Advertising, how do you do it?

J

Jeremy1026

New member
I'm just getting into the game and am trying to get the ball rolling for myself, but don't know how. What types of (preferably cheap or free) advertising do you guys(and gals) use?
 
word of mouth is the best way. the phone book is probably the only effective form of advertising. newspapers, flyers, coupons, etc etc have had very little to no effectivness. not worth wasting your money
 
word of mouth is free, business cards is another cheap one. But you can only do so much like that.



To get your name out there though it'll cost you some money. Right now i'm advertising full page color ads in several local monthly magazines. I'm doing direct mailers, 6x9 full color 2 sided post cards. About 1500 every month. I'm always going into local business to drop off some printing. I have a professional looking pocket folder with a price sheet, business card, and a few before and after photos.
 
Word of mouth is the best way, but you have to have some mouths out there to get the word out. Offer a few specials to get people excited, and they will spread the word for you. When we got started, we went to local real estate offices and offered them "group rates", discounted rates if they would spread the word internally about our specials for them. They advertise from within for us, thus saving us money. Also, doing several vehicles in the same parking lot saved us money. Therefore, the discounted pricing was worth it because it saved us money and got us started, and realtors know lots of people and talk a lot, so word spreads quickly. That worked for us, maybe it would work for you.
 
I'm 100% word of mouth and business cards... each customer gets about a stack of 10 cards whenever I complete their vehicle. There is a spot to write their name on the back and if the person they referred shows me that card on their first appointment I give the referrer a discount on their next detail.



Usually customers are so happy with a good detail they'll hand those cards out to anyone who compliments them on the finish.
 
Last year, I drove around my neighborhood looking for people with decent cars in their driveways. I wrote down the addresses for these places, and ended up with about 60-70 addresses. I did not do much with it until about a month ago. I wrote a very nice, hand signed letter explaining what my services are ect.



I have gotten a few calls from it already, and have added another weekly wash client to my rotation as well. Overall, it cost me about $40-$50 (mostly postage).
 
Thanks to all for the advice, looks like I just gotta get my name out there however I can.



skitelluride531 said:
Last year, I drove around my neighborhood looking for people with decent cars in their driveways. I wrote down the addresses for these places, and ended up with about 60-70 addresses. I did not do much with it until about a month ago. I wrote a very nice, hand signed letter explaining what my services are ect.



I have gotten a few calls from it already, and have added another weekly wash client to my rotation as well. Overall, it cost me about $40-$50 (mostly postage).
Click to expand...



That is a really good idea! Looks like I need to buy some stamps :) A MINIac comes through again :bigups
 
Cheap advertising: Craigslist



Cant beat the price FREE !!!



Make your ad original, and provide photos of recent work.
 
Word of mouth. Remember it goes both ways. I think the rule is for every good job you do a person will tell 3 people in 10. For evey bad thing you do people will tell 7 in 10. Establishing yourself as an authority will help perpetuate reputation. People like to learn new stuff that affects them. If you take a few moments to explain what is special about your technique or why you use your specific products people will begin to associate you with your product or service and will recognize you as a professional not just some guy with a bucket and a towel.
 
Word of mouth. After a while I found the best way to get your name out was working in areas with some volume. Like an office building, small shop, plaza ect. That way you have enough cars to clean to make some money and they are all in the same place. Also you usually speak to one person at the site and the rest just keep coming in. When I am done I always put a postcard type flyer that says your car has been done by our company, how was our service bla bla. That gives them a reason to contact me again so I have more oportunity to build a customer relationship. Once you have a good customer relationship it makes it harder for them to go somewhere elese. Once you have a few good locations then you can expand to good fixed locations like underground lots, golf courses ect. The golf courses were the best for me before I sold. We would sell the course property manager on the parking lot appeal and how good we made it. Ususally they did not want rent in return just a great service. One course we had we did 30-40 cars Mon-Thurs and Fri-Sunday sometimes 100 cars. We made good money and never had to drive from one job to another.



Thanks,

416
 
All by Larry Mersereau



How to Create your own Powerful Ads and Promo Pieces

Stand Out!

Post Card Power



I recommend these books HIGHLY before you spend money. He talks about everything scientific about ads/marketing. This guy knows his stuff and can explain the why's and do's and don'ts to spending money. Easy reading that makes total sense. Wish I had read or known him years ago.



Rob
 
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