Cost Effective Marketing Ideas?

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Just thinking.. With the comments about being under bid by country electricians, and rising cost. What do y'all do for marketing to get customers? This can be helpful for the newbie contractors looking to create a BUZZ about themselves.

Before I started out, I'd put flyers on the mailboxes in the townhome & codominium projects with tearoff numbers.
I also made signs & nailed them up on the telephone poles.
My phone did ring!

"Change before you have too"....Jack Welch, ex, CEO General Electric
 
I'd put flyers on the mailboxes
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If we did that here, the postal inspector would be on our case in a heartbeat, on the mail box you may get away with it, door to door, is a good way of getting out there, lettering your truck usually has the biggest bang for your bucks, and usually helps bring in work.

made signs & nailed them up on the telephone poles
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Another way to get in trouble, around here, the fine is $250 a day, plus they make you remove all the signs.
 
Flyers in hardware stores and coffee shops work, to a degree. You have to keep replenishing them, though. My truck is lettered, but I've gotten almost zero calls from that. When I started out, my best sources of new business were newspaper ads and referrals from friends who put my name out among their friends. The newspaper ads are still working for me, and about half my business now comes from referrals.
 
jeff43222 said:
Flyers in hardware stores and coffee shops work, to a degree. You have to keep replenishing them, though. My truck is lettered, but I've gotten almost zero calls from that. When I started out, my best sources of new business were newspaper ads and referrals from friends who put my name out among their friends. The newspaper ads are still working for me, and about half my business now comes from referrals.
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As a consumer...

I would be inclined to ignore fliers posted anywhere. Anyone can put up a flier.

A yellow pages ad or newspaper ad is little better than a flier IMO. Anyone can buy ads.

A referral from someone I know who had a good experience with a contractor is worth heeding though.

I would also tend to lean toward a well done truck, but a magnetic or obviously hand painted sign on a rust bucket would be a contractor I would not pick unless someone I knew vouched for him.

I will NOT contract with any home improvement contractor that does a lot of TV advertising ever again unless someone I know vouches for them. Most of the contractors who spend lots of money on TV advertising turn out to be bottom dwellers IMO.
 
My friend told me that the company he works for cut back on the rest of their advertising dollars and started TV advertsing. He said they are now spending less and have doubled there calls. Call it what you like.
 
Get into a networking group!!!! these are business professionals who are working for eachother to help grow business. my business has grown 60% in the last year directly from this. I visited the office of small contractors and left them a folder with referal letters a copy of my Insurance certificate with their company on it, a sample bid on work they might have you do so they know your price and a W9 filled in. Twice I was on a job of theirs within a week. Here in Indy there is a company called Angies list. you will be surprised how many members they have and once you have done work for one of them they will do a write up on you. Do good work and the other members will call you. I have all A's and get at leaqst one call a month from this and I didn't do anything but provide quality service. But I believe that networking is the best and most effective, you will meet contractors HVAC guys Realators Insurance people ect. check out http://bni.com
 
We are currently in 3 BNI groups. The referrals from this group are phenomenal. In the months of Dec. and Jan. we received over $100,000 in referral work from BNI. Plus we have hooked up with a local manufacture who give us work 12 months a year. For business it works great. WWW.BNI.COM
 
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