughts on paper ads or radio play?

Yzer · 09-01-06, 06:27

I have been considering this myself... Im interested in the responses.

mirrorfinishman · 09-02-06, 07:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by toyotaguy

anyone have any experience with it....how did it go, did you see a huge increase in business?

i have been tossing out postcards to about 500 houses and havent received any calls from them yet (only been 1 week), but I thought I would have better luck with it...they are nice cards and professionally made!

Advertising is nothing without a marketing plan.

Think about it. How many car owners who live in those 500 houses (you have been tossing post cards at) are actually in the market to have their car detailed? To be more specific; How many car owners at those 500 houses get their cars detailed on a regular basis? Just because they own a car, especially an expensive car, that does not automatically mean that they have a need to have their car detailed.

When you consider that, in most cases, less than 5% of all car owners actually have their car washed on a regular basis, the percentage of people who get their car detailed on a regular basis has to be even less than that. As you are finding out, the percentage of people who get their car detailed on a regular basis is probably less than a fraction of 1%. So far, in your case, it is less than 1 person in 500.

Let's face it, when it comes to advertising a detailing business, mass marketing tactics just don't work. What does work is understanding the target market that is out there for professional detailing services and then implementing a plan to go after that target market. Without a comprehensive marketing plan you will have very little chance of ever reaching your target market effectively.

Scottwax · 09-02-06, 09:25

Newspaper ads are a waste of money unless you can afford one large enough to attact attention...and then you are maybe talking about too much of an investment to be worth it.

I would definitely get listed in the Yellow Pages, although lately I've been getting more price shoppers than I used to. I actually get more business off the internet now than out of the phone book.

Another thing you should do is whenever you meet new people, always work into the conversation what you do for a living. You'd be suprised at how much business you can get by simply networking like that. You meet someone, you get along so you are already on friendly terms and you can sell your detailing ability to them without them even realizing it.

Yzer · 09-02-06, 09:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirrorfinishman

Advertising is nothing without a marketing plan.

Think about it. How many car owners who live in those 500 houses (you have been tossing post cards at) are actually in the market to have their car detailed? To be more specific; How many car owners at those 500 houses get their cars detailed on a regular basis? Just because they own a car, especially an expensive car, that does not automatically mean that they have a need to have their car detailed.

When you consider that, in most cases, less than 5% of all car owners actually have their car washed on a regular basis, the percentage of people who get their car detailed on a regular basis has to be even less than that. As you are finding out, the percentage of people who get their car detailed on a regular basis is probably less than a fraction of 1%. So far, in your case, it is less than 1 person in 500.

Let's face it, when it comes to advertising a detailing business, mass marketing tactics just don't work. What does work is understanding the target market that is out there for professional detailing services and then implementing a plan to go after that target market. Without a comprehensive marketing plan you will have very little chance of ever reaching your target market effectively.

Well said!

RAG · 09-04-06, 10:57

To add to my PM comments I sent you...I agree with Scott in that I actually generate a fair amount of business by simply talking with people in various places...I've acually got quite a few call-backs by talking to people at gas stations with cars "in need."

I too am not a fan of mass marketing - I'm certainly not one to put flyers on everybody's windows...I know I don't like it when people to that to me. When I see a black car with buffer intense buffer swirls, I usually make it a point to drop a flyer on their car with a note telling them I can fix their paint by removing the buffer swirls; but I'll be damned...not one has ever called me back, which I absolutely cannot believe considering how bad they have to look before I'll drop a note in their car. So anymore I just let people come to me.

Though this is probably the same for most of us as I'm sure we all do great work relative to other so-called professionals...my biggest generator of business is referrals which comes as a result of blowing people away with a quality of work they've never seen before (I've still never come across a customer that has seen work of my quality (interior or exterior)). Like I said in the PM, you can further "encourage" referrals by offereing discount rewards for each referral people give you.

mirrorfinishman · 09-05-06, 06:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAG

you can further "encourage" referrals by offering discount rewards for each referral people give you.

For example;

Offer your customers a $25 discount reward for every referral they make that becomes a new customer. They get to save money off their next detailing and you gain a new customer.

Reflections · 09-06-06, 01:16

I still like leaving business cards on people's driver's side window trim. My cards are really high quality and have my URL on the back, and my name and contact info on the front, with some white space to write messages.

I only leave a card if I see a specific problem. I write the problem on the card and that they can contact me to correct it, whether it's a light scrape, heavy swirling, tar, etc. I've had a couple people call me back doing this.

I don't think blanket advertising works for this particular business.

I get 80% of my business through word of mouth, and the rest through web traffic and people I meet personally. It takes patience and time to build. I still think the best advertising is to do your best every single detail and wait for the referrals to roll in.