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peter d said:
No argument here...I was just pointing out another shortfall of our biz, that the HVAC/P guys out-advertise us 4:1 in my area at least.
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I've already stated that they were smarter than us...you are simply proving my point...thank you:D
 
bradleyelectric said:
Care to share these expected response rates?
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i'll speak for romexking...

sure...but it will cost you...

the information is out there, for free, but you either have to spend the time (time=money) to find the information, or pay someone to do the leg work for you...

what are you willing to spend?
 
The response rates vary dependant upon the quality of your mailing list. As I noted in a previous post, for direct mail using USPS the response could be .5% to 1%. Lets say you mail 3000 pieces a month. 3000 x .55 (postage, envelope, printing)= $1650. A .5% response rate would = 15 new calls. If you close 90% of your calls, that would be 13 completed calls. Now you can visualize why even with this low response rate it is a good thing to do. Your cost to aquire that new customer is $137.50. That is a little high, but not unreasonable. If you can manage a $400 average invoice, your revenue would be $5200. That is a 3 times ROI. Again that is not great, but it's better than sitting on your butt waiting for the phone to ring.

Keep in mind that direct mail is a PART of a marketing plan, not the entire plan, but now you can estimate how many new calls you will be receiving that month. Need more calls? Send out 6000 letters.

If you want to find out a more accurate response rate in your area, call a direct mail marketer near you, they are in every community.
 
You can use the shotgun approach but aim your weapon at the right target.

Try mailing to HVAC contractors. They always work closely with electricians.


Before I started my business I actually contacted EC's asking for there extra work. Out of 300 simple amatuer typewritten letters (remember typewriters?)
I picked up several small jobs including one that led to a decade long relationship with an EC. I met my wife on one of his jobs.

Property management companys seem to use ONLY price in determining who to use. It's not THEIR property and they can't see the long term benefit of using quality tradesmen to maintain the buildings.

Real estate agents will send you some little "do it NOW before closing" things. Price isn't a big deal because there is lots of money at stake. They will gladly spend a couple/few hundred dollars to close the deal. Be sure and get paid upon installation or you will get caught up in the "they were supposed to pay it" game.

Even if you only get a handfull of responses, you NEVER know where that one really good account will come from.
 
emahler said:
i'll speak for romexking...

sure...but it will cost you...

the information is out there, for free, but you either have to spend the time (time=money) to find the information, or pay someone to do the leg work for you...

what are you willing to spend?
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1 pie a week for a month, and I'll speak very highly about you to everyone I eat lunch with till next Tuesday.

I'm wandering about the expected response rate for each type of marketing available.
 
bradleyelectric said:
1 pie a week for a month, and I'll speak very highly about you to everyone I eat lunch with till next Tuesday.

I'm wandering about the expected response rate for each type of marketing available.
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deal.....

do a quick google...all the info is readly available....
 
bradleyelectric said:
I'm wandering about the expected response rate for each type of marketing available.
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Call a direct mail marketing company and speak to a account rep. They will be able to tell you the response rates for our industry for each type of advertising. When they give you the %, you should probably expect 1/2 of what they tell you...after all, they are trying to get your business.

Since emahler is not local, I can meet you in Laurel and pick up and taste the pies...just to let him know if it is an equitable deal.:grin:
 
tell ya what....red, hot & blue...right in laurel...been going there for years...bradley brings te pies...rk gets the alchohol, and i'll cover the food:D
 
i went on a job yesterday to move a vanity fixture and recep on a bath remodel. the plumber had been there a few days before to move the pipes. they left a notepad w/ their logo and phone # on it that said "grocery list" at the top. i saw at least 5 of the sheets already torn out w/ notes on them taped up on the fridge and in the laundry room. seems like a pretty swell idea to me.
 
that is a good one brant....

one of our customers is a chain of fitness centers...they have grown thousands of percent over the past 10 yrs...they do nothing different than is written in hundreds of marketing and advertising books available in every bookstore in America...the thing that differentiates them from all the fitness clubs that go out of business? .....

they actually do what the books say to do...
 
Wow In Many ways this buisness can be like a restaurant sometimes. Feast or Famine. I feel like the dinning room just got sat all at once. I just got a bunch of work thrown at me in the last two days and they all are going to keep me busy until the end of March. And I promised my wife that I would go to the Inlaws in Florida at the end of the month.Looks like in gonna have to break down and hire an amigo for help if I want to be able to go away and keep customers happy. And the funny thing about it all is that none of them are from any on my advertising attemps. But I think I am still going ahead with the mailings. We didnt go to an outside source for this we did it all in our home office and it all came out very proffesional looking, almost like I am a real live Company:smile:. Ah what the hell... It couldnt hurt. And I cant find any ordinances against this in my town so .... Here I come
 
tonyou812 said:
Wow In Many ways this buisness can be like a restaurant sometimes. Feast or Famine. I feel like the dinning room just got sat all at once. I just got a bunch of work thrown at me in the last two days and they all are going to keep me busy until the end of March. And I promised my wife that I would go to the Inlaws in Florida at the end of the month.Looks like in gonna have to break down and hire an amigo for help if I want to be able to go away and keep customers happy. And the funny thing about it all is that none of them are from any on my advertising attemps. But I think I am still going ahead with the mailings. We didnt go to an outside source for this we did it all in our home office and it all came out very proffesional looking, almost like I am a real live Company:smile:. Ah what the hell... It couldnt hurt. And I cant find any ordinances against this in my town so .... Here I come
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now, there is a plan...:shrug: :rolleyes:
 
Im not exactlly spending thousands of dollars on Radio adds and such. Just trying to be proactive in seeking future work. And remember no one likes a know it all.
 
tonyou812 said:
What is that supposed to mean Mr Fortune 500.
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tony, what it means is very simple...you were given some great advice by romexking...you suddenly got some work coming in, which is good...but you are following the path of 80% of the contractors out there...just wing it and pray...that's what leads to feast or famine...

but honestly, if it works for you, fantastic...
 
tonyou812 said:
Im not exactlly spending thousands of dollars on Radio adds and such. Just trying to be proactive in seeking future work. And remember no one likes a know it all.
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hell, i barely know anything...but it doesn't matter if you spend $100 or $100,000...if you don't plan it out, it's all wasted...you might get lucky, but you'll never know why or with what...
 
tony, don't be offended by anything eric said. i can tell you this guy wants to do nothing but HELP you.
 
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